I have EPI and I was prescribed Creon an enzyme to digest the food and it’s good, I’m feeling much better, my digestive system is working much faster than before.

I was recently diagnosed with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) and my doctor prescribed the prescription enzymes, Creon 24000. However, even with my insurance, my copay would be $851 per month! So I did some research and found one company that makes a functionally equivalent, over-the-counter version of Creon. This product is called "Micrazym 25000 USP." It is manufactured by AVVA Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which is based in Europe and is now available on Amazon.com at a current cost of less than $50 for a 50 capsule box. (See link to this product at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GWJ3QJK).

For the past month, I have been taking Micrazym with each meal and snack, as a substitute for the prescription Creon, and I have found it to be very effective. Specifically, I've found that it has eliminated the constant, low-grade nausea I had been experiencing, and it has significantly cut down on the near-constant episodes of diarrhea I had been plagued with every day (and became housebound as a result of) for the eight months prior to getting diagnosed with EPI. I will add that over many years prior to my EPI diagnosis, I had tried countless other digestive and pancreatic enzyme formulas, but I found only very limited relief from my steadily increasing digestive and intestinal problems (i.e., upset stomach, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, terrible gas, sharp pains on the left side of my abdominal area, ileocecal valve problems that caused pain in my right abdominal area, and other issues.)

Therefore, in my efforts to verify the authenticity and efficacy of Micrazym pancreatic enzymes, I did further research on the company making it. As a result, I came across an article describing a legal challenge that was eventually won by AVVA concerning Micrazym. In summary, the article stated that in January 2024, a member state of the EU challenged AVVA's research studies showing that Micrazym behaves in the same way as the authorized medicine, Creon, which also contains porcine pancreas enzymes in gastro-resistant capsules, and for which adequate data on safety and efficacy had already been documented in the literature. The European Medicine Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) was then called in to conduct an indepth review of AVVA's research, and it subsequently ruled that AVVA had provided sufficient evidence to show that the release of Micrazym in the intestines is comparable to that of Creon. Therefore, on May 16, 2024 the European Commission issued an EU-wide, legally binding decision authorizing the legal marketing of Micrazym for those with EPI based on the evaluation of the currently available data. (For exact
references and details, please see: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/referrals/micrazym-associated-names).

With this reassurance in mind, I decided to try Micrazym. While not a perfect "fix" for all the symptoms EPI has caused me, my experience with this product has been very positive, and I intend to keep using it. I sincerely hope that my experience will be helpful to you and to anyone else struggling with EPI.

I also have constipation first, then 3 liquid explosive with low belly cramps. At least I’m not this way everyday. Thank you all.

So I’m
New to this chat group. Does anyone else get flare ups? It makes hard to plan activities.

I was given Zenprep Dr 40,000, and with insurance, I believe it was 12.00 for 3 months. Has it been cured, nope, but it has helped. Unfortunately, now they believe I have PSC as well (Primary Sclerosis Cholangitis) as well. I'm. hoping to have a definite diagnosis soon. Although, from what I have heard, there are really not very many ways to confirm.

Pancreas not producing enzymes and on Creon. How serious is this?

Pancreas not producing enzymes. On Creon. Constant stomach pain, lower back pain, nauseous, fatigued, bo control over bowels. They are medium color (I take a lot of Pepto, so mostly are black and oily), float or are like oatmeal. Doc just doubled my Creon and I am scheduled for MRI w/w out contrast in 4 days. When I know a problem with pancreas, the first thing I worry about is pancreatic cancer. Anyone else having these symptoms and have you been diagnosed?

I've noticed most of you folks on Creon. I was just using publicly available brands like Mercola, Metagenics, Pure.
So I had to take up to 54k of lipase units and it wasn't still enough. Nobody told me that uncoated enzymes are not gonna work in mine intestine. Then, I discovered Pertzye. So my life is now divided into before and after i tried these miracle pills. I was able to decrease the lipase dosage significantly and the crucial pain ( + fear after meal intake from the sense of the pain inevitability) also drop down severely. I am pro less fillers in the pill and Pertzye vs Creon is certainty wins. Just sharing my experience ..not an ad.

@delilady I was referring to the statistics on the topic.
It's like the domino principle, first you've got chronic pancreatitis, then diabetes and most are ending up with cancer. But it can happen over the 5-25-40 year time span or faster. Here are some sources:
https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2021/pancreatic-cancer-diabetes-early-detection
https://www.nature.com/articles/6602619
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1743919115003428
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanwpc/article/PIIS2666-6065(22)00211-5/fulltext
https://www.e-dmj.org/journal/view.php
I don't know yet same as you I guess.

There is an organization for people with pancreatitis , mission-cure.org. I just watched the webinar by a nutritionist that specializes in pancreatitis on their site about so many things diet related and she went very in depth into the do's and don'ts on how best to be taking the enzymes. It was so helpful! I highly recommend you check out their website.

Hello,

I was diagnosed with EPI in 2023 and began the typical Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (Creon). I went through several different diagnoses before being sent to a gastroenterologist and having blood work and fecal samples taken. I have more or less managed my EPI since then; however, I have frequent episodes of extremely foul smelling gas. I have also noticed that I have extremely irregular bowel movements, and these are almost always fairly loose.

What are your experiences with EPI? How do you manage the condition? Are there PERT options available besides Creon?

I have also recently started experiencing episodes of shortness of breath, followed by profuse sweating and abdominal pain that feels like severe bloating. When this happens I will typically lay down and begin to cool off, and after a few hours I will be able to either burp or pass gas and feel better in my abdominal region. A friend just told me about POTS and I have done some reading on the condition. I have not been diagnosed with this yet, nor have I seen a medical professional about it. From my reading, it seems that Pancreatitis, EPI, Gastroparesis, and POTS are all somewhat interconnected.

For those with Pancreatitis or EPI, have you found yourself being diagnosed with or experiencing symptoms of POTS? What do you do to manage your episodes? Have you also had problems related to Gastroparesis?

Thank you in advance for any information you can share with me!!