The steps to healing Chronic Pancreatitis are the same as healing after Acute Pancreatitis however …
I sorta dropped the ball by not posting the steps like I promised in this post Pancreas Healing: 5 Steps to Pancreas Healing After Acute Pancreatitis.
The thing is, like I said in my last sentence or paragraph of the above post, the protocol I use is almost EXACTLY the same.
The only difference for ME, since I have already done prep and a pancreatitis diet food diary YEARS ago, is that I don’t have to do that step. Otherwise pancreas healing for chronic pancreatitis is the same as the original in regards to protocol. In fact, if I had pain or symptoms I would, depending upon severity of symptoms, follow what I outlined anyway because:
1) The pancreas needs rest to heal
2) Food has to be re-introduced slowly
3) The right solid food must be eaten when solid food is again able to be eaten
4) The supplements are important
5) Alcohol must be avoided
And if someone with chronic pancreatitis has NOT done a food diary the PREP and DIARY are essential to finding out exactly what does and does not cause problems. That way those who do NOT believe me about the two enemies (FAT and Alcohol) will find that what I say is true and that if they continue to eat foods that shouldn’t be eaten they will continue to be sick.
In other words those who would rather eat steak (red meat), bacon (pork), and other extremely high trigger, fat-filled foods and drink alcohol will continue to be sick and progressively become worse while they blame their problems on grapes, peaches, brussels sprouts, cabbage, beans, lentils, spices or some other usually safe, anti-inflammatory, pancreas healing food.
So there ya go, in a nutshell, those with chronic pancreatitis need to do the exact same things in order to begin healing and IF …
They have suffered enough damage (I do NOT know how much that might be) or have been butchered by a surgeon so their pancreas looks like a filleted fish (whipple procedure for example) they may never truly heal to where they feel decent ever again and that really sucks but it is truthful.
So if you currently suffer from chronic pancreatitis your steps to healing are the same as those found here especially if you are currently in constant pain.
I hope you are able to heal.
Hi, thank you for blog very much! May I ask you something. In case of a chronic pancreatitis attack, as far as I understand the treatment is similar to that for acute one. So, then in case of chronic pancreatitis attack it’s nothing by mouth for 3-5 days, and the question is on which day should the person start taking ibuprofen – when he is on water diet or when the water period is over and food is introduced?
Hi Alisa – IF it were me I’d take the Ibuprofen immediatly at the first sign of an attack. With acute pancreatitis I rarely had a sign. It just slammed me. Hard, fast and continuously. So I’d immediately take my nausea meds and Ibuprofen. IF I did get a sign it was usually nausea first. But ya gotta get rid of the nausea and/or vomiting because the Ibuprofen has to stay down to work. So in the case of chronic pancreatitis do the exact same. Rectify the nausea and vomiting first and then do the Ibuprofen (800 mgs). Now that dosage is not meant for continuous use. I only use that dose for acute pancreatitis. CP flairs may possibly be handled with 200 – 400 mg doses unless the pain is as bad as AP. I’d also take 200 – 400 mgs of grape seed extract and 1000 mgs of curcumin in either scenario.
Hello my friend.I feel better because of your advices.You saved my life.Thank you!
I want to tell you about one thing that is very bad for me.Before the first attack I liked to walk about 3,5 miles every day.This week I walked again that distance I after several hours I felt pancreatic pain.I took GSE and the pain stopped.After two days I walked the same distance slowly but again I felt pain.Then I reduced the distance and walked slowly and again had pain.Unfortunately I can not walk long distance anymore.I think is due to oxidative stress in phisycal activities.GSE is antioxydant and it helps ,so the main enemy to pancreatitis is oxidative stress.I dont know if other have the same problem.I have read that walking is good for pancreatitis but not for me.
Hi Miroslav! Glad to hear you are doing better and thanks for the kind words. It may take you quite sometime to heal. I know that when I was still really sick, motion (running, driving etc) caused nausea. It didn’t cause me pain as I recall but it did cause nausea. After I had healed completely that little “pain in the tail” symptom resolved. The same may hold true for you. Be patient. Maybe things will change with time. Good to hear from you. Stay well 🙂
Hey Health Guy..Hope your well! Not sure if I had stomach pain today or pancreatic pain. Pain was on my left side. I was recently disgnosed during the holiday season around Thanksgiving with a blood clot in my messantary…. I have been on eliquist after I left the hospital, Mayo Hosp Phoenix, and while was at the Mayo Hospital they put me on Heprin. Today was the first day in quite some time that I had really bad pain on my left side….today’s pain was not only in my stomach but went around to my back. Went to the bathroom during this horriffic pain and had 2 big bowel movements right after I had my protein shake with fresh fruit. 20 grams chocolate protein (Made by Arbonne, it is made from a blend of pea, cranberry, and rice protein isolate.). I add N frozen mango, pineapple, and a triple berry blend, the vitamin mineral powder fruit antioxidant blend. I also add greens balance made by Purity Products. I add the Now Grape Seed 60 mg.. 4 pills..I open them up and put them right inside the shake..I also add 1 pill, also open up of the Now C-1000, 1 pill of Now Gymnema Sylvestre 400 mg(supports healthy pancreatic function and helps support glucose metabolism), also a capsule I open up, I add 1 capsule Himalaya liver care and 1 capsule Host Defense Oragnic Mushroom blend..2 things that were different today…first I added some sliced frozen peaches in my shake as well for the first time. And 2 I took a 50,000 unit Vitamin D pill at the same time as my shake. I have been taking that once a week for the last 4 weeks. My Gastro Doctor put me on that because my Vitamin D was very low. I go to taking it every other week starting 2 weeks from now, for the next 2 months. Then I get my Vitamin D level checked again. Pain was so bad that the bowel movements even though they were big did not really take the pain away! I had to leave work and come home! The drive was a bit difficult. I feel better now as time I has passed though I still have this slight weird pressure on my left side. The pain in my back is down to like a 1 or a 2 or so. Just scary stuff. Have any thoughts? Sorry about the long email! I do know that sometimes that pressure on my left side is trapped gas. My insides are quite different than most in that I have had 2 Gastro bypasses, a open one in 1998, and a revision done lapiscoptically in 2007. I have had my spleen removed(cultured strep) in 9/2010, I also had an internal hernia repaired in 3/2010 stemming from my internal hernia. Had another internal hernia repaired in 3/2014 also from the same thing. I had my Gaul bladder and my appendix removed in October 2014 because my Bariactric Surgeon Doctor did not like the way they looked. In 2015 was in hospital in March 2015 with pain and they found a small quarter size diverticulum in my small bowel and removed it. Then in hospital again at Thanksgiving with blood clot in meesantary. Any answers would be great. Again sorry for the long email. I have been on your sight quite a few times and get all your posts….I like what Miroslav said today about walking and oxidation. I had my pain start today after I walked about 3.5 miles and then had my shake. I had a fair amount f black coffee this morning. I usually walk in the gym but today walked outside. My weight today is a lean 165. THANK YOU NEAL
Hi Neal – sorry to hear you are having problems again. It may not be your pancreas but then again it could be especially with that dose of 50,000 unit Vitamin D. Holy cow – that is 50X’s the dose of an average high dose. I found some experiences from others who have taken this treatment, some sound very similar to your experience. Check it out
Thanks so much for you to help on this! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You’re welcome Neal. 🙂 By the way I just found this info:
“Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. An overdose of vitamin D can cause serious or life-threatening side effects.
Overdose symptoms may include headache, weakness, drowsiness, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, constipation, muscle or bone pain, metallic taste in the mouth, weight loss, itchy skin, changes in heart rate, loss of interest in sex, confusion, unusual thoughts or behavior, feeling unusually hot, severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, or fainting.”
It’s the last paragraph inside the blue box. The severe pain in upper stomach spreading to back sounds like acute pancreatitis yet it isn’t mentioned as being such.
Neil I just found more info via PubMed regarding vitamin D poisoning. A 66 year old male presented with recurrent acute pancreatitis from taking to much vitamin D and calcium. Read here. This is why, when it comes to vitamins and minerals, many of which are toxic in large doses, one must use caution. Just because a little is good doesn’t mean a lot is better. In many cases a lot can kill you.
Thank you so much for this information on vitamin D!
You are most welcome Neal 🙂
I was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis 2 years ago still have pain once in a while , i take creon now for the enzyme replacement.Am i going to have another attack,it is always on the back of my mind
Richard – sorry to hear you are one of us. You asked: “Am i going to have another attack” and I don’t know. Since you have been diagnosed with CP it is definitely a possibility not to be taken lightly. IF it were me, and, it is – I am almost anal about what I eat. I’ve had WAY to many AP attacks and I do NOT want another. And yes, it is often on my mind as well as is the possibility that the next attack could be severe enough to either make me wish I was dead or to actually be dead. I’m NOT trying to scare you but there is always THAT possibility for those who have CP. You can reduce your risk by watching your diet, carefully.
Hi,I was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis April 29,2016 after having a CTscan.I think I’ve had it for four years,the weird pain when I’d lean over like an alien rolling and feeling like a coke can under my right rib cage.Throwing up for hours and loose bowels,5 hours or so it would continue. My mother passed at age 41 with pancreatic cancer,the difference is I’ve never smoked and not a drinker (used to occasionally ).my fear is dying like my mother,I’ve lost almost 21 pounds since April.Can you suggest a diet to help me control my CP? I am taking Creon 3000mgs. Thank you.
Hey Barbie I’m sorry to hear you have CP and feel rotten. There is diet info all over this blog. Check the category tab on the right and look into pancreatitis diet. Also I use certain supplements that help as well. Proper diet plus supplements should give you relief. You should be able to find the supplements in your local health store 🙂
Hello HG , reading about some people loosing weight ; I too, loosed 16 pounds already , I am a small person weighting 130 pounds ,now I am in 118 , I am trying to eat healthy, taking the enzymes , juices, salads , fruits , vegetables , maybe because the low fat diet …everyone noticed, my daughter came to visit me ,and just told me (mom you are very skinny ! I walk everyday , all my life ..the gastroenterologist at the hospital explained to me that the illness itself make the patients like me ,to loose weight. It really doesn’t bother me.I notice my weight loss ,but people reminding me make me notice really. HG take care .
Hi Maria – unfortunately the gastro at the hospital is correct. CP causes weight loss due to various reasons. A proper low fat diet that may actually help your pancreas heal is going to be not only low in fat but also low in calories. Weight loss is almost unavoidable, especially while trying to heal. The only thing I can suggest is try to consume more protein daily to help you keep the muscle.
Thanks HG : besides all the info. about what I eat , also I eat egg whites, chicken, fish ,avoiding all that can make me have discomfort , my Dr. let me know if I get less than 100 pounds I should be worry ,but I am well… thank you for your responses, I trust you, I feel I am not alone with this illness, I am stress out ,this is all different to me and I am taking all you suggest .It is a adage in Spanish “en el comer esta el vivir “means ( eating is living) the opposite of us the Pancreatitis sufferers, “food is the enemy” .I am getting there because your help ,and your site so full of info. indeed…. thanks HG …Blessings ,Maria
You’re welcome Maria – and sad to say it is true that for us who have CP food is not our friend. 🙁
I have CP. I’m finally getting serious about healing because I have to. I’ve had a reacurrance so I started the Elemental Diet which is 3g per fat per shake. I”m on my third day . The first two days I was fine now I’m experiencing pain…it’s throbbing. I’m thinking I should have water fasted for a few days. I just started taking supplements but the pain is not going away. My chiropractor says the gallbladder and pancreas are connected and I can’t heal either unless I drink olive oil mixed with lemon every night. (I do have gallbladder disease) I don’t know what to . I guess I will have to water fast. I don’t want to do that because I’m already severlerly malnourished. Thanks for any suggestions.
Carol – I know there are a lot of people who promote “flushing” but I wouldn’t do it and I’ll tell you why. Gallstones cause pancreatitis when they get stuck in the common bile or pancreatic duct. If that amount of oil were good for a body it wouldn’t make people puke. And epsom salts is poison especially in the amounts those flushes suggest one consumes. I think it’s just stupid and very chancy but that’s only my thoughts.
I had an attack of AP (first ever) about 5 weeks ago and was in hospital a few days and have been pain free for 2 weeks. An MRI scan showed parts of my pancreas to be “missing”.
I have been on a very low fat vegan diet ever since and no alcohol.
In the last 24 hours I have developed a slight tightness in my chest and my solar plexus is slightly tender when I press it. Do you think this could be related to my pancreas? I have no other symptoms or discomfort. Thanks!
Hi Bob I am gonna be real honest here about your solar plexus question. YES. The solar plexus aka Celiac Plexus is a large bundle of nerves that are sometimes blocked to help with the pain management of chronic pancreatitis. Most people say it isn’t of much benefit (the block) because it simply doesn’t work. The tenderness means there is still inflammation that needs to be addressed before it gets worse. I have a support group you may be interested in joining. Beating Pancreatitis Support