I had nausea and pain all the time they finally diagnosed me with chronic pancreatitis thru eus

Yes after months of testing, many repeats, 5 ER visits and 3 hospital stays, chronic pancreatitis was diagnosed via endoscopic ultra sound. The light used during this procedure visualizes the organs. I was so happy I finally got a diagnosis. Good luck to you.

Hi @bluedog35 . Welcome to Connect.
You have certainly gone through a lot and feel miserable. You have to be so frustrated not being able to tie all these tests together somehow.

I haven’t had testing that shows much so far, still I know the problem is there, definitely real. My unintended weight loss has been the most helpless feeling because there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Add knowing pain from eating will come when trying to fix it……I finally got to doctors that are helping me figure out what I can do lifestyle-wise to make this all tolerable as they pin down what is wrong. It can’t happen soon enough!

Has any changes with your original gastrectomy been ruled out? What does your doctor think you should consider next?

There is an issue with the gastrectomy which could possibly be causing the issue. They left what is called a blind loop which is basically an appendage that goes no where. It is longer than they would have expected so the thought is that food maybe getting stuck in there and causing pain till it comes out. They were trying to rule everything else out first because this would be a major surgery. I am not sure what is next, I a, waiting to hear back from the doctor. It is very frustrating because I know there is an issue and they have been unable to pinpoint it. This has been going on since October. Not being able to eat without pain has been extremely hard. I am hoping the doctors have a plan soon.

I am so sorry you are struggling like this. I am wondering with your gastrectomy if you know if they removed or bypassed your pyloric sphincter. I just took a nutrition class and I learned that the gastrectomy surgeries that do that and gastrectomy surgeries that create blind loops are the most challenging to manage. Those procedure types can be quite problematic as far as absorption of nutrients as well in the case of a blind loop one gets overgrowth of bacteria and fungus which causes issues. As well you have nutrients dumping straight into the part of the small intestine that was not designed to handle that. My teacher who is a registered dietitian did have some strategies for managing the situation. If you haven’t already seen a registered dietitian for help with this that might be super helpful. She said the surgeons do these procedures and then just move on to the next patient. No accountability at all for chronic issues the patients are left dealing with the feast of their lives. Registered dietitians also have strategies for managing chronic pancreatitis. So some kind of plan that works both those angles while you get this all sorted I am thinking could help you feel better regardless the ultimate cause that is determined or even if the cause is a combination of both conditions. My teacher said it is super rare that people only have one system in their body that is experiencing dysfunction. That we learn these diseases one at a time in isolation and then when one sees an actual patient they almost are dealing with having multiple conditions.