Pancreatitis hurts

I believe that Pancreatitis is more painful than childbirth. I thought I was going to die or just really didn't care. Puking for two straight days with nothing to eat. Nothing but bile and dry heaves. My throat feels like 80 grit sandpaper. I guess it's time to have the gall bladder removed. ugggh. Dr appt next week to assess. Getting old isn't for sissies.

Hang in there sir !

Yep, it really really hurts. Once they got that thing quieted down and the gall bladder gone, I am feeling pretty good. The pancreatitis diet will take the pounds off you.

The gall bladder laparoscopic surgery was no biggie. Get it done ASAP.

Good luck

My wife had it last year after a procedure. She ended up losing a third of the pancreas and her gall bladder a while later. She's on insulin now because of everything. Best of luck, hope you get well.

Thanks guys. I got an appt this morning to see the Doc. This flare up was twice now in the last 7 weeks. I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemies. Hopefully relief is coming.

Dealing with that level of pain just once was enough for me. I hope the doc sets you up for gall bladder surgery ASAP. That surgery was probably the easiest I ever had.

I feel your pain.

That kind of pain would have sent me straight to the ER.

The wife threatened to call an ambulance this last time. The first time I just thought I'd gotten some virus or something. But, I've been instructed by the dr to go to emergency room next time. They did blood work and abdominal x-rays this morning. Got to be in Tyler at 6 am for ultrasound in the morning to look at possible gall stones to remove. Yippee!

I did go straight to the emergency room. Thankfully it was empty of the other sick, lame, and lazy crowd, so I got in quick. My pain came on about 8 pm, and I knew that I’d never be able to sleep with pain like that. I thought it was severe indigestion. My wife was worried it was a heart attack.

When the tests are done, you are likely to hear you have gallstones and ‘sludge’. Who knew that sludge was a real medical term when talking about your gall bladder?

Good luck with it.

Good luck Yote, sending prayers for you sir.

I had the the sludge (6 years ago, age 43). No stones in there, just inflamed with sludge.

x2

A good friend of mine has dealt with pancreatitis issues for several years. He has been in and out of the hospital several times over that time (twice in the past few weeks). They did some type of surgery during the stay before the most recent one, and there was a time they didn't know if he was going to come out of the hospital. He just got out again and may have to have another surgery.
This stuff is nothing to mess with and I hope I never have to deal with it. Just seeing what my friend has gone through has made a believer out of me. Best of luck to you - I hope everything works out for you.

Good Luck, Prayers for a quick , painless, fix

Didn't you sell drugs for this?

Bad news indeed. Had it 2 years ago, clear liquid diet for 11days, lost 27 pounds and thought it was the end.

I appreciate the feedback. The ultrasound didn't show much. They had a hard time finding a problem and called it a contracted gall bladder. That maybe it isn't working right. So now looking a this HIDA scan radioactive IV test to observe organ function to see if everything is working like it's supposed to. Beam me up Scotty.

good luck thanks for thr update

So they did the HIDA scan IV with the radioactive pixie dust this morning. Pretty amazing watching it pump through the heart and disperse into the circulatory system. Then after about twenty minutes you can start to see the liver filtering it out where the outline of my liver was on the screen. Slowly it gets secreted into the bile coming from the liver. As I'm watching this in real time, I see it pass right past the gall bladder straight into the small intestine. Not a single pixel of radioactivity visited the gall bladder. It all turned into radioactive sausage links as it started collecting in the intestines. It looks like I'll be getting a cholecystectomy for my birthday.

I hope it goes well.

hang in Yote

Only issue I have with no gall bladder is salad. Still love them and eat often but violent explosions within 30 minutes. Good luck Sir!!

Thanks for the encouragement men. More tests, the last was another CT scan with oral contrast and IV contrast ( man that burns like bleach going through your veins). Now I've got another round of MRI coming up to determine surgery strategy right after Christmas. Seems like my gall bladder has contracted around the encased stones and is all but a dead organ at this point. The saga continues.

On the upside you are having it done in this day in age. My wife had hers removed one year before laparoscopic surgery was a thing and they split her from stem to stern with a 3 day stay in the hospital. Now days its almost day surgery with keyhole incisions.

On the down side some foods seemed to pass though her with the speed of light.

Yeah, I remember those big scars from the old days. I've already lost so much weight I just pulled on my jeans while they were already buttoned and zipped. I guess a fat glock in a iwb and a tight belt will hold them up.

Hope it works out well for you.

OUCH !!!!

I hope that they can do it with a laparoscopic procedure, they still do the old procedure, in a small percentage of cases. I had my done in the bad old days and have a six inch scar.

Been a couple of months since my gall bladder removal, so I’ve had a chance to find out what to eat and what not to eat.

Potato chips - give me the trots and quickly.
Salad is no problem
Don’t overdo the hot sauces. My body apparently can’t take all the burn out prior to exit, so there is one place that burns.
Salsa and chips, on the other hand, are no problem.
Any large greasy meal will pass through fairly fast.
Angel hair pasta overloaded with olive oil is to be eaten in small quantities. Too much, and yee haa.
Most foods are Ok, I’m pleased to say

Other points of interest - flatulence…man, I have gas all the time. But haven’t had any uhhhh accidents with farts.

Like my sister said about her post gall bladder life, it’s close to normal. But my sense of taste is a tiny bit different. Some things taste a bit different than they used to. I want vegetables now more than I did. I can’t explain that, but there it is.

That's good to know. So far the doc has me on what he called the liver cleansing diet. I can eat lean meat, fish, pretty much as many veggies as I want. No fat, nothing fried, no milk or cheese, and so on. I've been craving spinach and turnip greens like crazy. Pork tenderloin and spinach is great. At least the chronic diarrea is gone now. I'd had that for months and months.

I am scheduled for another MRCP scan after Christmas and he wants another colonoscopy done when they can fit me in. Yippee, more fun.

I had it twice. It isn't fun. Two different doctors wanted to take out the gallbladder even tho' the imaging didn't really show an issue with the gallbladder other than a thickening of the wall. Finally got in to see Dr. Marcus "Max" Goldschmiedt who figured out the issue was a narrowing at the end of the common bile duct for whatever reason. He went in with a scope down my throat, worked his way down, made slits in the end of the duct, and placed a stent. Had a follow up CT scan to make sure the stent had passed. A lot easier than surgery. It can be a few different things. Good luck.

Good to hear. I'm glad they figured out your problem.
They seem to be preparing me for gall bladder surgery.

They wanted to be sure it wasn't colon related so had me go in for a butt cam today.
Suprep for supper.
Suprep for breakfast.
Colonoscopy for lunch.

No polyps or cancerous lesions, just some mild diverticulosis in the sigmoid region.
Man, that Chick fila was good after two days of fasting. Two of them original sammies.

I had the surgery just before you did.

The only difference I've noticed is with beef. If I over indulge, I get major gas.
That, and more gas period, but that seems to be trailing off as time goes by.

What I don't miss are the stomach aches from that gall bladder that would last all night. Good riddance.

So, after all these tests they have finally decided to use the robotic procedure to remove my dead crusty gallbladder. The darn machine thing looks like some kind of freaky Edward Scissorhands on steroids. This has been quite the testing ordeal. I'm just about sick of signing consent forms....initial here, and here and here...signature here. My arms look like a heroin addict from all the blood jabs and draws the last few months. So if the thing rips me right in two, see ya next go round.

Update on food a couple of months after my last comments regarding the gall bladder removal and life after. There were a few things that I couldn’t eat in December, but today I can eat just about anything. I have not retried the Angel hair pasta soaked in olive oil. That would be pushing it. I still have bad gas, depending on what I eat. The drizzly trots have gone away, thank goodness.

The odd thing for me now is that some foods just taste different than they used to. Not a lot different, but not the same as it was.

Yeppers, I believe the good doc took pleasure in telling me I'd be able to eat whatever I wanted after the healing. I've lost right at 40 lbs since this started. Most of my jeans won't stay up without a belt.

Hope it goes well.

I appreciate it. big And all of the advice and stories from everyone. It has sure helped me get through this medical maize. I'd have been frustrated weeks ago until I would remember how long it took for some of you. I guess they want to be absolutely sure and take as few chances as they can. I finally got the toasted gall bladder out with that robotic deal. Funny when I was wheeled into the operating room the surgical nurses were introducing everyone on their team including the robot. There wasn't much I remember after that.

Just sore now a bit with five of the 3/4" incisions around the navel. They got most of the air out but still some gurgling around. Odd BM this morning was about ten seconds of dry air. Wow that was a first. I did find a lost EKG sticker pad near my armpit they left. But everything went as smoothly as it could have with no complications. So again, thanks for all the wisdom wit and entertainment. I needed it.

One final thing. Men, listen up. Don't be a Superman when you are really hurting. It only makes things worse. At the bare minimum go to one of the urgent care places and get a full blood scan. That alone would have cut years of gall stone attacks and abuse to the point of contraction and failure. When those bile ducts get blocked the bilirubin level spikes. Catch it then before it turns into days of pain. When all that bile is backed up in your liver and pancreas and not going out the back end.