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

I have had chronic pancreatitis since 1999. 25 hospitalizations in the first 2 years but haven't had to be hospitalized in quite some time. I'm down to about one major attack a year, but have learned I can usually manage it with a clear liquid diet. I've discovered that blood work only comes back positive if I've vomited, so usually don't bother with a Doc unless that happens. When blood work is elevated, I have it repeated after 2-3 days or so depending on how I'm feeling, just to make sure the numbers are returning to normal. After so many years, I can usually tell when an attack is coming, so I start clear liquids right away. After 2-3-4 days of clear liquids, a very bland diet for a few days is also a must. As one DR told me, EAT WHITE. rice, pasta, potato without butter, cream of wheat, sugar free italian ices are all foods that work for me when coming off of an attack. I drink lots of water, grape juice diluted with 1/2 water, and decaf tea. I would skip things like spaghettio's and other canned, processed foods and stay way from anything difficult to digest like corn. Fried, fatty, spicey foods and alchohol are your enemy!!!!!

I just got my gallbladder removed because my doctors and the surgeon believed that it was causing my pancreatitis attacks. It's been a ween since the surgury (still recovering). My lipase was 602 after the surgury (the highest it has been since the first attach whch put my lipase at 462). I am praying to God that it everything in back to normal now that the GB has been removed. Food is the biggest problem for me. Turkey sandwiches are fine but really boring. I find ensure shakes to be Okay on most days. I don't wish this disease on my worst enemy. Hang in there my friends and watch what you eat. Above all, praise the Lord and ask him for help on those tough days.

Hi, I have not long been released from hospital with acute pancreatitis. The doctors have put me on a low fat diet and nil alchol. As I am a small person wieghing 46kgs, I cant afford to lose anymore wieght as I have a house to run and 4 young boys. If anyone has any suggestions on gaining weight please your answers will be appreciated.

Hello... i wanted to reply to your post because i was diagnosed with pancreatitis 1 week after my 21st birthday. i went to my doctors and was prescribed medication. she didnt give me any type of diet plans and really didnt even tell me how serious of a condition it was..but a couple months later i felt completely recovered, although my alcohol use continued and now i am 22 and its returned. now its worse then before. im realizing that i cannot eat anything without wanting to throw up. but i have read all these posts on here and its helped me alot! your diet tips sound pretty good compaired to what i've been eating. i love spaghettios! I went food shopping and stocked up on lots of vegetables and fruits. i got some fat free ranch dip so that i had some flavor. and i also eat cereal like cheerios and honey bunches of oats with just a little bit of milk (hardly any). i can pig out on that type of stuff and not wake up hurting. but i am still hungry all time time. i ate a piece of chicken my mom baked, it had no fat (and tasted SO good!) but it upset my stomach alot. pasta doesnt seem to upset me too much but i know its heavy and im not sure if i should keep eating it. i've been looking online for a food guide for me to follow...seems like the best answer and guide is to eat anything your body can handle w/o making you sick.

One summer I had pancreatitis and couldn't eat anything. Well, I did find something that worked for me and that was good old watermelon. I lived on watermelon the whole summer till I was living, breathing watermelon. It was a Godsend. Slowly but slowly I pulled out of it and was able to eat meager amounts of different carbs. You might try it and see if it works for you.

It's boards like this that have assisted enormously in developing my own diet. In the past 9 months, I have had 4 attacks of acute pancreatitis which were severe enough for me to call 911; all of these calls resulted in hospital stays ranging from 4 to 25 days. The information I've read in this thread is overwhelmingly consistent with what the doctors and medical websites have stated: stray from spicy foods, alcohol, caffeine and high fat foods. Fortunately, I enjoy cooking because the low-fat and fat-free processed dinners (frozen or otherwise) have been pretty disappointing. Likewise, when I've gone in search of fat-free recipes in general, I get lists of entrees that are far from the foods I crave. So, I've been in the habit of listing foods I really enjoy and figuring out how to tailor them to my needs, i.e., I make a baked macaroni and cheese using fat-free cream cheese, flour, skim milk, mild green chiles and penne pasta topped with panko bread crumbs. I've also discovered that when I bake breads I can substitute apple sauce for any fat called for. I make my own hummus, omitting the olive oil, and use it as a substitute sandwich spread. I have tweaked literally hundreds of recipes, most with fabulous results - and a few I'd rather not claim ownership of. Good luck to anybody living with this disease - it's definitely life changing.

stay away from eggs and anything you put butter on

I had an attack of accute pancreatitis that landed me in the hospital for 15 days, 10 of those in the ICU of which I recall none of. Having been released some 3 weeks ago I am still having bouts of pain usually 3-4 times a week. The pressure in my abdomen isnt anything like the agony I suffered intitially, but it is enough to make eating anything more then a few small pieces of Cantaloupe several times a day impossible. and sleeping more then an hour is impossible due to the discomfort I feel. I drink water through out the day, and have cut out red meats, fried foods, and anything spicy. And cut back on my fat intake, usually drinking skim milk or having lowfat yogurt at breakfast. and I eat small portions with 2 snacks (usually fruit) each day between meals.

I get these pain attacks with no rhyme or reason, the last one lasted 3 days and I hadnt eaten anything different besides some Total raisni bran cereal which I bought since my iron count was 15/30 below the normal 18/36 and as I wasnt eating red meats figured it was the best way to get my daily iron.
And this last 3 day attack, my back is now in constant pain, is that a side effect of pancreatitis?

Is bran being very fiberous a bad thing to eat?

I've read through here that cutting out dairy products is something to do, while others say they still consume them.

I worked in a busy physically demanding job, but no longer have much energy or strength to continue to do that. in the past 3 weeks I have lost 22 pounds.

I guess my question is, how long before the pain episodes stop, and my energy levels return.

Wow, so much information here. I have not been diagnosed with anything yet but have been experiencing severe pain on my left side for months. Eating is ridiculous since I pay the price everytime I do. Basically my husband and I have eliminated my food list to water, broth and jello. I was 150 and am now 126 pounds. Going for another Cat scan so they can look at the pancreas.

Wondering if it took you all a long time to finally get a diagnosis and what you did in the mean time to get a handle on this. We are doing our best at home to figure things out but I tried to eat rice and some pizza (bread & sauce only) and now two days later I am still doubled over trying to get this through my system.

Is the key just getting the fat out of the diet or the protein too? I am looking forward to playing around with recipes but until I get this pain under control & can't eat anything. Appreciate all the input - there is a wealth of information here :-)

I developed severe acute necrotizing pancreatitis when i was 34 weeks pregnant with my daughter, 4.5 years ago. I ended up being in the hospital for 4 months. They took her emergency C-Section and luckily after a week in the NICU she was ok.
For 3.5 years I had pretty much constant severe pain and constant nausea with vomiting after eating most things. I had to be on TPN feeding through an IV a lot of the time. One thing that I tolerated was Boost Breeze it's a clear liquid form of the creamy tasting boosts. The wild berry flavor was the best tasting (to me at least) the other flavor is orange. Walgreens carries it, if they don't have it in stock they will order it for you.. You can also order it online at walgreens and shipping is free. There are a few medical sites that you can order it from, you can find it if you search for them. One i think was allegro medical.
I also had to experiment with the pancreatic digestive enzymes that the doctor prescribed. I had to find out how many to take with what and how much food I was eating. Without the digestive enzyme supplements i couldn't digest any fats.
One thing I didn't know at first was that even chewing gum during a pancreatitis attack stimulates the pancreas to contract and try to release enzymes. So when the docs have you stop eating when you have an attack, don't chew gum or suck on hard candies!
I couldn't eat any type of meat, it would always trigger a pancreas attack, but everyone is different, it's like a trial and error game to see what you can and can not tolerate.
I've had a total of 10 surgeries in the last 4.5 years. All related to the pancreas problems. The last surgery was in January of this year. I had a tp/ict (total pancreatectomy and islet cell transplant). As soon as I woke up after surgery, the pancreas pain was gone! Now, my nausea is totally gone and my pain is 90% gone. Before this surgery I had constant severe pain, it never let up, I wasn't even able to get out of bed! Now I can, this surgery was a miracle for me. I'm able to eat again. Almost anything I want!! I have to take enzymes with any bite of food since I don't have a pancreas anymore, but except for trying to stay away from really fatty foods I can eat what I want, in moderation of course!

I have to agree with MookiesMama - what effects one person badly may be perfectly fine for another. Unfortunately, the removal of the pancreas becomes the only solution for some people, but since the pancreas produces insulin, total removal results in diabetes, although, there are cases where a small portion of the pancreas is left and insulin production may continue normally. Knowing this, I should point out that I also minimize my sugar intake overall, just to keep the pancreas from working more than necessary. Occasionally, I indulge in something sweet, but everything in moderation. I've been on TPN, myself (IV Feeding - no oral food or liquids), and it helped immensely, although, the longer on it the better the outcome in my case, unfortunately. I have developed 3 pancreatic pseudocysts, one as large around as a soda can, so that presents new dangers. In case a doctor hasn't informed anyone reading this, pancreatitis can be life threatening, and that risk increases, I'm told by my physician, with these pseudocysts, as a possible rupture can create all sorts of complications. The most important thing for me has been just having people (including a psychologist) I can talk to about this - not everybody can wrap their head around the kind of pain and depression from not being able to function normally this condition creates in our lives. Also, never, never, never take a doctor's word as gospel - search every web site and educate yourself, because I've seen a multitude of specialists in the hospital, many with different opinions on treatment and outcome. You're the best judge in many aspects of this condition. You'll learn what triggers attacks and what doesn't. I, for instance, tolerate dairy fine, some others don't. Of course, I consume slim milk and low fat dairy products - dairy can be really high in fat, and fat is definetly a trigger for everybody. And I find, strangely, that I do better limiting my intake of the prescribed enzymes; go figure. The more often I take them, the more pain I have.
Incidentally, if anybody wants any recipes, I would be glad to share some of mine, and I'm always interested in trying other people's recipes, so don't be shy about sharing. As I said in an earlier post, a lot of the fat free recipes I've seen are just not the everyday foods I enjoy; for instance, I eat tofu once in awhile, but it's not a staple in my diet! Good luck to everyone seeking help here!

Actually the removal of the pancreas does not always result in diabetes. I had an islet cell transplant along with my pancreatectomy. They "dissolved" my pancreas down to just the islet cells (the insulin producing cells) and then those cells (about 350,000 of them) were transplanted into the portal vein in my liver and they make their insulin from there. The cells don't even know they are not in the pancreas. So I am not diabetic. I do keep an eye on my blood sugar, but it is never high. I've never needed to supplement with insulin.
I too had pseudocysts. After my first severe attack I had a CT scan and the report read "Too many psuedocysts to count". One was as big as a grapefruit. They drained the biggest ones via needle aspiration, but they just kept filling back up until I finally had to have them removed surgically.
And yes you are right, it can be life threatening. The night of my first attack when I went into renal failure, respiratory failure and cardiac distress, they gave me a 10% chance of surviving.. Luckily I did!!
This is a nasty nasty disease. The bad thing is.. you never hear of it until you get it!! so nobody really knows about it.. there really needs to be more education on it to get the word out!!
The diet is an imortant part of living with the illness.. the more fat you eat the harder you make your pancreas work.. the harder it works, the more it makes you sick!!

3 Weeks ago finally got in to see a surgeon at the U of A.

His response?

Nothing wrong with you. You probably have IBS. The next day I ended up in the emergency ward double over in pain.
I don't think I need to express the frustrations we are having with doctors. They are so closed minded.

****NOTE*****
Keep in mind there has been NO DIAGNOSIS that what I am suffering from is actually pancreatitis. They've performed every test under the sun and claim there's nothing wrong with me even when I tell them the zero fat diet is helping.

Some good things have come of this though.... My husband and I are strategizing to try to get the maximum effect from the healthcare system here in Alberta.

Instead of going to the usual hospital that already "knows" us we went to a different hospital = different doctor = different staff = possibly different medical diagnosis.

Sick and tired of the usual "You're just constipated, here's a shot of (insert your choice of painkiller here). Take some laxatives and go home" treatment we did this.

Do not try to explain to the Doctor your medical history. They usually don't listen to you and your explanation often disables them from keeping open minded. This also provides as a test to see if the doctor is actually investigating your medical history on the computer system.

Explain relevant symptoms only

Symptoms
- Localized pain in the upper left back; feels like a large grapefruit sized lump. Not overly sensitive to touch and you cannot physically feel a deformation in that area. This pain will extend to my left back during extreme outs of pain
- Pain increases immediately after eating and lasts for main hours before dulling down, but never goes away
- difficulty sleeping due to pain
- pain has existed and is getting worse for nearly a year now. Have seen other doctors with no luck.

On this particular night the doctor treating me actually worked well in accordance with our strategy. He actually DID read up on the history and came back and asked a few questions about prior surgeries and tests. However, with the absence of our opinions on the matter he proceeded to run through a group of possibilities and explained many of them to us.

He did get bloodwork, and a urinalysis as well as an x-ray. No surprises hat nothing showed up. However, this doctor prescribed a different painkiller (usually it's morphine). He prescribed Toradol ( A painkiller with antiinflammatory properties).

The tordal worked immensely well! The next morning my pain level was down to a 1.5-2 out of 10 (The lowest it's been in 3 or 4 months).

My husband and I started doing research while I had some of my sanity left and did the following.

Started a daily log (not the easiest thing to do when you're in pain). It contains the following
- Time of each entry
- Pain level at that time
- any bowel movements and what they are like (size, color, difficulty to pass). Actually took pictures of them too ( this may seem extreme, but leaves no room for misinterpretation when the doctor asks)
- what I'm eating and drinking, amounts, brand names, etc
- medication I'm taking

Started on a zero fat diet
Researched and ordered a enzyme called Vitalzyme X. Started taking it as soon as it arrived (4 pills a day)


It's now been 3.5 weeks.
- Pain level is a 3.5-4 averaged out. Haven't had many days where it's gotten above a 5.
- Bowels are now working TOO well for the past week. Going to cut back on the vitalzyme tomorrow to 3 pills. laxatives were needed for the first 2 weeks, now don't use any.
- Still on a zero fat, zero protein diet. Been only eating rice and veggies. It's been a VERY boring diet but considering 4 weeks ago I couldn't even eat a pure liquid diet (I was eating boost drinks with FAT in them) it's a HUGE improvement
- I have been taking 2 toradol a day up until 2 days ago when I forgot to take a dose and realized my pain level wasn't really increased by the lack of it.
- have been off the toradol for 2 days now, no real increase in pain (well may 0.5 -1 point higher at some points in the day.
- My weight loss is continuing but is tapering off. At 118lbs now.

Tonight I started taking some protein. Found whey protein at a supplement store with no fat, no artificial flavors or additives. Hopefully this will help me gain some muscle and weight back.

I hope this information is helpful for all and I'll keep posting when I can.

My experience with pancreatitis eventually led to pseudocysts. But a very wise physician said, "Just go home and get well, take it easy, and we'll see if those pseudocysts last or not." He was the only one who seemed to think that getting out of the hospital would help. It turned out he was right and the pseudocysts disappeared. The pancreatitis had been brought on initially by gall bladder disease and an ERCP, lasted three months and subsided when the gall bladder was removed, thickened and full of stones. It took about five months of bed rest at home before I returned to normal. Reading all your notes today, almost five years later, I remember in detail how difficult and trying this disease can be. There was for me a period when I was still recovering but supposedly not ill. It's important that people around you understand that you are sick and that they give you all the room to move in. In the hospital, always have an advocate. And do not let the doctors make decisions without your input. One day, on a Friday, after being ill for months, I told a doctor that I would not undergo another procedure that day. Everyone was quite upset that I wouldn't let the hospital and others stick a needle into my lungs that day, and from then on I began to get well. Nurses and helpers varied. Some were cruel without knowing it, others were helpful without trying. The sooner you can get off of pain medicines, the better. They are crippling and slow down your recovery; on the other hand, you should never be in pain. With pancreatitis it's very difficult to find the right combination. If you are homebound or roombound, be sure to get someone to help you get out in your wheel chair or with all your lines attached to you to see the sky or the city from a balcony. Staying in a room all day is just too depressing for words. You can lose perspective. Find a good nurse who will bathe you entirely, especially at the outset between bouts of terrible bowel movements. Nothing will make you feel more human than to be gently soaped from head to toe and provided with clean linen. In the beginning of the most painful episodes, the morphine drip can be a life saver, along with synthetic narcotic patches. But you must be very careful in assessing your pain so that you don't end up staying longer in bed than necessary. Do not let anyone tell you that your future is necessarily determined. Everytime someone told me emphatically that A was going to happen, they were wrong. I was told there would be no side effects from the ERCP and that was wrong. I was told that the gall bladder could not be removed while the pancreas was flaring. That was wrong. I was told that pseudocysts like mine NEVER went away on their own. That was wrong. People with pancreatitis, you have my deepest sympathies. This is a lousy ailment that makes you feel awful and takes a long time to recover from. Good luck getting well and keeping well. Steve Mullen

I can't believe it has taken me 3 years to find other people who have pancreatitis and understand what I'm going through. I got pancreatitis in March 2005 after my gallstone got stuck in the duct. I had ERCP to remove the stone and I ended up with pancreatitis. I was in the hospital for 4 months then. First, I had the permanent IV's(I forgot what it was called), first in one arm, it got infected, then in another arm. The took the 2nd IV out, then they tried to get me to eat something very slowly. I just ended up vomiting bile. Then they put a tube in my nose, and they fed me my fluids like that for awhile. After I was released from the hospital, I survived on porridge and soup for about 2 months until I could tolerate anything else. Eventually I did work my way back to being able to eat everything. I had my next attack over a year later. I was in the hospital for a week. My doctor put me on pancreatic enzymes, so I have been taking those for the last 2 years. My doctor never told me that I had to change my diet, or eat low-fat foods until I had an attack last year. I have been noticing a pattern with me. I get an attack of acute pancreatitis usually once a year either in Sept. or Oct. when it is Ramadan. When I only have an attack once a year, then I start getting complacent and I start eating differently. My eating habits change during Ramadan, so that always gets me into trouble. This past Ramadan was no exception. I spent one week in the hospital about 3 weeks ago. I'm back to eating mostly porridge and soup again. I think I've learned this time that I ALWAYS have to eat low-fat food, not that I can gradually increase my fat intake over time. I wish I would have known about this website a long time ago, especially when my last doctor is telling me I can eat whatever I want. I think he is crazy. If I followed his advice, I would always be in the hospital.