Acute Pancreatitis

Well the last couple of days have not been much fun. On Thursday night after dinner with my eldest daughter, her boyfriend and Steve, I was sitting on our back patio talking to my daughter when I started to get this pain, within about 10 minutes I was in extreme agony I could not get comfortable and the pain wasn't showing any sign of easing. So after trying every possible position to get comfortable and the pain getting worse my family decided to call an ambulance. The ambulance guys were wonderful and gave me this green tube to suck on so by the time we got to the hospital the pain had eased.

Emergency was really busy so I was there for some time before I saw a doctor but the bottom line is after three blood tests and a CT scan it was shown that I had acute pancreatitis which they said can be quite serious. The blood test shows a thing called the lipase, for a normal lipase it should be under 70 my reading was 1750 so they were quite worried. When I was discharged today my reading was 84 so they said I was improving and was right to come home.

I am extremely grateful to my family as I was in so much pain I could not think straight let alone get myself to the hospital.

When I got home today I did a google search on acute pancreatitis and below is what I found.

Acute pancreatitis usually begins with pain in the upper abdomen that may last for a few days. The pain may be severe and may become constant—just in the abdomen—or it may reach to the back and other areas. It may be sudden and intense or begin as a mild pain that gets worse when food is eaten. Someone with acute pancreatitis often looks and feels very sick. Other symptoms may include

• swollen and tender abdomen
• nausea
• vomiting
• fever
• rapid pulse

Severe cases may cause dehydration and low blood pressure. The heart, lungs, or kidneys may fail. If bleeding occurs in the pancreas, shock and sometimes even death follow.

I don't particularly like the last two sentences.