is there anyone living without a pancreas?

hi thanks for resposnd to me.I experience pain in my stomach,back and I get sick to my stomach. I don,t go to the bath room for days. my trips to the hospital is very much like yours. My doctor now tryin to make me think its all in my head. I don,t know what to do any more.

For affordable Creon try Canada Pharmacy online. I save $400 a month taking brand name Creon. Also you can supplement with high grade digestive enzymes from the health food store.

Lost my pancreas due to same cicrumstance. You are not alone................stay strong because you are a survivor.

i just had a pancreas attack and it destroyed my pancreas i have pains when i go to the restroom and constant diarea
how much enzymes do you take with meals how much time ahead before u eat

how many enzymes do u take what unit amount

Hi, My mom just had a bout of acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Her pancreas is mostly gone. Can anyone recommend a book, diet plan, reference material to tell us where we go from here??? Does anyone manage this with a low carb diet? I think they will discharge her and we will be lost.

i have to admit I can't seem to take enough. I take Creon 24,000, one or 2 with a snack, 3-4 with a meal. I take it with first bit. But I still have loose stools about 1/3 of the time. You will need sublingual vitamins without a pancreas. Are you on insulin?

I know this is an old post. Indeed those without a pancreas are not common, my dad being one of them. However, if you look around on the internet there are several, some surviving for over a decade without one. As we 'walk this road' with my dad, he, being in relative good shape for a 77 year old man, he has struggled with poor appetite, stomach/intestinal discomfort and lack of energy. He has learned how to manage his insulin and we (doctors and us, his kids one being a nurse) don't mind him on the high side (200's) rather than low (less than 70). My dad had his pancreas removed a 15 months ago, along with the Whipple procedure due to pancreatic cancer. He recovered amazingly well from the surgery and a year after had radiation as it appeared some cancer may have returned, along with gastrointestinal discomfort. He began suffering from severe malnutrition due to lack of eating, his appetite (what little remained) destroyed by radiation. At first we wanted to try PEG (Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastronomy) but they were not able to accomplish this due to placement of my dad's stomach (up to high). We now have started TPN (Total Parentral Nutrition) as he has beaten the cancer with the only issue being malnutrition. New to TPN it seems a bit overwhelming, but we believe that he and mom working together will be able to manage it. I am sure there are many others in 'the same boat' as my dad these days. We are not people who are looking to keep him alive at any cost. We see this as a possible answer to get him back to a decent quality of life for however that may be. It has been a hard road for dad, and he is a fighter, but this battle has been significant and he is growing weary (understandable for even me). We will see where this may take him. Hope this entry may help some out there. God bless!

I'm at a loss. My Mom(75 y/o) went to the ER 9 weeks ago with what was found to be acute necrotizing pancreatitis.

They eventually removed most of her pancreas and her gallbladder. They connected the psuedocyst to her stomach. She still has a g & j tube but is not using them as she is able to eat. She did develop a clot in her leg and got c-diff, but seems to be beating those too.

They are not giving her any digestive enzymes, and are only checking her blood sugar and giving insulin before meals and at bedtime.

From everything I have read, her situation is frightening.... but she seems to be doing very well. I'm hoping she can comprehend the diabetes management. She doesn't seem to realize how serious this condition is.

I'm glad I found this thread, because I wasn't sure that she had a chance. I still wonder if she is just heading down an endless road of complications. I really don't think the doctors expected her to make it. After 9 weeks, she still has not recieved any diabetes education. I got her an appointment for this Friday. I hope they can fast track her before she goes home.

From everything I have read, blood sugars over 140 cause organ damage but that doesn't seem to be of concern to the medical professionals.

Maybe because she is 75, I shouldn't be so concerned about it. I don't know how long that will take. I assume the first thing would be gastoparesis... I should mention that she is otherwise healthy and had planned on living another 25 years.

I took her books, Jenny Ruhl's "Blood Sugar 101", and "Think Like a Pancreas". I also have Bernstein's "Diabetes Solution" for her to read.

Am I just worrying too much?

my husband now 56 had an IPMN tumour on his pancreas, spleen and gallbladder removed 3 years ago in 2010. Is insulin dependant and takes creon with every meal. He has done so so well. He has lost lots of weight . The main problem that he has is wind that gets trapped and the docs and specialists dont know what the problem is. He has had all the tests and nothing is found yet during these attacks , which happen about 3/4 times a week, and 99 % of the time it is just after starting to eat. He was taking antacids but then we discovered that you should not take antacids when using creon. The attacks are sometimes so bad that he collapses on the ground and is rolling around for 25 minutes. They can last from 5 minutes to 25 minutes. The doctors dont want tooperate again unless it is life threatening. He has tried so many different things , standing when eating, drinking water with supper, changing from wine to whisky. Any advise or direction will be appreciated. Good luck to your husband. Because there are so few survivors the doctors dont seem to know how to treat the patient.

I am so glad I ran across this forum.  My boyfriend gets pancreatitis.  It is becoming more and more frequent. 4x this year already.  We believe his is a result of high triglycerlides (inherited).  His levels are unheard of.  We dont know what to do.  He is a big 6' tall man weighing 250 lbs and there is nothing worse than seeing him cry in pain. Mind you this man does not believe in crying.  He  is maxed out on metformin (diabetis) and triglyceride meds and it continues to get worse.  Doctors are telling us there is nothing they can do except try to aid in pain management and iv fluids during attacks.  I am so affraid I am going to lose him.  He is only 36! We have 7 kids between us.  This cannot happen!  Its too early.  I am currently researching holistic remedies to aid as well.  If anyone knows anything, any doctors, suggestions, ANYTHING..... please please share.  I am desperate! We are in Virginia, US 

i had my pancreas removed when i was 19 i am now 65. i have lived with allot of pain and have to take supliments every day

my daughter also has had problems with cysyts on her pancreas and she has suffered with allot of pain but they are doing a surgery to remove the cycsts, she is worried that like me she will have allot of pain for the rest of her life , and yes i have and i do still have allot of pain mainly stomach pain and problems with my bowel which causes pain. but i am blessed to have a good GP who has helped me with the pain i have been on very strong painkillers but i can live with the pain it is not always so bad.  i have had to be very careful with what i put in to my body i do not drinl alcohol i watch my weight and whati eat and i make sure i take the right vitamins and the supliments and tablets i have been on since my first surgery but i always make sure to take my insulin and look after myslef.

hey I have just found this post, I had the same thing as you in 2009 I am not a drinker I can laugh now but at the time this question was the one that got me mad every time.... I spent 3 months in total in hospital several surgeries and told I was not going to make it because of the poisons in my body. a week in HDU is not fun the parts I remember....I also had a clot in my main artery leading to my liver. .all complications, my spleen and liver enlarged, and I had 7 litres of fluid removed from my stomach, now I have no gallbladder as they removed it, even though I didn't have stones...the head of my pancreas is dead, I take stomach tablets daily not Creon but I am thinking about going back on them as having a lot of acid again.....I also survived against all odds and it took me a while to come to terms with that.

I have no pan crease

MARGARET JOHNSON AT A GREENSBORO, NC TV NEWS STATION HAS BEEN LIVING WITHOUT A PANCREAS FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS. LAST TIME I SAW HER SHE LOOKED GOOD AND SAID SHE WAS ON A BUNCH OF MEDICINES. HOWEVER I HAVE NOT SEEN MUCH OF HER ON THE STATION AS OF LATE.

I too have had the same surgery R/T IPMN and necrotic pancreas. In addition my spleen and pyloric valve was removed. This thread just appeared in my email for who knows why but may be a good thing. Sharing knowledge with this medical situation would be a good thing. Awaiting your reply....