What should I do if I think I have pancreatitis?

If your abdominal pain lasts more than 20 minutes, call your doctor or go to the emergency room. Your doctor will take a medical history, ask about your drinking history, and draw blood to test for pancreatic enzymes. You may also need to take pancreas function tests to determine the loss of pancreatic enzymes, a fecal fat collection test for evidence of malabsorption, and an ultrasound, CT scan or other test to determine pancreas damage.

If you have unexplained weight loss that lasts more than a few weeks, call your doctor. This can be a warning sign of pancreatic cancer.

What is the difference between acute and chronic pancreatitis?

Most cases of acute pancreatitis are mild and involve a short hospital stay to help heal the pancreas. Chronic pancreatitis is a much more persistent condition, and occurs more often in men than women.

What is the treatment for pancreatitis?

Your doctor will focus treatment on your nutritional and metabolic needs and on relieving your pain. Mild pain can be treated with analgesics. If the cause of acute pancreatitis is gallstones, you may have to have your gallbladder removed to prevent further attacks. If the bile duct is found to be enlarged, you may need an ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) to drain it. An ERCP is a way your doctor can examine your pancreas, pancreatic duct, the common bile duct, and/or sphincter of Oddi. It involves passage of a long, narrow tube called an endoscopes used to put X-ray contrast dye into the bile and pancreas ducts. In severe cases, surgery will be required to drain the pancreatic duct or to remove part of the pancreas.

Your doctor will also likely give you dietary guidelines to follow in order to reduce the amount of fat you eat, since your body has trouble digesting these substances. You may also need to take pancreatic enzyme supplements, which are in the form of a tablet, every time you have a meal. These supplements will help your body absorb food and help you regain some of the lost weight.

What hope for the future?

Most people who have chronic pancreatitis have a good prognosis if they follow the required dietary changes and take their medications and required supplements. If their condition was caused by drinking, they will have a positive outcome if they stop drinking and continue follow-up treatment.

Prevention of pancreatitis

While pancreatitis is still not fully understood, there are some steps you can take to prevent pancreatitis from occurring again:

• If the cause is gallstones and your gallbladder has not been removed, avoid fatty foods, such as butter and fried eggs
• If the cause is alcohol, you should stop drinking altogether