pancreatitis enzymes

During normal digestion, the inactivated pancreatic enzymes move through ducts in your pancreas and travel to the small intestine, where the enzymes become activated and help with digestion. In pancreatitis, the enzymes become activated while still in the pancreas. This causes the enzymes to irritate the cells of your pancreas, causing inflammation and the signs and symptoms associated with pancreatitis.

said when the pancreas stop producing this enzymes she still going to experience pancreatitis, Is this possible? Then Dr. said..She should be taking pancreatic enzymes en each meal to minimize the possibilities of develops pancreatitis. I thought in the past having elevated levels of these enzymes (Amylase & Lipase) is an accurate and the only diagnostic for pancreatitis. Now I am so confuse..... No one in the past told me with the use of pancreatic enzymes she could prevent a pancreatitis.

My mother has been suffering from Pancreatitis for the past 4months. She has been in hospital three times with severe pain, vomitting, and fluid in the abdominal. In that time she has lots over 25kg. She is 60 years old but since loosing so much weight she looks like 80 years old. She no longer drinks but continues to smoke. What worries me the most is that she eats very tiny amount of food, she vomitts everyday and she is just not getting any better.

When you've got elevated levels of pancreatic enzymes in your blood, it means that for whatever reason they're not being released into the duodenum as they should. Therefore, you're probably not digesting your food properly and putting undigested materials through your system could easily give you diarrhea and discomfort.

My question is does this mean I have chronic pancreatitis or can you not tell on a MRCP? Does the duct dilatation set off an inflamation of the liver and pancreas and cause the pancreatitis pain? Also can the duct dilatation heal on its own in time? I have no desire to undergo an ERCP as I've heard such nightmare stories from people who have undergone but yet I'm so tired of not feeling good and having pain and just would like to feel good again. Thanks for your help.

I was just diagnosed with elevated liver enzymes so my doctor has me going for hepatitis A, B, C blood work. Can drinking beer bring on hepatitis.

I have pancreatitis. Have had 8 weeks of extreme pain. Pain has now subsided. CT and Ultrasound keep showing mild pancreatitis. A cause cannot be found as i have no gallstones and i dont drink alcohol. I have seen a specialist, who sent me home with pain meds. I now have diarhea, for the past month. Sometimes it is oily. Stool sample shows nothing. Blood work shows slight rise in A + L levels. Nothing to be worried about. I have lost 14kgs in 2.5 months. Most of which was lost in the last month.

Ajeet, you should take the MRCP test. Talk to your doctor about the exact diagnosis and what you should be doing with diet and the enzymes. And if you haven't had the MRCP test yet, it sounds like they haven't finished testing for what the cause is and they may not have a diagnosis at this time. Without that, it's hard to make any suggestions. For now, ask your doctor to tell you the foods you should and shouldn't eat, and take the enzymes.

Anyone else out there suffering from Chronic (and acute) pancreatitis and/or sphincter of Oddi dysfunction? Would love to chat about how to manage these disorders.

If all your labs (liver and pancreatic enzymes) are nornal, it would be very unusual for this to be pancreatitis. Typically the only time pancreatitis shows up and the enzymes levels show 'normal' levels is when someone progresses from acute to chronic pancreatitis. So if this hasn't been a condition that's happened several times in a couple of years, the chances of it being pancreatitis is low. All of the PPIs do not act the same nor do they have the same side-effects.

I have had what my gastroenterologist calls mild pancreatitis several times in the last few years. What can I do to prevent the pancreatitis from re-occurring? Is there a specific diet? My doctor just says, "bed rest, lots of fluids, a light diet." I'm not sure what "a light diet" means. Since I already eat light (6 VERY small meals a day - due to my many intestinal surgeries), I don't know what more I can do.

I had a acute pancreatitis attack verified by a ct scan but my amylase and lipase levels never elevated above normal. My white blood cell count did go up significantly. I have a history of heavy drinking but have been alcohol free for almost 2 years. Gallbladder is questionalble with sludge but no inflamation. Doctors are mystified about the low enzyme levels and what to do next.

Gastric Bypass surgery in 2014 and Gallbladder removal in 1990 In January, I went to the ER for abdominal pain, nausea and slight fever. Liver enzymes were highly elevated. Normal lipase/amylase and ultrasound and X-rays came back normal. Only thing noted was a 10mm calcification on right hepatic. Went to GI who ordered MRCP and that came back with 'possible' common bile duct obstruction. During the time I waited for ERCP double balloon, my liver enzymes went back up.

I was diagnosed yesterday in the ER. They found through an abdominal ultra sound the tail is enlarged. I have a family history of pancreatic cancer. They request I do further testing. Is pancreatitis something you can get rid of or is it something that kind of hangs around and "flares up"?

I hope to have got digestive correct, as I assume pancreatitis has to do with that. Vet called today, said Ozzie's level are over 1'000 on lipase count and that makes it sure it is pancreatitis, che chronic version. Having had a look at internet, none of the symptoms agree with what he does. He does not, vomit, reject food, loose stool....

These enzymes help digest fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in food. Normally, digestive enzymes do not become active until they reach the small intestine, where they begin digesting food. But if these enzymes become active inside the pancreas, they start "digesting" the pancreas itself. Your doctor may need to do an ultrasound to see if you have gallstones. http://digestive.niddk.nih.

I had EUS to diagnose the chronic pancreatitis after they saw a hint of it with ERCP. They say I have "mild" chronic pancreatitis, but the pain is sometimes unbearable. I'm wondering why your mom had to have a whipple procedure. I've heard of it but do not know what it is. Also, does your mom have any type of gastroparesis with this? Does she take enzymes, etc. I just returned from Mayo but they didn't give me much info. other than I suffer from IBS as well.

If you've had several attacks of acute pancreatitis and it's become chronic, it's not unusual that your enzyme levels aren't elevated. In many cases the 'diagnostic criteria' defining the chonic form of pancreatitis is the lack of elevated enzymes. If you're using a single doc, you should have documentation of having had past episodes of pancreatitis with a final diagnosis of the 'chronic' form.

My mother has been dealing with chrinic pancreatitis for about 9 months now. She has tried 5 different enzyme concotions given by her MD and they have all made her violently ill. I am wondering if anyone else has had or knowas someone who has had this problem. when asked, the MD says she will not die from this but she is losing weight rather quickly. Since she started being treated for CP she has lost about 15pounds. She is so tiny and has not appetite.

i am a 2 yr 4 mth breast cancer survivor, i had chemo, radiation, hormone, and herceptin treatments as well as total hysterectomy and a double mastectomy with stage 2 breast cancer and 3 of 11 positive lymph nodes with one lymph node the cancer had ruptured thru, i had my routine cat scans last week of head chest abdomen and pelvis all clear but recieved call 2 days later that my liver enzymes are elevated.

Pancreatitis will be unlikely given the normal CT scan as well as normal amylase and lipase levels. I would consider looking at various causes of upper GI disease, including an ulcer, inflammation of the stomach and esophagus, or GERD. An upper endoscopy would be the next recommended test, and can be discussed with your personal physician. This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only.

Hi, understand your concern. With pancreatitis usually the lipase and amylase values are increased many folds. And if chronic the imaging studies will usually show pancreatic fibrosis. In the absence of these findings its unlikely that you have chronic pancreatitis. The other causes for the pain could be infections of the bowel and bladder, prolapsed intervertebral disc or inflammatory diseases of the colon. So, if your symptoms persist discuss these options with your doctor. Regards.

Welcome to the gastroenterology community! I don't believe that the enzymes can "cure" your chronic pancreatitis. Have you talked to your gastroenterologist about this?

Hi, Scars and calcification in the pancreas are features of chronic pancreatitis. In this condition, the secretion of enzymes and hormones from the pancreas gets affected and this effect depends on how much of the pancreas is affected. There will poor absorption of the nutrients resulting in weightloss and nutritional problems. It may cause diabetes mellitus. It is also a risk factor for pancreatic cancer though the risk is not 100%.

How long can someone live (approx) with Chronic Pancreatitis when they are a heavy drinker? I have a family member that was Diagnosed with this and continues to drink heavy! He has had many attacks! This last time they wanted to place him in ICU but he checked him self out against Medical advise! If he continues to drink like this what will happen to him? Worried!!!

Chronic pancreatitis often has normal enzyme levels and many drs will not admit this. I would look into getting an EUS procedure to look for CP. This is best done by a center that specialized in liver and pancreas problems. I am not sure where you are located but there is the Univ of MN, Univ of SC and Univ of Indiana. My first choice would be Dr Cotton in SC.

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