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Life With Pancreatitis It was nearly two years ago I went into the hospital for Pancreatitis. I'm happy to have a life. Pancreatitis is something a person lives with. Perhaps for some people it goes away. I am not one of those people. I'm not sure if there is ever a day when my pancreas doesn't rear it's head to some degree or another. Perhaps there are things I could do to treat my body better, such as eliminate caffeine from my diet or eliminate red meat and fatty foods. While I try to somewhat limit my intake of certain foods. I am willfully refusing to out-and-out completely stop with certain dietary no-nos. I do not drink alcohol nor do I eat anything that is made with alcohol. I understand it is the one thing I must stay away from completely and I respect that rule of living with Pancreatitis. I used to think it was alcohol that caused the pancreatitis. Now, I'm more inclined to believe it was a combination of having a laptop rest on my stomach for very long durations at a time in combination of the amount of alcohol I drank. In addition to not drinking, I also do not rest laptops on my stomach. I remember the heat from the laptop warming (what I now know to be) my pancreas. The dynamic is not a natural occurrence for a body's system. This belief does not give me the impression that it would be alright to drink. It gives me the opinion that it is best if I don't put laptops on my stomach. When I acquired pancreatitis I lived in Europe. The only time I had absolutely no pain in my pancreas when when I took a 12-night cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL). I have since taken a 14-night cruise on another cruise line and did not have the same results. My guess is that NCL uses strictly low or no fat foods in all of its recipes. Thereby forgoing my access to fatty foods. Don't get me wrong. I ate like nobody's business on that cruise. It just didn't hurt my pancreas. I felt like a normal person. Pancreatitis has given me the will and complete desire to live every day to the fullest. Since I can constantly feel my pancreas there is a very good chance that it has become chronic - as the fact that the pancreatitis not going away would in itself define chronic. What I have learned is that chronic pancreatitis inevitably turns into pancreatic cancer. You may or may not know that Pancreatic Cancer kills very quickly. So, what's a girl to do but to live her life to the fullest - fearlessly tackling all that is important to her. It's fun. When you know you're going to die you aren't worried about consequences or what people think. You just do what you believe is right and charge forward. I have read that a person can live a long full life with pancreatitis. I believe that with chronic pancreatitis a person can also live for a long time. Perhaps it has to do with how severe it is or how well sufferers are able to take care of ourselves. Since being back in the States I have had regular access to things I think can help my body deal with my pancreatic condition. Green Goodness by Bolthouse is probably the one thing I think is important. I'm not the best at balancing my diet. Basically, I don't like vegetables. Overall, I try to drink 100% juices which include basic fruits and vegetables I might not otherwise bring into my body. I've watched a few films on the healing powers of foods. Doctors don't promote natural healing and it appears to be illegal for anyone else to either. It would make sense that if foods are necessary then it is necessary to balance foods and ensure the right foods are entering the body to keep a body's entire system healthy and properly functioning. My experience in the hospital was an absolute nightmare. I won't go back under any circumstances. Yet, I have no desire or interest in dying. Therefore, I know it is necessary to treat my body as a temple and to try to encourage it to heal, if possible. I've read that it is not possible to heal from pancreatitis once it is beyond the very initial stages. Meaning if you are a weekend warrior and your pancreas is sore, you can heal. If you've caused damage. The damage cannot be undone. Sometimes during bouts of Severe Acute Pancreatitis permanent damage is done. I assume that since my pancreas is still a bother to me that it is possible permanent damage could have been done. Doctors say there is no healing of such a condition only living with it. I've also heard doctors say that they know very little about pancreatitis. Therefore, I'll opt for the alternative route. I work on the premise that it can only help my body to ensure a balanced intake of foods. 100% natural fruit and vegetable drinks seem to help. Green Machine is a daily staple for me. I was surprised to find that pomegranate juice didn't bother my pancreas. It did make me feel a little sick the first time or two that I drank it, but I saw that as a good sign - that my body was detoxing. When a body detoxes it often goes through a period of feeling worse (as it eliminates the toxins) before feeling better. I also try to have a veggie juice and/or carrot juice on a regular basis. I don't think I'll die tomorrow, but I don't know how long a bothered pancreas can last. I figure I've got 10 years or so. I'd like to extend that to whatever my life span would be if I didn't have pancreatitis. The things I am doing to try to improve my overall health include:
If you are living with pancreatitis, my heart goes out to you. Enjoy your life. I'm sure you know on a moment-to-moment basis how precious it is and that every day matters. So, enjoy it! | Home Pancreatitis Articles Living With Pancreatitis Blog Pancreatitis & Healing Foods Pancreatitis & Healthy Recipes Pancreatitis & Reflexology Living With Pancreatitis Healing From Pancreatitis Does Pancreatitis Hurt? Pancreatitis Cure Pancreatitis Pain Pancreatitis & Not Drinking Life With Pancreatitis Pancreatitis & Statistics About Me Contact Info |