Pancreatitis. Not a word that was in my regular vocabulary a week ago, but this week it's been on my mind every day. Last Saturday I woke up in the middle of the night and just felt horrible. It didn't take me long once I woke up to get nauseous and experience probably the worst pain I've ever felt. And I have Endometriosis, so, I'm used to pain! I couldn't move, sit up, or do anything. I had to yell for my Mom and she ended up calling 911 to have an ambulance take me to the ER. It took them 20+ minutes to get to my house {which is crazy} and by the time the ambulance got there, I could slowly get in the vehicle myself. By the time I got to the hospital I felt a little silly being wheelchaired in the room because I thought I could walk myself. They gave me Morphine and some medicine for nausea and began to run blood tests & gave me an ultrasound. Not long after my ultrasound, I was really surprised to have a doctor come into my room, tell me what was going on with me, inform me of their plans, and answer any questions we had {which I don't think we could come up with any at that time.}
"Has anyone ever told you you have had Pancreatitis before?"
Ummm, no. But I did just go to the doctor last week. And I've had blood tests done {for non-serious reasons} several times since October, and no one's mentioned anything other than "all my numbers look great."
"Well, you have it. Your lipase level is supposed to be around 100, and yours is currently at 4,000, so we're going to admit you to the hospital."
Honestly, I was telling Mom & Alex {who were so gracious to hang out with me for a few hours in the ER} that I didn't want to have had to call the ambulance to come take me to the ER if there was just going to be something dumb wrong with me like a stomach bug or the flu. Well, you get what you ask for!! Lesson learned. I asked the doctor how long he thought I'd be in the hospital & he said at least a couple days. Apparently a level that high is a big deal? Who knew?
All I could think about then {because remember, I wasn't in pain anymore} was what I wanted Mom to bring me to the hospital- starting with my shower stuff, I was having a bad hair night!
Honestly, besides the excruciating pain, the worst part was the next day and some change. They didn't let me eat ANYthing and I. was. starving!! I think I told every single visitor I had how hungry I was. I had thrown up my last meal, which was some chicken wings I raved about on Facebook, and didn't have lunch on Friday. So I was running. on. empty! It was horrible. I can't imagine how girls purposefully starve themselves. What a miserable way to live! Then I was "introduced" to clear liquids, which is jello {which I find disgusting} and broth- which, for the record, IS NOT FOOD. After my MRI came back fine, the doctor said it was okay for me to have "non-greasy, non-fried" foods.
So- what causes pancreatitis? Several things. You could have a family history of it. I don't. It could be caused by alcohol intake. I don't drink. It could be caused by gallstones, which I don't have. And it could be caused by some medications, which the medication I was on, isn't on that list.
So there you have it. The doctors could find absolutely NO cause for my pancreatitis, which makes it called "idiopathic pancreatitis." Great! So I waited about a day or so for the GI specialist to come give me his opinion, which was that he had no idea what caused it, that it "might not" happen again, but "if it does" there are some additional tests to run. Great! He suggested a low-fat diet, but did say he didn't think the low-carb diet I was on caused the attack, even if I was eating bacon & burgers on a regular basis.
So I have no cause. Which means I have no way to prevent it from happening again. And I am being "suggested" to follow a low-fat diet "for a week or so." Now let me tell you what-- continuing a low-carb diet, while needing to eat low-fat is a hard task! And eating low-fat makes me think I can't have ANYthing good, so I'm
a little sad, especially because they can't say that eating fat made this happen to begin with.
So- with that being said, if you know of any good low-fat, or low-carb AND low-fat recipes, send them my way!! I do still have a wedding to plan & I don't have time to hang out in the hospital another 3 days. Also, the huge bruises on my hands, wrists, and inner elbow are scaring my clients and I'm
pretty sure they think I'm in an abusive relationship. Seriously though, I thought these bruises would have gone away by now.
Thanks for reading my super fun story about my bout with pancreatitis!! You're a trooper!! ;)
♥,
Nicole
