Please visit the National Pancreatic Foundation online for a registry and very helpful information on EPI. Many of your questions can be answered there.

I started to get really bad diarrhea that was fairly frequent throughout the day and was not normal. I would have about 10 minutes max before I could not control myself.. It took 3 poop tests and about 2-3 months before my diagnosis. I also have diabetes and I have read that some of us can also get EPI . After taking CREON, my symptoms of uncontrollable diarrhea subsided, but my poops are soft in nature , but I am regular in when I go.

Thanks to all of you for offering info on EPI. I am beginning to get an understanding of what I am supposed to be eating. I ordered the Vital pancreatic enzymes from Amazon today, hoping that I can occasionally substitute for some of the CREON and make it last longer.
Question: Can I have a glass of wine occasionally? I had an MRI and no problem with pancreas. My EPI test was 115. I am worried that alcohol would put me in danger of pancreatitis. Any info on that?

Do any of you take vitamin and/or mineral supplements? How do you know if your body is retaining what it needs? I have an annual check-up with blood tests, etc. and I’m wondering if once a year is enough.

The symptoms also came on for me pretty quickly, one week I was eating a cheeseburger and ice cream and the next week it made me sick. I found it helpful to keep a food diary because everyone is different. For me, I am now lactose intolerant. My doctor also had no explanation for why EPI happened, his guess was old age, I was 65(is that old?) when diagnosed. Try switching to some plant based diet options, think fruit smoothie with a scoop of protein powder and oat milk and you only need 1 Creon or ZenPep. I live in Florida so I use frozen fruit and chocolate protein powder and pretend it’s a milkshake.

I couldn’t get in to see my GI doctor so I saw a NP in my GI group who ordered all the diagnostic tests. An office nurse called to give me the diagnosis. I’ve repeatedly asked for the NP to call me back to talk about diagnosis with no result. I’ve never seen or talked with an MD. I’m furious with them and have since learned that others have the same problem with this group. I’ve made an appt. with a GI doctor in a nearby city and plan to go just sit down and talk to him and ask questions.

I was healthy overall and then last April/May started having digestive issues. Elastase tests in May & December confirm severe PI. Also did an MRI of the abdomen and got an all clear. So, at this point Doctor has no idea on the cause. I've always kept a food journal because I lived low carb for 20 years. What I did realize was I introduced Brazil nuts into my diet last April. After doing some research I realized that I caused selenium toxicity by eating so many in a month. Selenium is not listed on the nutrition label and there are no warnings. The kicker is there is no way to prove it impacted my pancreas. Now I live on Zenprep and an expanded vitamin regimen. Still doing low carb, high protein and health fats. Have to keep beer & bourbon to a minimum and cutback on cigars, which is a gut punch.

I enjoy snacking on nuts throughout the day. Have any of you found any nuts that don’t require an enzyme capsule? I don’t want to waste a capsule several times a day for a handful of nuts.

I snack on nuts too. Almonds and sometimes mixed nuts. I find that if you keep it to just a little handful you shouldn’t need an enzyme. Plus it’s a good source of protein.

Vital pancreatic enzymes OTC(amazon) has 36500 units lipase compared to Zenpep Rx 40000 u and Creon Rx 36000 u. Rx ones are delayed release and considerably more expensive. I took the Rxs initially but have transitioned to the OTC Vital and am doing well with it. A low fat diet helps a lot too!