Recent pancreatitis attack; diet plan; low-fat, hi-protein, hi-carb

Treat yourself like a celiac. Switch to rice milk and reduce wheat and dairy. See what happens. Hi fat and alcohol are to be avoided.

Good luck discovering the natural or holistic approach. You will get better results reducing your inflammation with diet and a naturopath or holistic dietitian.

Has anyone had diarrhea after having a pancreatitis attack?

Yes. I have severe bouts of diarrhea for days at a time and I've had two pancreatitis incidents during which I was hospitalized in the last eight months. I have gallstones and my docs want to remove my gallbladder, but I'm hesitant at this point.

In 2003, I was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer that spread into my colon and other abdominal organs. The treatment was successful in that my cancer has not returned in five years, but I have been left with nerve damage in my feet and legs, brain damage, hearing loss and ... that's enough. During treatment, I experienced kidney failure and went into shock. I couldn't eat for five months and was on TPN in the hospital for quite a while. At one point, I couldn't walk, talk or eat and I nearly died several times as a result of toxicity from chemo or other medications.

Because of all that, I am gun shy about anything medical.

Has anyone on this board had their gallbladder removed with a resulting end to their bouts of pancreatitis?

I try to eat low fat foods only and I shop at Trader Joe's a lot for groceries. I eat a lot of raw foods (salads). I cut out all hard alcohol (although I wasn't a big drinker anyway), but I am still drinking wine on occasion.

I am wondering if the diarrhea is from an inability to digest certain foods.

Pancreatitis is so painful that it makes eating scary because I'm not sure what is going to trigger it. I do avoid all deep fried (duh) foods.

I recently suffered through a very painful bout of pancreatitis. I believe that the ER doctor wanted to admit me but, after suffering through 18 failed IV tries, was allowed to return home with anti-inflammatory medication, antibiotics and Vicodin. He told me to stick to soup and crackers.

I have been home for several weeks now, but have not suffered another bout. I put acai berry into my water, drank miso soup, ate tofu and natto (fermented soy bean that is supposed to be good for you) and lived on crackers. When I felt a bit better, I stopped the crackers and started on this healthy flax seed bread which I would toast and slather with honey. I soft boiled eggs and began eating turkey and chicken breast in very small portions.

I also started on apple cider vinegar, and began eating plenty of Chicken Nabe, which is a Japanese dish of boiled green vegetables (napa cabbage, bok choy), onion, shiitake mushrooms and small portion of chicken with tofu. This is dipped into a light soy and vinegar sauce (homemade). It is very filling and healthy. I also started using the grill to make small shishkabobs of a few chicken or salmon pieces with tomatoes, zucchini, onions and mushrooms. I don't normally put seasoning in, but I have found that using "I can't believe it's not butter" spray to be fairly safe.


I found that soy milk brings on the gas. However, consuming the soy in the form of miso soup or tofu has been fine for me.

What I have struggled with is the constant diet tip suggestions by well-meaning friends, most of which would be guaranteed to bring about another pancreatitis episode. They don't believe me when I tell them that I cannot do what they suggest, almost to the point where they think I'm making this all up. It has been beneficial to find a board and community of other sufferers to help ease some of the pain, although I wish that no one would ever have to suffer through pancreatitis.

It's good to find people here to talk to although, I seem to have been spared the worst of the "condition". My AP attack happened 10 days ago. ER diagnosed it right away. Send me home with GI referral, Percocet for pain and a simple "clear diet" plan. Diet wasn't an issue - I had zero appetite. The attack happened shortly after a large meal so my stomach was full and I could barely fit anything in.

Because of that, I got dehydrated so my GI doc order an outpatient IV push (2L/4hrs) - that was 5 days post attack. Right in the middle of that, my duodenum open up and I felt hunger. That was a wonderful feeling! I'm working up to larger meals but seem to be on the mend.

One thing about pain killers. I hate them. I get all sorts of bizarre dreams. Even while awake, I'll imagine really strange stuff. I stopped taking them even though the pain was pretty serious.

What was bad, all that rotting food produced a ton of gas that just sat in my intestines and caused a fair amount of pain. Not to mention loud gurgling noises. I have to say, farting again was a major milestone.

I don't yet know if this is going to be an ongoing thing or not. Time will tell. One thing I am going to resist is surgery. At least my GI doc is supportive of that so far.

Good luck to you all.
Phil

It's good to find people here to talk to although, I seem to have been spared the worst of the "condition". My AP attack happened 10 days ago. ER diagnosed it right away. Send me home with a GI referral, Percocet for pain and a simple "clear diet" plan.

Diet wasn't an issue - I had zero appetite. The attack happened shortly after a large meal so my stomach was full and I could barely fit anything in. Because of that, I got dehydrated so my GI doc order an outpatient IV push (2L/4hrs) - that was 5 days post attack. Right in the middle of that, my duodenum open up and I felt hunger. That was a wonderful feeling! I'm working up to larger meals but seem to be on the mend.

One thing about pain killers. I hate them. I get all sorts of bizarre dreams. Even while awake, I'll imagine really strange stuff. I stopped taking them even though the pain was pretty serious.

One thing that was bad, all that rotting food produced a ton of gas that just sat in my intestines and caused a fair amount of pain. Not to mention loud gurgling noises accompanied by new pains. I have to say, farting again was a major milestone. Oddly enough, the Percocet didn't seem to help with the gas pains as much.

I don't yet know if this is going to be an ongoing thing or not. Time will tell. One thing I am going to resist is surgery. At least my GI doc is supportive of that so far.

Finally. I've found congee to be pretty nice food. It's just rice cooked until it falls apart - several hours or more. I use 12 cups of liquid to 1 cup rice. I use broth and it's hearty, filling and quite tasty. Before this, I turned my nose up at it.

Good luck to you all.
Phil

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Pancreatitis attacks: Need Low-fat, Hi-protein, Hi-carb Diet plan?

Just a suggestion, but see if she will eat spaghettios, or get her the turkey and cracker snack packs they have with the juices in them...kids like that and they are low fat. Keep with the small portions, just add a lot of snack times for her.

I just got out of the hospital last night, with a small bout of pancreatitis. I got lucky and didn't have to spend much time in there, but I'm worried about my diet now, also. What constitutes something as low-fat? As in, what percentage? And what are good foods that are also high in protein, but low in fat?

And how do carbs work in? I'm a little worried about that. The last thing I want to do is gain weight from the whole thing.