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Should I be concerned about a mildly dilated pancreatic duct?

Posted by anonymousme @anonymousme, Oct 22 11:05am

Hello. I recently had an ultrasound and CT with contrast done due to a progressing intolerance to fatty foods which causes yellow loose stool with floating oil. Everything was unremarkable except a mildly dilated pancreatic duct of 4.5mm within the head and body. No discrete pancreatic mass identified. I am a 37 year old female of normal BMI. My doctor said they didn’t see anything on the scan that concerned them and that the individual who wrote the CT report is known for being “over-diagnostic”, they have ordered an MRCP to put my mind at ease. Just curious if others have had similar symptoms and dilation at a youngish age and how you monitored it going forward?

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tootsie100 | @tootsie100 | Oct 23 12:19pm

Hi anonymousme, yellow loose stools with floating oil sounds like you are not producing enough pancreatic enzymes for digestion. I had that too. On my ultrasounds & CT scans they did not see anything until I had an MRI with dye. Then they remarked that I have 3 pancreatic masses. They put me on Crean which is pancreatic enzymes, which has significantly helped with the pain & the yellow/orange coloration in the stools. I am waiting now to meet with the Oncologist next week. Hope this helps

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anonymousme | @anonymousme | Oct 29 3:24pm
In reply to @tootsie100 "Hi anonymousme, yellow loose stools with floating oil sounds like you are not producing enough pancreatic..." + (show)
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Hi anonymousme, yellow loose stools with floating oil sounds like you are not producing enough pancreatic enzymes for digestion. I had that too. On my ultrasounds & CT scans they did not see anything until I had an MRI with dye. Then they remarked that I have 3 pancreatic masses. They put me on Crean which is pancreatic enzymes, which has significantly helped with the pain & the yellow/orange coloration in the stools. I am waiting now to meet with the Oncologist next week. Hope this helps

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@tootsie100 Thank you for sharing, it is helpful to hear from others with similar experiences. I wish you swift clarity and healing thru your medical team.

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stageivsurvivor | @stageivsurvivor | Oct 30 7:45pm

A standard MRI does not image Interductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms (IPMN’s) very well, hence the order to do an MRCP which is standard protocol for IPMN detection and surveillance.

The symptoms of Exocrine Pancreas Insufficiency (EPI) of yellow to Orange oily stools that float and leave a greasy sheen on the surface of the toilet water are classic symptoms associated with EPI. A pancrealipase such as Creon or Zenpep is prescribed as Pancreatic Enzymes Replacement Therapy (PERT). An IPMN may be occurring in the main pancreatic duct or in a side branch duct communicating with main duct (IPamN whose growth shape extends into the main duct partially occluding it). The ERCP will be better at imaging an IPMN if one is present.

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