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Inflamed Pancreas?

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Posted 7/20/2012 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hello all,

I just had my first trip to the ER today. Gave in to an intense headache and nausea. They gave me something for the nausea, took blood, urine samples, and had a CTscan of my head.

The test results came back and I was told of an inflamed Pancreas.....prob from the meds or the UC. I'll be following up with my GI next week. This is new to me. Does anyone else have this problem? What should I expect?
Posted 7/20/2012 11:41 PM (GMT 0)
My son had Pancreatitis twice within a month. He also had some gallbladder issues going on so the doctors aren't sure what caused the Pancreatitis. The organs that make up the digestive system are so closely linked that one problem can throw everything out of whack. Did they check you pancreatic enzymes? If the enzymes are elevated then that's almost always Pancreatitis. The best solution for an inflamed pancreas is to limit your food intake and when you do start consuming food, make sure it is low fat. If you do these things and still have issues then I would look to the medication as a possible culprit. Some of these med's can cause pancreatitis.
Posted 7/20/2012 11:59 PM (GMT 0)
Funny thing is Ive been on a liquid diet for the last week and a half. my gall bladder appears to be fine. guess my GI may need to perform more tests. It was the Lipase that was high.
Posted 7/21/2012 6:16 AM (GMT 0)
OOOOOOOOOOOh, my favourite subject at the minute.
I just been diagnosed with auto-immune pancreatitis. well its hard to say diagnosed as it is impossible to get clear answers from my GI. He keeps ordering more tests.
ill go through them for you.

Blood tests are the main. high amylase levels indicate pancreatitis and is a sure sign.
i had an xray, ct scan of abdomen, gastrocopy, ultrasound- all these were inconclusive.

On thursday i had an endoscopic ultrasound which was clear that i had an inflamed pancreas and damage or thickening to the ducts. This was the 1st definate indication of pancreatitis since 1st having symptoms in march.
The GI said im afraid your pancreas doesnt look normal at all.....yikes.

headache and nausea symptoms? ill take it your bloods came back showing high amylase, otherwise im stumped as to how they would consider pancrea*** from a head ct.

I was in hospital last month from the pain in my abdomen. it got worse after eating and initially they thought gall stones. blood amylase levels were and still are consistently high. They took me of my 5 asa's because they can be linked to panceatitis.

I could ramble on and on and i think i have.
Feel free to ask anything on the subject.

i hope its not chronic and was an isolated acute attack.

They never put me back on the 5asa's just in case.

Ju
Posted 7/21/2012 2:16 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Ju for the feedback!

The CTscan was to insure the tension headache were not caused by tumors.
I checked my blood test and my Amylase is in the normal range. It was the Lipase that was very high. Normal range is 32-219, mine was 364!

I stopped taking the 5-ASA drugs and all my supplements. Only thing I'm on now is Predinsone at 5mg and my birthcontrol.
So I guess it's no more 5-ASA drugs for me! The other drugs have more potency so I don't see how anythign is going to work for me at this point. shakehead

It was interesting comparing the two tests: Amylase and Lipase. You would think that both would be high for pancreatist.

From WebMD:

An amylase test measures the amount of this enzyme in a sample of blood taken from a vein or in a sample of urine.

Normally, only low levels of amylase are found in the blood or urine. But if the pancreas or salivary glands become damaged or blocked, more amylase is usually released into the blood and urine. In the blood, amylase levels rise for only a short time. In the urine, amylase may remain high for several days.

A lipase test measures the amount of this enzyme in a blood sample. High amounts of lipase may be found in the blood when the pancreas is damaged or when the tube leading from the pancreas (pancreatic duct) to the beginning of the small intestine is blocked.

-----------------------------------------

So the question is..what can be done about this?
Posted 7/21/2012 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
They only ever mentioned amylase to me. i had to get my blood tested twice a week and it only ever had amylase on it. well they must of been testing me for both all along or it wouldnt amke sense.
Hows your UC at the moment. what will happen now if you go into a flare like i did.
5asa's werent doing much but at least they were keeping it at bay. my uc is out of control now. 10 times worse than b4 they took me of the mezevent. cant take 6-mp or immunosupresants because of the risk to the pancreas so i have to skip a step and go onto remicade.

Ju
Posted 7/21/2012 3:50 PM (GMT 0)
I too have had many issues with my pancreas. Even before I got my UC diagnosis!!
I've been diagnosed with Chronic Pancreatitis. Total mess. But its NOT because of my medication.
They diagnosed it at the Univ. of Minnesota through an EUS and ERCP.
All of my scans and biopsies were inconclusive. And I had them ALL, MRI's etc....
My amylase and lipase will go up and down very quickly during acute pain attacks as i have
Sphincter of Odi dysfunction. Otherwise my numbers are always within normal limits.
So, in other words, blood tests are only one way to look at the pancreas.
I've done a ton of research and am also involved with an online group for folks with Chronic Panc and I have
much information to share if you'd like it or I can refer you on to the group I'm in so you can do your own.
There is a condition known as Pancreas Divisum that you should be aware of as well if your Pancreas is
not looking "normal".
Mary A.
Posted 7/21/2012 3:55 PM (GMT 0)
Mary A.

I'm definitely interested in learning more. Please do tell all! Also interested in the group too!

also look up what meds can cause this.
Use of certain medications (especially estrogens, corticosteroids, thiazide diuretics, and azathioprine)

Guess I'm screwed for UC meds. Azathioprine was going to be my next choice...now it doesn't appear I can take it. Looks like I may need to stop my birthcontrol too. I have horried menstral cycles. It was nice only having a period every quarter and not missing work due to the pain!

Not looking forward to Remicade either....
Posted 7/21/2012 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
mary,
thanks pm me will you, with the name of that group. looks like ill be needing it.
its definately chronic for me. have had numerous episodes since march. last one lasted a month and was stopped by steroids.
do you know much about AI pancreatitis?
I have so many questions.
What a crap diagnoses eh?
Ju
Posted 7/21/2012 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
Ju,

Interesting that yours was treated with steroids as steroids can cause this!

In the meantime I foudn this interesting link:
ehealthforum.com/health/autoimmune-pancreatitis-t137041.html#b
Posted 7/21/2012 8:07 PM (GMT 0)
peace,
been there already,
not much action in that site this past while!

Yeah Steroids took my pain completely away that im thankful for. i was in complete agony every eve.
now its reversed and im in agony till luch everyday till all the bms are over me.

Ju
Posted 7/23/2012 2:28 PM (GMT 0)
Peace and juju,
The group is called: Pancreatitis A Ray of Hope.
It's on Yahoo.
The moderator is named Priscilla.
You will learn so much there.
I look forward to seeing your posts and learning more about you both.

btw, AI Pancreatitis is discussed there and one of the women has it, I'm pretty sure and she
is super educated.
Posted 7/23/2012 6:27 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you mary, i just joined. Looking forward to talking more about it.

Ju
Posted 7/23/2012 10:22 PM (GMT 0)
Just saw my GI today. Sinc eit was only my Lipase that was high (not my amylase) he thinks it may just be "normal" for UC. Just to make sure I've having my Lipase checked again since I stopped taking most of my meds. I'm just on Pred, LDN, ALA, and Grape Seed Extra and some digestive enzymes.

If the lipase goes down then it may be the Colazal. Also getting a CTscan of my belly to see if there was any damage.
I also asked him about fecal transplant. He said he would need to be trained for it but is happy to give me a lab order so I can get my hubby's stools tested and do it on my own.

Wish me luck!
Posted 7/24/2012 7:25 AM (GMT 0)
Thats good news peace. woo hoo
Posted 8/14/2012 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
I was just told that my "lipase" is 11 points over (this was just random blood test so it wasn't a specific lipase test). My doctor said that isn't anything to worry about, it's very minimal. I have a slight discomfort on my left side by my main issue is diarrhea after anti-biotics two months. I am getting an ultra sound tomorrow. Would you all agree 11 points over normal isn't anything to worry about?
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