Two months ago I was hospitalized for intense upper abdominal pain. It felt as though someone had taken a sharp hook under my ribcage and radiated down my left side. I was diagnosed with exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis, which I have no family history of. I don't drink or take any of the medications that cause it. I was immediately hospitalized and was given Dilaudid 2mg every 2 hours, and a fentanyl 100mg patch for my entire stay. They tried to feed me liquids on day 10, 15, 24, but it just made things worse. After 34 days in the hospital I was released on a clear liquid diet and it took me a month at home to finally be able to eat a healthy diet.

Hopeful, try using a heating pad (low setting) on your abdomen and press gently with a pillow. That gives me relief from pain as it helps to decrease the inflammation of the pancreas. Also, acupuncture has been extremely helpful in preventing the inflammation rather than just dealing w/the inflammation. Acupuncture takes a while to work, but it does help a lot. I'm very sorry that you are so young and living w/pain. Best of luck, girl! Don't behave, give them hell!

My family on my mother's side has a hereditary gene for pancreatitis, dominant mostly in the females in my family. I was born with pancreatitis and have an attack at least once a year or more. I have been treated numerous times, (stents, removal of stones and removal of gallbladder) but sadly nothing has worked for more than a couple of months. I follow a strict low fat, non-dairy, low caffeine, low oils, no nuts no spice diet and it helps keep the flare ups to a minimum. I'm 16 now and I'm really hoping it's put to a stop before I have to get my severely damaged pancreas removed. Any further tips/ideas on how to keep the flare ups to a minimum would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

For the past four months I have had mild pain in my stomach. I would go the ER or the doctor and always was told that I had a UTI, then was given meds and sent home. About a month ago, I wasn't feeling well, and when I ate the pain got worse. Saturday night I awoke with pain and all my clothes were wet. The next day, I was fine but tired and weak. That night I awoke at about 11 p.m. with pain in my stomach. I waited until Monday, and then called my brother, who took me to the ER. I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. I told them I thought it was my pancreas, but was treated for pneumonia. Four days later I had an endoscopy, which revealed I had acute pancreatitis. It was so badly inflamed that the doctor could not get a good image of it. I stayed in the hospital for three weeks with a feeding tube, IV, and meds. I don't smoke or drink. I'm still in a little pain. I watch what I eat and drink (sodas). This is the second time I've been diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis.

I had a gallstone that got stuck in the bile duct and it put me on a vent for 13 days. I have diabeties and have an insulin pump. Since all of this I have had my spleen out because the splenic vein became pinched and caused gastric varices. I also had the body and tail of my pancreas removed because it was dead. What seems to help me is the creon that I take at every meal and eating small meals so it does not flare up.

I hit a deer one day and hit the steering wheel and noticed a pain in my stomach above the belly button and it radiated to my back and sometimes in my right side. I have seen several doctors who all tell me that my enzyme levels are very high and now they say that I have chronic pancreatitis and pancreas divisum. I had four stents placed in my bile ducts and I still have the pain. Now I have to see pancreatic surgeon to possibly remove part of my pancreas.