Around and around we go...

Since Christmas, I have been having tremendous pancreatic pain. I called a medical center which specializes in gastroenterology and found a specific doctor who was skilled in treating the pancreas. I submitted my request for the appointment, filled out paperwork and had my medial records sent to the facility. I then had to wait two months for the appointment. Thankfully, my pancreas calmed down some during the two months, and I was able to maintain my weight.

Finally, my appointment came to see the physician. I was very prepared for the appointment with medical records and thoroughly knowing my medial history. Unfortunately, the clinician seemed to dismiss all previous medical reports. My chief complaint was having severe pain two hours after I eat. The pain can last anywhere from four hours to several days. The doctor was more concerned about getting a diagnosis. Despite already having a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, I agreed to the testing he wanted to do.

One of the main tests he used to determine if I had pancreatitis was a blood test which checked for pancreatic enzymes in my blood. I had been very sick the night before my appointment, and thus, I had not eaten for 18 hours when I had my blood drawn. With chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic enzymes peak four hours postprandial and then start to decrease. Eight hours after eating, the pancreatic enzymes are usually back to normal. So as one could probably predict, my pancreatic enzyme levels came back normal. (The highest value amylase could be, and still be considered normal, was 100. My amylase level was 100. The very highest value lipase could be was 60. My lipase level was 59.) So, the conclusion was I do not have chronic pancreatitis despite having been diagnosed by several doctors at several different medical institutions and having been hospitalized numerous times for pancreatitis.

Since my GI appointment, I have been extremely sick. The doctor palpated my pancreas at my appointment, which sent it off into a tailspin. I am almost always nauseas and have developed several severe pancreatitis attacks. On a good day, I can eat a few hundred calories worth of food. On a bad day, I cannot eat or drink anything. I contacted the doctor to ask what can be done for the pain and nausea. His response was to go to a pain specialist. I am quite frustrated. Why can he not treat my pancreatic pain and nausea? The pancreas is one of his specialties. So, here I am trying to chase down another doctor, trying to get another appointment scheduled and trying to send medical records to yet another medial facility. I feel like I am on an endless merry-go-round. Around and around I go, never finding relieve from my symptoms and constantly fighting to get through each day.