How to Avoid Acute Pancreatitis During the Holidays

I know that the majority of the people reading this Pancreatitis blog are not going to follow my strict regimen, especially when it comes to eating with family during the holidays.

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ALWAYS carry a "save my life kit" with you.

My kit contains:
Aspirin, grape seed extract, and curcumin in
enough quanities to stop an attack. It also
contains compazine for nausea.
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The reason I know this is simple.

I'm the only child my parents had that lived.

My father passed away while I was in the Marine Corps and my mom later got together with a really great guy which gave her tons of step family that she has becoame very close with. However ...

My step father died in 2002 and ...

It isn't their (step family) responsibility to take care of her, it is mine.

So when my mom started failing, both mentally and physically, I sold my house (which was in another state) and moved in with her. We talked about her moving in with me but I had a fairly large 3 level home (shes doesn't do well climbing stairs) and all her step family lives by her so it only made good sense for me to move instead of her.

I now live in the house I grew up in when I was a kid. But ...

Her step family always wants us to come eat at their homes, they bring food over and so forth. It is difficult because ...

I KNOW that the food is not safe for me and since she is a Celiac it isn't safe for her either.

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease that is triggered by gluten which inturn causes the disease to damage the villi in the small intestine. It can also attack different organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys but let's get back to the subject of unsafe food and why it is NOT safe to eat what others cook.

I'll give you a prime example ...

Gluten is in thousands of products.

They use it to thicken soups (wheat flour), stews, they use it in SPICES (the combinations that are popular for bar-b-qing have hidden gluten) and on and on it goes so I had to eliminate tons of food from her diet and trust me she COMPLAINED - a lot! But ...

In weeks she was feeling better than she had in YEARS! Then ...

She went with her great granddaughter and had lunch.

Soon she was sick.

My step sister lives next door, she brings food over quite often.

Early this summer her husband bbqed some nice short ribs. They looked and smelled delicious. She brought some short ribs over to my mom (my step sister works at a big hospital as an executive), thinking she knows a lot about Celiac Disease she informs my mother the short ribs are safe for her to eat.

My mother, against my wishes, eats the damn short ribs.

Next day she wakes up ...

SICK.

"Hmmm ... gosh, mom maybe my step sister doesn't know as much as she thinks she does hmm...???"

She gave me all kinds of excuses.

It couldn't have been the short ribs cuz my step sister isn't stupid ...

It couldn't have been the short ribs cuz there was nothing on them but bbq sauce and ...

I asked her:

"Mom, why do you suppose I haven't used bbq sauce on anything we have eaten this year?"

"I don't know, why?" she asks.

"Because they thicken bbq sauce with wheat, that means it contains gluten and that's WHY you are nauseated and have diarrhea."

"Oh."

But this still went on for another few times until she finally got it through her skull that I actually knew more than most other people about what was good for her health.

I told her to quit eating food prepared by others, if the food was NOT purchased by me and in our home - it is not safe - period.

She finally got the point and is now feeling great.

Other people do NOT intentionally try to poison us (panc victims and Celiacs) it is simply that they don't KNOW as much as they think they know or do not want to change the way they cook simply to please us. And I don't blame them for not wanting to change their cooking habits! Hell, it isn't easy! Ok so ...

Let's get back to avoiding acute pancreatitis during the holidays.

I know you are going to go to eat with family and friends. Most people do not have my discipline and or simply don't want to give up what they are accustomed to doing on holidays so ...

To avoid acute pancreatitis as much as possible make sure that you do NOT eat the ham, bacon, roast, steak, duck or any other HIGH fat no-no and for gawd sakes don't drink wine or any other form of alcohol (watch out for marinaded food).

Eating the turkey dinner cooked by others ...

I'm going to use Thanksgiving as an example because I'm going to :-)

Before you start eating (like an hour before) take 200mgs of grape seed extract and 500mgs of curcumin. This will help but it WILL NOT keep you from disaster if you should decide to disregard what I tell you. Make sure you also take your digestive enzymes before you eat and I would also take more after. And ...

1) Ask for a slice of breast, or a leg. Both of those will be cooking UP out of the turkey grease that the bottom of the turkey swims in. REMOVE the skin BEFORE eating.

2) Do NOT eat the dressing if it has been cooked inside the bird - It soaks up grease.

3) Do not eat the candied yams or put butter on your mashed potatoes and eating gravy is asking for trouble as is anything made with mayo or bacon or bacon grease or cooked in FAT.

I've warned you, the rest is up to you.

Oh and ...

ALWAYS carry a "save my life kit" with you.

My kit contains: Aspirin, grape seed extract, and curcumin in enough quanities to stop an attack. It also contains compazine for nausea.

Good luck during the holidays :-)

Leave a comment and let me know you are alive!