The cause of my pancreatitis is still under investigation. I almost never drink, and both a CT scan and MRI showed no gallstones in the duct (my gall bladder was laparoscopically removed in January). I had previously had several esophageal spasms severe enough to take me to the emergency room. These spasms had been relieved and prevented by dicyclomine, an anticholinergic. This time I had a very tight feeling in my abdomen that wouldn't go away, and that awakened me. My internist had prescribed Donnatal as an alternative to dicyclomine, and I thought the Donnatal was what made me begin to vomit violently and keep retching even when my stomach was emptied. I was taken by ambulance to the hospital and admitted same day. I spent 4 days there and am still on antibiotics (Flagyl & Cipro) to prevent the inflammation from developing into an infection. I am scheduled to see a gastroenterologist for follow-up.
I had increasing back pain for a few days and general malaise. I thought it was a kidney infection. I called my primary doctor and asked if he could see me or call me in antibiotics, but he told me to go to the ER. My co-workers thought it was silly to go for a kidney infection, but I had vomited once and the pain was getting a little more intense. I told the nurse I felt silly for being there, that I thought it was a UTI and that I had pain in my back on the left side and vomiting. They did a urine test and gave me some fluids and mild pain meds. Two hours later I was in extreme pain, could not stop vomiting and they came back and told me I had pancreatitis, and they were admitting me. As it turns out, I had sphincter of Oddi dysfunction causing the pancreatitis.
Severe abdominal discomfort, as if I had eaten five full Thanksgiving dinners. I had vomiting, difficulty breathing, unable to get comfortable and pain through to the back. I had acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis diagnosed, with almost a month in the hospital.
Published: July 15
I had nausea, diarrhea, sharp pain in my chest that went through to the back. I went to the ER where they diagnosed pancreatitis through the blood tests. Then I was admitted for 8 days and for the first five days could not have anything to eat or drink, not even water. After the fifth day I was on clear liquids. A month or so later I had an ERCP, and it's been 4-5 months and I still have chronic pain with the same symptoms.
I had sharp pains in my abdomen for years that would come and go. One day it was so bad that I stayed in bed crying and was brought to the hospital where I was diagnosed with pancreatitis and an infected gallbladder, which they claimed was from my high triglycerides. After removing my gallbladder and taking triglyceride medications, I was fine for three years until one day, after a weekend of eating pizza, I started having pains again. I went to the ER where my triglycerides were in the 1,000s and I was put in ICU. I spent 10 days in hospital on a feeding tube and could not eat or drink until my triglycerides went down and the pancreatitis went away. Three years later I am still in pain daily and they claim I don't have pancreatitis ... but yet no doctor knows why I'm in pain.
I had an acute onset of severe pain in my left upper abdomen and chest that started at 8 p.m. one Sunday night. I could not get comfortable in any position. I went to the ER the following day as the pain continued to get worse. They diagnosed me with acute pancreatitis, and I spent four days in the hospital. That was one month ago, and I continue to have pain off and on.
Published: June 30
The onset of my pancreatitis was sudden and very severe. At first I thought I fractured a rib on the right side, as is was hard to breath and sore to the touch. I could not get comfortable. I was hospitalized for 18 days and am now insulin dependant. This has happened to a family member of mine as well.
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Kidney failure can occur from an acute event or a chronic condition or disease. Prerenal kidney failure is caused by blood loss, dehydration, medication. Some of the renal causes of kidney failure are from sepsis, medications, rhabdomyolysis, multiple myeloma, and acute glomerulonephritis. Post renal causes of kidney failure include bladder obstruction, prostate problems, tumors, or kidney stones. Treatment options included diet, medications, or dialysis.
Abdominal pain is pain in the belly and can be acute or chronic. Causes include inflammation, distention of an organ, and loss of the blood supply to an organ. Abdominal pain can reflect a major problem with one of the organs in the abdomen such as the appendix, gallbladder, large and small intestine, pancreas, liver, colon, duodenum, and spleen.
Low blood pressure, also referred to as hypotension, is blood pressure that is so low that it causes symptoms or signs due to the low flow of blood through the arteries and veins. Some of the symptoms of low blood pressure include light-headedness, dizziness, or even fainting if not enough blood is getting to the brain. Diseases and medications can also cause low blood pressure. When the flow of blood is too low to deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidneys; the organs do not function normally and may be permanently damaged.
Gallstones are stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones (formed in the gallbladder) can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. There can be just one large stone, hundreds of tiny stones, or any combination. The majority of gallstones do not cause symptoms.
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition characterized by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. The two types of diabetes are referred to as type 1 (insulin dependent) and type 2 (non-insulin dependent). Symptoms of diabetes include increased urine output, thirst, hunger, and fatigue. Treatment of diabetes depends on the type.
Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law.
Stool color is generally brown. When stool color changes, often, an individual becomes concerned. The presence of the bilirubin in bile is generally responsible for stool color. Bilirubin concentration can vary bile color from light yellow to almost black in color. Changes in bilirubin can cause stool to turn green, gray, or clay-like in color. Intestinal bleeding may turn stool black, tarry, red, maroon, or smelly stool. Medication and food may also affect stool color.
Ascites, the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity is most commonly caused by cirrhosis of the liver. Some of the other causes of ascites include portal hypertension, congestive heart failure, blood clots, and pancreatitis. The most common symptoms include increased abdominal girth and size, abdominal bloating, and abdominal pain. Treatment depends on the cause of ascites.
Pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining around the lungs, is associated with sharp chest pain upon breathing in. Cough, chest tenderness, and shortness of breath are other symptoms associated with pleurisy. Pleurisy pain can be managed with pain medication and by external splinting of the chest wall.
Cystic fibrosis is a disease of the mucus and sweat glands. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease. The outcome of the disease leaves the body malnourished, bulky and fouls smelling stools, vitamin insufficiency, gas, painful or swollen abdomen, infertility, susceptible to heat emergencies, and respiratory failure. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis, treatment of symptoms is used to manage the disease.
Pancreatic cysts are collections of fluid within the pancreas. Some are benign, malignant, or pseudocysts. There are two major types of pancreatic cysts, inflammatory cysts and non-inflammatory cysts. Non-inflammatory cysts include: serous cyst adenomas, mucinous cyst adenomas, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), and solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. Symptoms of pancreatic cysts include abdominal pain, jaundice, fever, chills, and sepsis. Treatment depends on the type of cyst, and patient health.
Hypercalcemia is a condition in which calcium levels in the blood are elevated. Hypercalcemia is associated with other conditions such as hyperparathyroidism, lung cancer, breast cancer, kidney failure, and elevated levels of vitamin D. Symptoms of hypercalcemia include constipation, nausea, abdominal pain, kidney stones, to name a few. Treatment depends on the cause of hypercalcemia.
Digestion is the complex process of turning food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestive process also involves creating waste to be eliminated, and is made of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food.
Duodenal diverticula (extramural or intramural), or duodenal diverticulum, is a pouch that is attached to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). The cause of extramural diverticula is not clear, however, it may be congenital. Complications caused by duodenal diverticulum include rupture, gallstones, or pancreatitis. Extramural duodenal diverticula has no symptoms. Treatment is generally surgery.
Pancreas divisum is a common congenital anomaly (an anomaly that is present at birth) of the pancreatic duct(s). The human embryo starts life with two ducts in the pancreas; the ventral duct and the dorsal duct. In more than 90% of the embryos, the dorsal and the ventral ducts will fuse to form one main pancreatic duct. In approximately 10% of embryos, the dorsal and the ventral ducts fail to fuse. Failure of the ventral and the dorsal pancreatic ducts to fuse is called pancreas divisum (because the pancreas is drained by two ducts). In pancreas divisum, the ventral duct drains into the major papilla, while the dorsal duct drains into a separate minor papilla. The majority of individuals born with pancreas divisum experience no symptoms throughout life, will remain undiagnosed and will not require treatment. A small number of patients with pancreas divisum will experience repeated episodes of pancreatitis.
Choledochal cysts are cysts of the bile ducts. There are several different types of choledochal cysts. These cysts are congenital, however, their cause is not known. Symptoms of choledochal cysts in infants include an enlarged liver and jaundice. In older people, the cysts cause abdominal pain, jaundice, cholangitis, gallstones, and pancreatitis. Treatment for choledochal cysts is surgery.
Weber-Christian disease is a rare inflammatory disease that affects the body's fat tissues. It's also known as relapsing febrile nodular panniculitis syndrome and idiopathic lobular panniculitis. The disorder appears on the skin as red or purple tender, raised lumps. The thighs and lower legs are the most frequently affected areas. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, weight loss, joint pain, and abdominal pain. Though there is no cure for the disease, inflammation may be treated with various antiinflammatory medications.
The pancreas is an organ approximately six inches long that is located in the
abdomen behind the stomach. The pancreas is divided into three regions; the
head, the body, and the tail. The head of the pancreas is located in the right
abdomen adjacent to the duodenum, the tail is in the left abdomen, and the body
lies between the head and the tail.
The pancreas makes several hormones that are released into the
blood--including insulin to regulate blood glucose levels (see the
Diabetes Mellitus article)-as well as digestive enzymes that aid in the digestion of
food, for example, amylase. The digestive enzymes produced by the pancreas are
combined in a bicarbonate-rich fluid also produced by the pancreas. The
pancreatic duct within the pancreas collects the bicarbonate-rich fluid and
digestive enzymes and drains them into the duodenum, the first ...
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The cause of my pancreatitis is still under investigation. I almost never drink, and both a CT scan and MRI showed no gallstones in the duct (my gall bladder was laparoscopically removed in January). I had previously had several esophageal spasms severe enough to take me to the emergency room. These spasms had been relieved and prevented by dicyclomine, an anticholinergic. This time I had a very tight feeling in my abdomen that wouldn't go away, and that awakened me. My internist had prescribed Donnatal as an alternative to dicyclomine, and I thought the Donnatal was what made me begin to vomit violently and keep retching even when my stomach was emptied. I was taken by ambulance to the hospital and admitted same day. I spent 4 days there and am still on antibiotics (Flagyl & Cipro) to prevent the inflammation from developing into an infection. I am scheduled to see a gastroenterologist for follow-up.
Related Reading: pancreatitis | CT scan | MRI