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.

I went through the mandatory five days of pain many times in my life, but now my pancreas is quite dead. It produces nothing. I have to take the enzymes of a pig to give me any ability to absorb nutrients or I would simply die of malnutrition. As my pancreas is dead, it can't produce any insulin, and of course I am classed as "diabetic." If anyone develops rapid weight loss, please see your doctor immediately.

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.

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.