Chronic pancreatitis
Overview
Chronic pancreatitis is a long-term condition where the pancreas is inflamed, scarred and painful. There's no cure, but there are treatments for the problems it can cause.
Symptoms
The main symptom of chronic pancreatitis is pain in your tummy (abdomen). The pain may be: in the upper part of your tummy (just below your ribs), one side of your tummy or your whole tummyconstant or come and gosevere or like a dull achebetter when sitting down and leaning forwardworse after eating Other symptoms of chronic pancreatitis can include: feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting)diarrhoeahaving very smelly poo that floats and is difficult to flush awayfeeling bloated or farting a lotfeeling thirsty or needing to pee a lotlosing weight without trying to Chronic pancreatitis mainly affects adults and is more common in people who drink or smoke a lot.
Causes
If you have chronic pancreatitis, the damage and scarring to your pancreas can often cause other problems, such as: difficulty absorbing nutrients from food, which can cause weight loss and problems such as weakened bones (osteoporosis)a type ofdiabetescaused by your pancreas not producing enough insulin (called type 3c diabetes)growths (cysts) around your pancreas, which can become infected, bleed or push against nearby organsa blockage in your pancreas or the small tubes in your digestive system called bile ducts, which can cause problems like pain or inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis) People with chronic pancreatitis also have a higher risk of gettingpancreatic cancer. The most common cause of chronic pancreatitis is drinking alcohol. Drinking too much alcohol can cause your pancreas to become inflamed for a short time, known asacute pancreatitis. If you keep drinking and keep getting acute pancreatitis, eventually your pancreas can become permanently scarred. Chronic pancreatitis can also be linked to: smokingyour genes – including the gene that causes cystic fibrosis (this is the most common cause in children)your immune system mistakenly attacking your pancreasyour pancreas not developing properly when you're bornsome medicines, including some antibiotics and diabetes medicines Sometimes it's not clear what the cause is.
Treatment
There's currently no cure for chronic pancreatitis. But treatment can help manage the symptoms and related problems like diabetes or difficulty absorbing nutrients from food. You'll be supported by different healthcare professionals. This may include your GP and specialist doctors, nurses and food and nutrition specialists (dietitians). Treatments you may need include: painkillersmedicines that help your body absorb nutrients from foodmedicines for diabetes, such asinsulinsurgery to remove growths (cysts) from your pancreas or unblock blockages in your pancreas or bile ducts Sometimes you may also have treatment for the cause of your pancreatitis. For example, steroid medicine can help if it's caused by your immune system attacking your pancreas.