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@jlmp

Diagnosed one week ago and SO many questions. Prescribed very expensive Zenpep. Can I eat as normal while taking these capsules? Need info on dosing, foods I can eat without dosing, etc. Doctor no help with this. He just says take one capsule before a snack and two before a meal.

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Replies to "Diagnosed one week ago and SO many questions. Prescribed very expensive Zenpep. Can I eat as..."

Is there Any research going on about Pancreatic Inefficiency?

I have EPI, I am not sure I would call going on a FODMAP diet a mistake; within a week I was significantly better. I randomly get better, and worse with all symptoms that range from severe constipation and suddenly having sudden uncontrollable diarrhea. It is a pretty extreme thing to deal with and disrupts sleep, work, rest, you name it. But the FODMAP, rosemary oil, and Creon helped.

On Creon, and it seems to work, taking Rosemary oil before each meal (CVS in America seems to have the cheapest, I have found). Also, on D3 and a B multiple vitamin. Taking Miralax every other day helps reduce issues of constipation, which in turn leads to less severe issues of bowel leakage.

EPI seems to be very different for each person. I have found it to be hellish but there are also periods of time where life is almost normal.

I’ve researched online and some sources say EPI increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. Does anyone have a definitive answer? And if there is a risk, would it make sense to have a scan every 6 months or so?

I dx'd myself with EPI after accidentally happening upon a podcast meant for gastroenterologists. I then told my GI doc that I ticked all the boxes for EPI and she agreed to have me try out Zenpep (samples), which worked immediately! With Medicare and my insurance, I have to go through 30 days of taking the successively more expensive drug before they will cover Zenpep. I'm currently on my fourth one and the problem has gotten worse, mainly the severe pain after ingesting ANYthing; so I skip eating for a day or two to allow my digestive system to calm down. Yes, I take the meds with snacks/meals, and sometimes I'm able to eat a meal without pain every few days or so. My main problem is that my labs have always shown false negatives (one of my sons has the same problem) and I've rarely had a doctor or nurse practitioner who was wise enough to treat my symptoms rather than taking the lab results as the have-all, be-all.