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Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Digestive Health | Last Active: Dec 13, 2024 | Replies (95)

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@korazon99

I was diagnosed with EPI approximately 5-6 months ago after about a year and 1/2 of unexplained weight loss of over 30 pounds nausea, etc etc.
I was eating extra cheese on everything possible , eating unhealthy but thinking calories so I don’t lose more weight. My cholesterol was not affected but when I spoke with a nutritionist I was told I needed to completely stop eating in that manner - the extra cheese and fatty foods was extremely bad for my overall health, which I agreed. And this was all before my EPI diagnosis- I tried to eat better and drink ensures but still was loosing the weight
Now that I’ve been diagnosed, I’ve been taking Creon and started to gain weight (slowly) but better than losing it.
I’ve just had some biopsies taken from my stomach and this Friday will have EUS Procedure. Then should have all my results by the end of this month as to why my pancreas stopped working, etc
I’m very scared of the EUS procedure.

Reading your post, I personally don’t think eating everything and anything- the best thing is to do, Find a Nutritionist and explain your diagnosis.

Thanks for your post , so many similarities of what I’m going through-this is all new to me and learning from this site

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Replies to "I was diagnosed with EPI approximately 5-6 months ago after about a year and 1/2 of..."

I eat no cheese or anything that might be mucus-creating, binding or harder to digest. I eat pasta occasionally but usually I eat meats that contain 190 - 250 calories, even in microwavable dinners. I look for caloric content in foods that have good fats, i.e peanut butter smoothie w 1/2 avocado, coconut milk & banana for brkfst which often goes to 400 or 450+ calories to which I can add rest of needed calories from many available protein drinks but NOT ensure. (Gastro told me 2 months ago that I could take up to 4 bottles of Ensure daily but believe me when I say that much definitely works as an over the top laxative as proven to me one day when I was fortunate to be at home and not out somewhere! I looked at Enusre web site and it advised 1 or max of 2 bottles of Ensure daily for over 65 yo so I quit taking it at all.
I was down from 142 to 135 Jan 9 b/c I had had type A flu for a while but since late Jan I have gone up to 150 lb on the 2K calorie diet I now try to maintain.
I always try to keep something wholesome with fat (but NOT junk) that I can add to my main meal in order to get the 500 minimum calories 4 times a day; often I can even add enuff to go to 600 or 600+.
I might have half a blueberry muffin on occasion to supplement what it takes to meet or exceed the 500 per meal requirement, but that is just a minor 'additive' when needed.
As far as real 'junk food' I eat very little or none compared to my regular foods.
I also wonder if the Creon might be less conducive to weight gain in my case than another such medication. It's not unusual for many doctors to blame the patient and ignore the medication as I have found that to many doctors the 'process' takes precedence over the 'processor'/patient.)
I could go on and on with my experiences re: doctors and especially many of their PA's, too many of whom think they are doctors at the expense of patients by writing prescriptions which I myself have checked and discovered the prescriptions were dangerous for conditions I had next to the condition for which the PA was writing the prescription!
As many prescriptions in the past have given me permanent negative future results, I won't pick up a prescription until I go to CVS, look at the name, then go home and check it out to see how it might affect conditions I already have.
Then again - I have always been xtra sensitive to prescription drugs and have to be xtra careful as too many doctors and their PA's are often so busy they don't seem to have enuff time to know what they are prescribing.
EX - One shot of 'Qnasl' nasal spray in each nostril prescribed by an allergy doctor gave me glaucoma. My own GP said he asked some of his colleagues if that could happen and all said 'No,'
My ophthalmologist who was nationally known said that that one shot per nostril raised my IOP from 19-and-equivocal to 42 overnight! The chemical in the drops was Beclomethosone.)

Your body is often your best laboratory if you are attentive and have a good long memory