Bethie, I suffered from bouts of this in my mid 20's for some weird reason (I'm 51 now)...I haven't had a case of it in years. They weren't sure what brought it on but each time it was treated and once I left my 20's it stopped. Maybe a change in diet might help? I started eating a lot of pasta and steered clear of acidic things for quite a long time. The thought at the time was that I wasn't eating right (who does when they are in 20's and single) and when I modified my diet, it seemed to help. What does the GI doctor say?

I got pancreatitis as a result of taking a last ditch medicinen(6MP)to put my ulcerative colitis into remission. Not only didn't the medication work, it gave me pancreatitis. That was it for me.....the deciding factor to get the J-pouch!

I might have an episode of that after being diagnosed. The pain was very bad and higher up than normal. But it was very short lived. My doctor used and endoscope and didn't see anything wrong, but the pain never returned so we didn't investigate it further. Kind of wierd, but one thought was that maybe my inflamed colon was irritating my pancreas somehow. Definitely glad that pain never returned. Sorry can't be more informative, but hope it's something like mine where it just goes away.

My daughter has had the Jpouch since last August and with the exception of some cuffitis and a little fissure it's been okay. She does not eat well - she eats lots of fried foods and garbage (IMHO). The only thing as far as food goes that she does right is that she drinks plenty of fluids. Honestly the couple of comments have given me hope that this might be a one time thing or not a lifetime thing. While she will say I have no idea what it's like because I don't have the jpouch, my logic and all the comments I read on here tell me she needs to have a better diet. Cut out the fried crap she eats. Still waiting for the bloodwork so we will see what happens.

Bethie, I didn't see how old your daughter is, but I was 15 when I had my first surgery for UC...a hard age to have to go thru all of it but so worth it. The prednisone I was on for so long basically delayed puberty for me so I was behind everyone else as far as maturing. My mom was pretty strict with my diet and but once in a while she would let me just cut loose a little bit...she could see my frustration. The more she can alter her diet now, the better...greasy food makes the pancreatitis worse. Good for her on the fluids...KathySmith recommended to me Vitalyte a couple of weeks ago to keep our electolytes up...the grape and orange are pretty good and there's no sugar in it like Gatorade. I drink a 32 ounce cup of the stuff on the way to work each morning and then another one throughout the afternoon...can't believe how much better I feel. Has your daughter had her surgeries yet?

I've had 10 bouts of Pancreatitis........mine is directly related to a mechanical issue, I had my duodenum removed and have a way, way different plumbing than anyone else (even moreso now..) and it happens, randomly.

I haven't had a bout in 3 months now........before that it was 6 months, prior to that it was multiple bouts in a very, very short period of time.

It's the worst pain I've EVER experienced. I've had kidney stones, collapsed lungs and a few other "wonderful" things but nothing compares to Pancreatitis.......glad my doctors prescribed Dilaudid pills for breakthru pain relief to get me to the hospital!

They make dilaudid in pill form and no one ever told me?

Charlie -I'm so glad it's stayed away for awhile. Hopefully it will stay away forever.

kathy

Hey Val - my daughter has had her J-pouch surgery. The takedown was August 10th. I am going to remember the vitalyte and see if I can get some, she drinks a lot of gatorade, although the G2 version, but it can be hell on your teeth regardless. She does drink protein juice boxes. She keep having hair issues, she had started to finally get back hair on her head but now it's starting to fall out again. She has the worst diet for a Jpouch, but she is 21 and short of me force feeding her what she should be eating there is little I can do. She does not have pancreatitis, her blood work is very normal. Now she is going for an ultrasound. I have some thoughts about her pain, but will see what happens with the ultrasound. We forge on. Despite her pain she is on the treadmill almost every day and does get to her classes. She's a tough cookie, just wish she ate better foods.

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They make dilaudid in pill form and no one ever told me? Roll Eyes

Charlie -I'm so glad it's stayed away for awhile. Hopefully it will stay away forever

Yes, they do Kathy! Want some? *wink*

I hope so too, but, I'm a realist and know and believe it's only a pipe dream to believe it won't happen again.......I just hope it's only isolated incidence from this point forward. When I had several bouts grouped together over the course of a 6-8 weeks, it gets troublesome and quite annoying! LOL

Severe pain in the upper abdomen could be a lot of things.

My pancreatitis all started with pains similar to that of hunger pains, and gradually got worse. What convinced me the first time to go to the emergency room was that there was about a two inch section right below my sternum that was very tender and swollen.

If the pain comes and goes, I would be surprised that it is pancreatitis. But that would be confirmed through blood work.

Has she been on any medication recently?

Charlie, I totally agree with you. I got pancreatitis after an ERCP at Stanford and I begged for them to put me out (like pull the plug) since the morphine I was on not only didn't kill the pain but made me vomit without end. It was absolutely horrid and I would not wish that on my enemy - well maybe one (just kidding).

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Charlie, I totally agree with you. I got pancreatitis after an ERCP at Stanford and I begged for them to put me out (like pull the plug) since the morphine I was on not only didn't kill the pain but made me vomit without end. It was absolutely horrid and I would not wish that on my enemy - well maybe one (just kidding). Wink

One of the side effects of an ERCP, possibly anyways, is pancreatitis! LMAO........go figure.

By far, if any one has pancreatitis they'll tell you it's THE WORST pain EVER.

I describe it to people like this...

Think about a "Charlie Horse"
Now think about that "Charlie Horse" all around your abdomen, front and back in about a 12-18 inch wide pattern, that doesn't quit and is about 100 times as intense as a "Charlie Horse" that isn't exactly IT but will give you a good indication of what it might feel like. Some bouts are more painful than others, but, make no mistake they ALL hurt like hell.

and Donna .........have you ask for Dilaudid? Ask them to inject is slooooowwwwwww. Anymore when I have a bout the folks at Mayo know me and know to start with 2mg and we go up from there to take the pain away, usually it's 2 every 3 hours, but, has been ramped up more than that to calm it down (the pain).

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posted Apr 7, 10:09 PM Hide Post
Severe pain in the upper abdomen could be a lot of things.

Yes, I concur. It could be a slight bowel obstruction.....it could be heartburn, it could be, it could be......

I'm a 21 year old j-poucher as well and have been having extreme upper abdominal pain. It usually occurs in the mornings and then goes away and comes back the next morning. It lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or longer at times. My GI put me on omeprazole but I'm still having this pain.

Bethie, has your daughter had her ultrasound? am curious what they found. Is she feeling any better? Just wanted to check in.