Training & Nutrition - I am Jack's Pancreas

Know anything about pancreatitis? Had a bout of acute pancreatitis recently (about a month ago), and since then something has not felt the same. Riding does seem to aggravate something in that area, but not sure if its just surrounding abdominal musculature reacting to the new excercise regime, or the organ itself that is giving me pain. Maybe both. I really know little about this condition and whether or not strenuous excercise is a concern. Seems like it might be, given what little I have researched on the internet (pretty much a wiki-waste-of-time), but I am not a physician. Surely there must be one out there. Any links or info? Thx




"I'm gonna live forever, or die trying."
~ Joseph Heller

Sounds like a really good question for you doctor!
I have no knowledge on the subject and I would not hold the opinions of random strangers on the Internet in the highest regard, espeshilly when it could effect your health.

No offence to all the random people out there on the Internet.

Visceral pancreatic pain is general epigastric (generally the region between under the sternum between the ribs) and radiating to the back. Pancreatic pain, at least associated with pancreatitis, is generally very severe, as I'm sure you are all too familiar.

no, but i love Fight Club. :) later.

If you think you are having pancreas problems you should get it checked out. Once the pancreas goes downhill you will follow very quickly.

I was discussing the pancreas with another nurse last night. The enzymes that the pancreas secretes are inactive. This is because the enzymes will start autodigestion of the pancreas if they were active. The most common theory of acute pancreatits is that an injury to the pancreas causes enzymes to leak into the pancreatic tissue where it is activated and autodigestion begins.

If you have gallstones the common bile duct may be partly blocked causing reflux into the the pancreas.

Chronic pancreatitis may manifest as intermittent pain which will usually get worse after a meal.

Here are some good links about acute pancreatitis. The last one is search results from the American college of gastroenterology, where the previous links come from.

http://www.acg.gi.org/patients/gihealth/pdf/pancreas.pdf

http://www.acg.gi.org/patients/gihealth/biliary.asp

http://www.acg.gi.org/physicians/guidelines/AcutePancreatitis.pdf

http://ss258.fusionbot.com/cgi-bin/ss_query?sitenbr=152390370&k=pancreatitis

Thank you Someday RN. I do believe the acute has gone to chronic, for whatever reason, as large meals do tend to create abdominal pain. Which really throws a wrench into training because one of my last remaining joys is a good meal after a long hike or ride. But my real concern is whether or not moderate excercise and long bike rides can or do generally cause the type of injury that can cause an acute attack. Sadly the more I read I am beginning to think the answer is possibly yes.

However, my philosophy is that if my pancreas is going downhill then I'll just have to follow cause I'm sorta attached to it. Not like you can transplant one of those, and its not like its going to get better by sitting around sedentary so its either live with it or let it ****** my life. I'm never going to be able to sit and look out a window and be content. Gotta be out there, doing. Oh well, cest la vie.

Stupid enzymes.

As the first replier suggested, you probably want to talk with your physician about this. It's difficult over the internet to offer constructive advice with the limited information people give.

I want to reply specifically to your quote:
However, my philosophy is that if my pancreas is going downhill then I'll just have to follow cause I'm sorta attached to it. Not like you can transplant one of those, and its not like its going to get better by sitting around sedentary so its either live with it or let it ****** my life.I disagree with your philosophy. You should know that there are several treatable complications of pancreatitis. You do not want to be sitting around thinking, "Oh well," without the appropriate work-up.

Of course your symptoms may have nothing to do with pancreatitis at all - all the more reasons to discuss this with your primary care physician.

No, I do not want to be sitting around doing nothing about it. But part of the information I have not posted is that I have no PCP, I have no insurance, nor do I have the $10/20/50 copay to spare even if I was insured. Not to whine, but I am over 30k in debt and the last ER visit represents %6 of that figure. I do not say this for sympathy, but rather to drive home the point that this is the New America. I have worked full time since I was 18, part time from 14-18. Thats alot of work to be broke and in pain in this country, billed as the best on the planet. With the recent financial debacle involving major players like Merill Lynch, Fannie and Freddie and Lehman Brothers, I can only surmise that public healthcare for all is going to be put on one of the back burners that has not even been lit yet. Obama, I love ya, but I just don't see that you're going to be able to make good on those promises. People need to know that life is going to change for alot of us. For some of us that means dealing with things that ordinarily might be solved with a bottle of pills, or a 30 minute trip to the sawbones. But this is the new, Red Dawn Amerika, and people need to know.

As sketchy as it is, the internet at least allows me some way to vent, connect with others about these things, and share in a way that does make me feel better in a way. Simple as that. I've learned long ago to take the online uneducated guesses with a grain of salt, but then again links and info like Someday RN provided are useful, and much appreciated. For that I am grateful, and to everyone who reads and posts. I guess it shows that people still care, and right now that is the only medicine I can afford.

Well, do you have any *ahem* digestive abnormalities? Presumably, if you do indeed have chronic pancreatitis, your output should be pretty distinctive. If not, hopefully that leaves some sort of digestive malaise.

Self diagnosis is a really hard thing to do since there are usually a lot of emotions involved. As a beginning nurse I have thought that I have had many diseases. I hear beginning MD's get the same thing too. It is really too bad that you can't see a Dr. it would help clear up a lot of confusion and probably give you peace of mind one way of the other.

I wish you health, happiness and peace of mind.

Self diagnosis is a really hard thing to do since there are usually a lot of emotions involved. As a beginning nurse I have thought that I have had many diseases. I hear beginning MD's get the same thing too.

Thankfully that goes away.:o

OP, are you an alcoholic?

JUST LIKE FIGHT CLUB! Just so happens, I heard an "I am Jack's" line in the movie. So, I feel compelled to contribute to the thread.

First, you aint alone when it comes to suffering physical pain without the capacity to have it looked at by the doctor. I wonder whether your town has a clinic that is community based. Free or very inexpensive at the community center.

If that's not an option, I think you can learn a whole lot on the internet.

Good luck.

Give us a good description of the pain you're having. Sharp, dull, burning, etc. Diffuse, localized, radiates? Location? Severity? Only cycling aggravates it? Anything else make it worse? Anything make it better? Stomach, gall bladder, liver, and pancreas are in that general area.

start doing blood sugar testing NOW.

this is what I felt often, and then 8 years later BANG type 1 diabetic.

fuggit I am a monster powerhouse now compared to then, so no worries.

Give us a good description of the pain you're having. Sharp, dull, burning, etc. Diffuse, localized, radiates? Location? Severity? Only cycling aggravates it? Anything else make it worse? Anything make it better? Stomach, gall bladder, liver, and pancreas are in that general area.

I am betting it feels like a sour stomachace that food or tums doesn't readily fix, after really hard bike rides

OP, are you an alcoholic?

Or more accurately, do you drink alcohol?

A bout of acute pancreatitis is why I quit drinking. Though the docs could never determine the cause of my bout, the most likely cause was from binge drinking. I wasn't an alcoholic, but I could put away a LOT of booze when out socially. If you are a drinker and have already had a bout of acute pancreatitis, STOP DRINKING NOW...then get thee to a doc, F the money, you can't spend it from the grave.