Tanya's Story

Tanya's Story

I have been suffering all my life with pancreatitis, but just recently got diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. When I was little, I remember having really bad stomach pains, and I would ask my mother and sisters to rub my belly, the pain was always in my upper belly and I would throw up a lot. My mother brought me to the doctors all the time, I wasn't growing right either and was very short for my age, the doctors always thought that I wasn't eating correctly and would give my mother medications for my stomach, but they never helped, and they never looked into it further.

For a few years the pains wouldn’t come that often, probably once every few years, when I was a teenager I just kind of ignored the pains and vomiting and blew them off as just being something I ate, I went down to 79 pounds and doctors thought I had anorexia/bulimia because I said I threw up after eating. When I was about 20, I went to the doctors because I was getting the pains a lot, he told me I had acid reflux and gave me a prescription for it, but I stopped taking it after a few weeks thinking I was all better.

I was okay for a few years, and during this time I had problems with alcohol, I would get the pains on and off, but nothing too bad. Then when I was 22, in 1996, one night I awoke in serious pain. I woke my mother up and asked her what ulcer pain felt like because that's what I thought it was. She jumped up and told me she was bringing me to the ER. By the time we got there I couldn't breathe because the pain was so bad, they brought me into a room and pressed on my belly, it was hard as a rock and I told them to stop because it hurt so much. They took blood, hooked me up to IV's and gave me a shot of Demerol.

I had ultrasound after ultrasound. They asked me if I was drinking a lot, and at the time I wasn't. I hadn't drunk for months. They told me I had pancreatitis and I may have a gallstone lodged in my bile duct because they saw "something" wrong with my bile duct. I then went for a cat scan and more ultrasounds, which showed no gallstones, but something was seen. I was admitted for 5 days in the pediatric unit because all beds where full. A surgeon came in to see me and explained that my bile duct looked to be dilated, but I had no idea what he was talking about. He said if I continued to have pains I would have to see a specialist.

I was released on a Friday and went back to work that Monday. I was still weak and tired, but I needed the money for my car. For a while after this I only had pains occasionally, and when I did I never thought it was my pancreas again. I just thought maybe it was the vitamins I took, or something else. The pains started coming more frequently when I was about 26. I would be at work and have to rush to the bathroom to have diarrhea or vomit. Once I almost passed out running a machine from the pains and my boss sent me home. It seemed like everything I ate went right through me and caused me pain from then on.

In March of 2001, I went on a trip to Mexico with my fiancee and his sister and her husband. We had a great time, did a lot of snorkeling and of course a lot of eating and drinking. I got sick one day at the beach and had to go back to the hotel room to vomit, but I thought it might've been the water there or the food. My stomach bloated out pretty bad too. When we got home from the trip that Thursday, I was feeling better, just tired, and I went back to work that Monday. All day Monday I felt the pains growing worse and worse. By the time it was time to go home I couldn't even talk or laugh without holding my stomach. I went home and told my mother I had to go to the doctors. I went into the shower and had trouble even washing my hair or standing up. My mother decided on the ER when she saw me come out of the shower. I didn't even dry my hair I was in so much pain.

When I got there, they shot me up with Demerol, took some ultrasounds and blood work, then I was admitted. I was told that it was pancreatitis again. I remember thinking what is it with this pancreatitis crap! I had my gallbladder removed 2 days after being in the hospital, just for precaution even though no gallstones where seen. The same surgeon came in that I had last time and told me I had a choledochal cyst and would need to go to Boston to a specialist because this was very rare. I was released 2 days after my surgery and was set up for an ERCP in May.

I went for the ERCP may 7th and was very scared. They told me that they had to test for cancer and they where going to do a sphincterotomy to de-roof the cyst. I thought okay whatever that means! I didn't remember anything about the ERCP thank God, and they came in after and said I had a type 3 choledochal cyst or a choledochocele and only very few people are born with this. I also had a narrowing in my pancreatic duct and since there where no tumors, that the scarring was due to chronic pancreatitis. He gave me a prescription for enzymes to take after every meal and Ultram for pain. I was kept overnight there and had a small attack that required Demerol, but the next day I was feeling better so they let me go home.

I thought after this I would be okay. I didn't know anything about chronic pancreatitis or what it meant, but I kept getting the pains after that and now they where constant. I went back to my specialist and they took blood work. My amylase was still elevated, it was elevated at my primary care doctors twice before this, and my LFT's where elevated too. They did a tumor marker test, which came back negative. He called and wanted another ERCP, but I scheduled it for December because I had just found out I had graves disease and little did I know ERCP's could be dangerous with hyperthyroidism.

So, I went back on December 13 of 2001 and had another ERCP, had to take beta-blockers for my heart because of the graves. This one I remembered a little more and I found it very unpleasant, they gave me broth to drink before I could go home and I thought I would die with pain after drinking it! But the pains finally subsided and I was allowed home.

Ever since I have had nothing but pain, constant diarrhea, fevers, exhaustion and weakness. I never did return to work and am now on SSDI. I have also been diagnosed with other health problems and have had 2 surgeries for other things since April. I am having another on my thyroid and possibly another for big kidney stones. They just keep finding more and more stuff wrong with me. I have good days and bad days, but unfortunately the bad days rule.

Hope you liked my long story and hopefully I didn't bore anyone!

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