Acute Pancreatitis due to alcohol abuse;

i suffered from cronic pancreatitis and i was in intensive care for 4 weeks my organs were shuting down. i was put in a self injuced coma, i had to stop drinking for 1 year at least for my liver to recover. which was caused by to much bozz for a space of 10 years. the doctor and specialist said i could never drink again. i was in a lot of pain for 2 years afterwards and i said to myself why not have a drink because i was still getting the pain, i have been drinking again since then i still have pain but no worse than it was when i wasnt drinking for 2 years and its now 10 years since then. dont go over the top and only drink in a period at max of 3 hours not 2 to much___

Darren m127 wrote:

Guest wrote:

Here's the issue: Pancreatitis affects everyone differently. I personally had an attack (a REALLY bad one) about 10 years ago when I was 18. I was hospitalized for a week and I felt like I was going to die. The doctors told me no more drinking, but this simply wasn't acceptable to me. It was my first week in college and it was unbearable to hear those words.

I took about 3-4 months off, then began drinking beer pretty moderately (4-6 beers once or twice per week). I slowly escalated my drinking habits to the point where I'd still only drink once or twice a week, but resumed drinking several cocktails after the standard 4-6 beer base. I ate reasonably well, exercised like a madman, and felt great until around last year. I went to Buenos Aires for a week (drank every night), and I had a minor flare up (lipase around 300 or so). I continued drinking through the summer and fall and then went to Rio de Janeiro for New Years (drank every day).

You must realize that by this point, I thought the pancreatitis was behind me. As an 18 year old, my diet was god awful and I was not taking good care of myself, thus I attributed the attack to the poor nutritional support my body was receiving.

Well, in February 2009 I had another attack. Strangely, I hadn't had anything to drink for over a week, but woke up in the middle of the night with those familiar pains -- "No! It couldn't be!". Went to the hospital the next day - my lipase level was around 5-600. They sent me home with pain killers and told me to take it easy - no big meals, no drinking, you know the deal. I was in continuous dull pain for a week, and then all of a sudden my pain escalated SEVERELY. I went back to the hospital and this time they kept me for 2 days, although the pain abated pretty quickly.

I had an edoscopy done shortly after the attack. I have several cysts which have formed and a tiny calcification of the pancreatic tissue. The cysts will go away, but the calcification may not. The gastroendocrinologist didn't seem to be concerned with the results, and told me to abstain from drinking any alcohol until my pancreas heals. I have it in writing.

I have another endoscopy scheduled for August to assess how the healing has gone.

Here's the bottom line: If you suffer from pancreatitis, you ARE allergic to alcohol. Alcohol is a toxin and your body is reacting differently to it than other people. Some people are more sensitive to it than others - this is why it took 10 YEARS for me to develop a second attack after the first.

Note: I'm not ascribing any definitive value to this remedy, but after my first attack I took the following vitamin cocktail DAILY as I read studies that suggested it may prevent further attacks. I stopped taking it roughly 1 year after my first attack, but I recently started again. I suggest you people do the same:

600 mg ORGANIC selenium
9,000 IU beta carotene (from natural source!)
540 mg Vitamin C
270 IU Vitamin E
2g Methionine

Make sure these are from natural sources. "Solgar" is the best brand.

Also you may want to consider Turmeric or Pancreatin with meals.

Good luck, Boozehounds.

i suffered from cronic pancreatitis and i was in intensive care for 4 weeks my organs were shuting down. i was put in a self injuced coma, i had to stop drinking for 1 year at least for my liver to recover. which was caused by to much bozz for a space of 10 years. the doctor and specialist said i could never drink again. i was in a lot of pain for 2 years afterwards and i said to myself why not have a drink because i was still getting the pain, i have been drinking again since then i still have pain but no worse than it was when i wasnt drinking for 2 years and its now 10 years since then. dont go over the top and only drink in a period at max of 3 hours not 2 to much___

i suffered from cronic pancreatitis and i was in intensive care for 4 weeks my organs were shuting down. i was put in a self injuced coma, i had to stop drinking for 1 year at least for my liver to recover. which was caused by to much bozz for a space of 10 years. the doctor and specialist said i could never drink again. i was in a lot of pain for 2 years afterwards and i said to myself why not have a drink because i was still getting the pain, i have been drinking again since then i still have pain but no worse than it was when i wasnt drinking for 2 years and its now 10 years since then. dont go over the top and only drink in a period at max of 3 hours not 2 to much___

In each of every post i can relate to you all.  I am 29, been a very large consumer of alcohol for roughly ten years.  about three months ago woke up one morning with pains in back at first so i just thought i slept wrong.  the next day i woke up and the pain moved to my stomach, started getting concerned but like a dummy still drank each day to help soothe the pain.  then the 3rd day came and the pain move to my whole back and into my chest, at this point i had to go to the hospital.  of course i had pancreatitis and had a 3 day stay.  i was told to eat a low fat diet and not to drink.  well i did for first month, the one day had a beer with a coworker after work.  woke next day fine.  a couple days later had 6 beers woke up fine.  did this awile until i put together a 4 day binder once again like a dummy.  woke up next morning not really feeling pain, probably cause i was still drunk.  went to work, finished my day, ate a huge cheeseburger and went home.  as i was in bed that night i started feeling the symptoms, sweating, fast heart-rate, but pain was not to severe.  its two days later and i have yet to go go hospital.  sweats are gone, no pain for the most part, not much of an appetite, but almost feel normal.  Am i just having a mild attack and have to wait a couple days?  I have been working through all this like normal but i cant afford to go to the ER and miss work if its just a mild attack.  sound familiar to anyone?

What part of "you could die" are you missing?

Go to the hospital. If you're dead, you won't be worrying about missing work, because YOU'LL BE DEAD.

I'm amazed at the number of people who developed pancreatitis  due to excessive alcohol use and then become focused on when they can drink again. Of course, everybody knows somebody's uncle who drank a quart of whiskey a day and lived to the age of 98 without any problems. Those are the exceptions. Most of the people on here who developed pancreatitis did so because they drank too much. My brother-in-law is in the intensive care ward with half his pancreas gone. Who knows how his liver is? His prognosis is day-to-day.

I am a recovering alcoholic. I have yet to see one case where someone who drank chronically and excessively is able to return to normal drinking. People fool themselves for a while because they think they have it under control until one day they realize the problem is back, usually worse. Normal drinkers don't obsess about whether they can drink liquor.

Anyone who chases the illusion they will control their drinking after pancreatitis is delusional. They're like people with lung cancer who keep smoking. And anyone who develops health problems from alcohol use is likely to have a number of non-health problems brought on by drinking. I work in a psychiatric hospital and we treat alcoholism and drug dependency. So far, I've seen four obituaries this year from people who thought they had it under control.

My pancreas kept going up and was over 4000 for lipase and it just kept going up I was in the hospital for a long time and they sent me away to die I am telling you tha your going to be okay. Unlucky for us our body is very sensitive and for that matter your going to need to quit drinking and any naracotics on the side you need to quit! It will get better if you quit drinking I grew up mormon but just so you know I was able to get blessed and I felt better the nwxt day! You should know the Lipase number how important it is. Mine was that High and I was blessed the same day and recieved numbers half of that! You need to be blessed by the Mormon church! dis it or love it It is the truth Im telling you this because its true!

Wow ,I didnt know so may people suffered from this condition. I had my first attack at 20. I thought I was having a heart attack after binge drinking for several days. The dodctor told me I had an ulcer and to get a milk shake and go home and rest. I will be 40 this year and since I have had several attacks but never once did they say I have pancreatitis. I even suggestd it to them after doing my own research. I quite drinking for a while off and on over the years and it definetely would get better but there was always pain in my upper left abdomen. I have been to treatment for alcohol abuse and while I would sit it the classes wth othe people I would have severe panick attacks even after I had been sober for 10-15 days and it aso seemed like it was my pancreas that caused this.

Just read your message on pancreatitis. Mine was due to alchol too. Havnt drunk in nearly 2 months, but I will hopefully like to drink again after 6. Another friend of mine has this condition and he let is body recover, still drinks but not everyday but can get occasional pains. He has not had another attack in nearly 20 years. I think you can never go back to hard drinking and probably not every day drinking but he leads a normal life etc. Just wondered how you were?

cn u drink nw also ..WITH THE ABOVE MEDICINES

please join living with pancreatitis group on facebook discussion

Dear,

I hope you are better now ?

im having similar issues, please advice if your' still having these small bouts of pain?

Thanks

No way! exact same thing happened to me on June 7 2012! LOL! finally felt healthy yesterday, ginger chamomile tea and all fruits and veggies and fish, no salt or sugar and only olive oil. I felt like my organs were failing, I had other issues like repeated kidney infections so I have not touched a drop of acohol since and I feel 20 years younger, e-mail me if you feel ill I can help you with nutrition if you need it :) *alcohol free* after 10 years of hard drinking every night causing organ damage and infections.

I was in the hospital with pancreatis in march or 2012. It happened just before i turned 30 on march 16th. So no drinks for me on my 30th. Ask your family doctor or a specialist who can give you educated advice. Its not only the alcohol that causes it. Bad unhealthy greacy diet contributes to it. Just moderate the drinking make sure there is some good healthy food in your system when drinking and think positive only. I have not drank since then. Its now the end of july. Its tough. Dont know when or if i ever will again. I can say there was a guys beside me who had it very bad. He had a sack hooked up to his side draining fluids from his gull bladder. Not a pretty site at all. Plus that pain…dont ever want it again. I know it will never happen again because thats what i keep in my mind. Dont let not drinking get you down. At least wait for more than a week unlike that red wine woman. Stay positive people!!

I went the same route after my first (mild attack) at age 30.  Slowly began drinking again and attributed the pancreatitis to other things.  5 years later I got another attack and ended up in the hospital for 8 days, sick ashell, fluid in my abdomeout and dropped twenty pounds over that 8 days.  I've had every test imaginable, seen multiple specialists.  It is not an exact science. Nobody can figure out to say for sure what is a safe amount to drink.  It was very hard to stop drinking but NOTHING is worth going through what I went through after that second attack.  I was never a huge drinker, but it was clear that my body was just more sensitive to alcohol.   Almost five years on from the last attack, I still sleep in fear of another attack and the slightest of pain at night sends me into sheer terror that an attack is occurring.  I have this fear even though I don't drink anymore.  

My only advice is don't deludeyourself and think that you can keep drinking or that diet will protect you.  It just isn't worth it.   Sure it's hard to abstain when people at parties are drinking and you're not.  But guess what? I dropped a ton of weight not drinking and look and feel healthier than ever.  To me alcohol is simpy a toxin, especially is larger doses.  There's a reason it makes you feel like c**p after drinking all night, why it make you look bloated, and harmsoy our body. It is because it's really not good for you.  I've found ways to get over it too. I drink a good NA beer if I miss the taste of beer, or find other things to enjoy.  If you can't have fun without booze in your life, you've got a problem.  Anyway, pancreatitis is a deadly dangerous disease and it is absolutely proven that alcohol is bad for the pancreas so it is pretty much common sense that if you get pancreatitis and it is not due to some other cause like gallstones, etc, that you should lay off alcohol.  It is far from the end of the world to do so.  Pancreatitis on the other hand can be the end of your life.

I drank a strait bottle of Jim beam a day for 3 years everyday,it become everyday life then with no signs 1 nite I feel indescribably weird off food light headed light tummy pains I didn't think Nething of it n.fort I was jus the weed n drink woke up next morning dizzy disorientated and lips n feet purple after restn in to the arvo I won't up worse couldn't even stand ambulance came.I wads hospitalised for 3 months as my pancrious culdnt take it toxins flooded my liver kidneys bloodsream filled my lungs n.brain wit poison n my body began 2 shut down I was put on life support weeks n weeks I derided in hospital remembering every nightmare while fighting 4 my life 2 this day I rememba it neway they were guna turn machine off next day I woke that night drs said I'd b brain damaged if I survived n diabetic,20months later after learning 2 walk talk read write even no who people were again I am healthier then Eva my organs miraculously hav recoverd my pancriour running on minimum enuf to live tho I'm on tablets eveyday 4 Eva.drs say now look at it as ur allergic to alcahol I'm 31 now n can neva drink again not even wen my son turns 18 howeva least ill b here 2 c him turn 18 cupla years ago I nearly wasn't that lucky..no alcahol n I can live normal..Nota bad trade 4 a new life,