Friday, October 28, 2011

Dangerous Information About Pancreatitis and What Is Ok To Eat

In the article (shown to me by a fellow pancreatitis sufferer) 7 Best Foods For Pancreatitis Diet the author, in their infinite stupidity, suggests that a pancreatitis patient drink red wine because it is full of antioxidants.

This is extremely dangerous information.

Alcohol is the number 1 trigger for Acute Pancreatitis.

Here is the comment I left:

________________________________________
The Health Guy says:
Your comment is awaiting moderation.

October 29, 2011 at 12:33 am

You probably won’t publish this because your information is incorrect, even dangerous because …

#1 – Nobody with pancreatitis should consume red wine. Alcohol is the leading trigger for acute pancreatitis and in suggesting that panc patient drink alcohol is almost crimminal. You definitely need to “bone up” on your knowledge of pancreatitis and what causes it and what can create more damage.

#2 – Yougurt is full of probiotics. There is research that indicates probiotics are not good for panc patients especially those suffering from acute pancreatitis. It can cause necrotizing pancreatitis and mortailty from NP is as high as 30%.
Here’s the research on probiotics: http://www.insidermedicine.com/archives/Probiotics_May_Increase_Risk_of_Death_in_Those_With_Acute_Pancreatitis_2192.aspx

I have pancreatitis. I have had it for over 30 years. I was first diagnosed in 1979 and I am one of the few who have probably survived this long and it wasn’t by drinking alcohol. If you or anyone else wants to really learn how to overcome pancreatitis and avoid more AP or CP pain and suffering go here: overcomingpancreatitis.com
_________________________________

Ok, that won't get posted but at least they know there are people who watch what is written out there.

I have shared with you before that there are blogs, static sites and even sites that are authored by "white coats" doctors that have some seriously dangerous information because they say things like alcohol or steak are ok to eat or used in moderation or some other stupid hogwash that may put you in serious jeopardy.

BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL about who you follow online in regards to any information about Pancreatitis. Most don't know shit about what is good in regards to a pancreatitis diet, what you should or should not eat, what eliminates inflammation or how to treat the disease appropriately in non-emergency situations. I am not saying to avoid the hospital when you are having or suspect you are having AP. However ...

IF you pay attention to what I do in regards to anti-inflammatories for pain resolution, MY pancreatitis diet and the supplements I use daily you will most likely avoid another episode of AP. I have had ONE episode of AP in 29 years and it was a nasty one but ...

It was my own fault for not paying attention, for not reading a label more thoroughly and as a result ingesting a potent trigger, pork.

Consuming alcohol as the above article suggests is just simply idiotic. The article also suggests eating yogurt. Unfortunately that may also not be a good thing as there is research that says probiotics increase AP death rate.

Again, be extremely careful who you follow or pay attention to in regards to what you should consume (food or drink) when it comes to pancreatitis because there is a lot of extremely dangerous information out there.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Stopping Pancreatitis Pain Requires Elimination of Pancreas Inflammation

Stopping pancreatitis pain requires the elimination of pancreas inflammation. The root of all pancreatitis pain is inflammation and/or the destruction caused by inflammation of the pancreas and if you do not eliminate the inflammation you will continue to experience pain, maybe horrible pain.

Stopping Pancreatitis pain can be done in several ways but there is only ONE way that makes sense to me and works and that is comprised of:

Stopping Pancreas Inflammation - Step # 1

NSAID's. Anti-inflammatories such as aspirin or Ibuprofen eliminate the pancreas inflammation quickly using large enough doses. Doctors use opiates to relieve pain which makes no sense to me because they are addictive and do NOT eliminate the inflammation of the pancreas. In fact there is a connection between acute pancreatitis and the use of opiates.

Fasting. NSAID's in combination with fasting, nothing by mouth except water, for 72 - 96 hours will most likely get the job done. Nothing by mouth (no food) is extremely important in order to rest the pancreas.

Grape Seed Extract, Curcumin and Grapefruit Juice. If you have grape seed extract, curcumin and grapefruit juice (these are the ONLY things by mouth other than water) I would use while in pain. All 3 have research that specifically points to their ability to stop pancreas inflammation AND actually protect the pancreas from damage.

_________________________________

I haven't tried grapefruit juice
during an acute pancreatitis
episode. So I can NOT tell you
the results but Ibuprofen (800 mgs)
stopped my pain where demerol didn't
even phase it. Once I learned about
grape seed extract and curcumin I
added those to help eliminate the
pain and inflammation.
__________________________________

Grapefruit juice is a double edged sword if you are currently on certain medications such as cholesterol medication so check with your doctor (pharmacist is even better for this) and ask if grapefruit juice will cause any adverse side effects and/or interactions with ANY medication you are currently taking.

I first started drinking grapefruit juice in in large quantities I believe 1981 or 1982 and my acute pancreatitis episodes stopped. I didn't connect the juice to the elimination of my acute pancreatitis but since writing this blog and creating a squidoo page about my experience with pancreatitis I found research that points directly to grapefruit juice as being the reason my acute pancreatitis episodes stopped. In fact ...

Maybe that is the reason my symptoms would disappear from time to time on previous occassions during my periods of illness. I have always drank grapefruit juice or eaten grapefruit for breakfast ever since I was a kid.

But not in vast quantities as I did when I started to drink it in place of beer while shooting pool and so forth. That makes me sound like I may have been an alcoholic but that isn't the case. I liked grapefruit juice so when I started drinking it in place of the alcohol that I'd normally drink under social circumstances I began drinking it all the time actually preferring it to water and quite honestly I don't know why I drank so much of it but ...

It was almost like I was compelled to drink the stuff so you who are like me, believers in God and angels, can come to your own conclusion because once I started drinking vast amounts my acute pancreatitis episodes stopped and healing began. I could tell you four other stories that lead me to believe I was led to the juice, personal experiences where I could have been killed but somehow survived but maybe some other time :-).

Keeping Pancreas Inflammation Away - Step #2

A nice juicy steak or any other red meat or pork, lamb, duck or anything containing fat, grease or oil, is NOT your friend or a food you want to eat when diagnosed with pancreatitis. And of course alcohol in any form is OUT.

If you want your pancreas to heal you should become a vegan for at least 6 months but as long as it takes until the pain, all pain including any abdominal tenderness is gone. A true vegan eats only vegetables, fruits, legumes (beans, lentils) and grains. NO animal products of any kind (NO meat, No dairy and nothing that contains them). But vegans prepare food and cook with oil, you'll need to eliminate the oil in vegan recipes.

So you eat like a very strict vegan who'll die if they consume oil and you continue to swallow grape seed extract, vit c, curcumin and as long as your pharmacist and doctor say it's ok you drink copious amounts of grapefruit juice and ...

Once your pain and any symptoms have completely resolved and you've been a good, strict vegan and supplement junkie for at least 6 months you can begin to consider adding some protein to your diet such as skinless boiled or broiled chicken (turkey works too) and poached white meat fish (halibut, pollack, bass, perch, crappie). And ...

If you want to stay pain free you never touch alcohol, red meat, pork, lamb, duck, butter, margarine or any other high fat, oily, greasy food and you'll continue to swallow your supplements and so forth for the rest of your life because you aren't cured, you are simply healed for the time being and will hopefully stay that way as long as you do what it takes to stay well because ...

This is important ...

One slip (miss something on a label)
One weak moment (you drink alcohol, have a steak)
One tiny screw up (eat fried potatoes cooked by someone else that contain oil, bacon fat)

OR

You eat anything that you shouldn't it is very possible you will find yourself in an actute pancreatitis attack and then you'll need to start all over and it may be worse than before because you may have more damage or, you just may not make it through the next one.

My hope for you is a long pain free life filled with happiness.

Monday, October 24, 2011

My Pancreatitis Regimen May NOT Work For You?

My Pancreatitis Regimen can be found outlined: here But ...

It may NOT work for you. It works extremely well for me but since everyone is different it may not work for you, however ...

UNLESS you have extensive damage and have cysts, most of your pancreas removed due to surgery for necrotizing pancreatitis (even someone with this kind of damage has experienced benefit) or a blockage in your pancreatic duct or some other weird, unfortunate circumstance such as pancreas divisum I would guess that 70% who actually do EXACTLY what I do will realize benefit.

I've had people tell me ALL my life that things I DO won't work or work for them. Let me tell you an "off topic" story as an example:

Years ago, while I was general sales manager of a small town car dealership I was holding a sales/training meeting in the conference room and was teaching telephone prospecting. Now, since I had come to that dealership brand new to the area and yet my first month had people walking in ASKING for me and buying cars and trucks you might think the morons (many had watch me sell cars my first month) in my class would easily accept what I taught but did they?

Oh no!

I had several tell me that what I was teaching WOULD NOT WORK!

So, I told Doug to slide the phone book to me, along with the phone. Then I gave the phone book to the first one who said it wouldn't work and asked them to pick a page in the book and I'd call some names.

"Pick a page, any of the white pages" I said.

Once he had done that I grabbed the phone and started calling. The whole sales crew watched and listened.

I made 5 calls and then asked the next person to pick a page and again I made 5 calls. Then I went to the next person and had them pick a page and I made 5 more calls and then I moved to the next and so on ...

I made 30 calls and kept my sales people along with the dealer in that conference room while I made those 30 calls.

Out of those 30 calls ...

1) I made 7 hard appointments (23%)
2) I received 2 referrals (good prospects to call)
3) Verified 30 names and addresses (mailing list follow up)
4) Introduced myself to 30 new, potential prospects (now or future)

So, as they all, including the dealer, looked at me like I was an alien I continued to explain the reason it wouldn't work for them is because ...

1) They never did it before or
2) Wouldn't try it or
3) If they did do it before it was only a variation of what I did, said, etc and NOT what I did EXACTLY the WAY I did it.

It is true, we are all different, unique but ...

Pancreatitis is NOT unique.

Pancreatitis is Pancreatitis.

There may be many reasons you have pancreatitis that vary from why I have pancreatitis. You may have pancreatitis due to gallstone obstruction or alcoholism or high blood fats or a toxic drug or pancreas divisum. Your damage may be different than mine. You may be older, younger, have more hair, maybe a different color of skin and eyes but let me ask you ...

Are you human?

Do you have pancreatitis?

If so, there is a very good chance that what I do will work for you as well because the basic disease or condition, pancreatitis, is pancreatitis. Pancreatitis hasn't changed, it hasn't mutated, there isn't a super pancreatitis that has become immune to certain alternative treatment and ...

If the disease is the same, you are human and I am human and we both have the same condition, pancreatitis, is it a reasonable assumption that if YOU did EXACTLY what I do that you just might possibly find relief?

I have an idea as to the answer but you need to draw your own conclusions. I'm no doctor, hell, I didn't even go to college or University. I'm just a guy who was diagnosed with pancreatitis, told I may live maybe another 10 years and am alive and pain free 22 years later than the prognosis.

If any of you folks reading this blog have questions be sure to ask in the comment section. I'll answer to the best of my knowledge which is limited.

Also if any of you have a story about how you became pain free, please share it with us in the comment section of any post you like that is relevant to that comment.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Important Pancreatitis Blog Comment Question - My Answer

For some reason blogger is not allowing me to respond to comments. Maybe they think I am a "spammer" :-) Anyway ...

Since there seems to be a technical dificulty lately I'll answer questions by posting the answers here until the problem is resolved.

Here's a readers question:

"I was wondering how long did it take you when you first started with the pills and everything to feel good and be able to resume normal activities. I know everyone is different but just curious. Thanks!"

My response:

I wish I could give you the answer you want but the truth is that it's been so long (1981) when I started drinking grapefruit juice and ...

I wasn't expecting any miracles so I do not recall how long it was from the time I started drinking grapfruit juice until my acute pancreatitis episodes diminished and disappeared.

I simply don't know.

I just started feeling better and as I have said before I didn't even recognize the significance of drinking grapefruit juice until I started reviewing my life with Pancreatitis and found research that said the juice was most likely the beginning of my healing then ...

In 1994, when I started taking grape seed extract and in 1995 when I added curcumin (I had been taking vitamin C for quite sometime - don't recall when I started) those 3, together with my strict diet healed me further and eventually even the abdominal tenderness disappeared.

I can't recall any acute pancreatitis episodes, pain or major symptoms after they disappeared while drinking grapefruit juice and then once I started with grape seed extract and then added curcumin life just kept getting better. Except for ...

I've had a couple episodes due to "testing" to find out which, the diet or the "pills," were the significant factors and what I found out was that BOTH were extremely important.

The only other Acute Pancreatitis episode I have suffered occurred in either 2005 or 2006 (I didn't make note of the date) when I screwed up and ate pork. I didn't read the label on some "turkey sausage" and it turned out to be encased in "pork casings."

So, other than the "testing" and the "pork casings" incidents I have been pretty well and pain free for years. But ...

I am sorry to say I can NOT give you an exact time period from start date to "pain free" with either the grapefruit juice or the grape seed extract and curcumin. But here is what I do know for a fact ...

If, knowing what I now know, I had to start over and stop the acute attacks and begin healing I would do this:

1) Go completely modified vegan (which I did) and by modified vegan I mean a vegan (strict vegetarian - no animal meat or dairy) who does not cook with oil or fats.

2) Drink grapefruit juice daily until my teeth began to float.

3) Take vitamin C, grape seed extract and curcumin (at least 500mgs of each daily).

4) Ibuprofen or aspirin for bad pain when needed (this is like when an acute attack comes on and of course I do not eat when I have pain)

and ...

I would keep doing the above until I was well.

Once well (no pain, no nausea, no abdominal tenderness) I'd simply keep drinking grapefruit juice daily (not as much maybe once or twice a day) and religously take the vitamin C, grape seed extract and curcumin daily for life.

I'd then try some animal protein (fish, chicken, turkey, rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, grouse, quail, eggs, cheese, milk) to see how it was tolerated. I can eat all those things now in small or reasonable amounts.

I still do NOT tolerate oil real well so I need to watch the consumption of oil (salad dressings, bakery goodies etc). I can eat some, just a little at a time and not all the time.

So, I am not cured and neither will anyone else be cured, but, life is much better than it was during those horrible years before the acute pancreatitis attacks stopped.

I know this isn't exactly what you asked for in terms of an answer but I can't give you specific time periods because I simply don't remember - a lot of it I don't WANT to remember.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Food and Pancreatitis: Got Pancreatitis Pain? No Food!

I am finding I am different than most people who suffer from Pancreatitis pain, whether acute or chronic.

In previous posts I mentioned NOT eating when you have pancreatitis pain. In fact I said nothing by mouth except water until the pain resolves.

That didn't mean noodles, rice cakes, tomatoes, Ensure, or jello were good to eat when pain was present.

That meant I eat nothing, nada, zip, not one damn thing except vitamin C, grape seed extract, curcumin and water until the pain resolves and then ...

Once the pain has been gone for at least 72 hours (3 days) juice such as V8 low sodium could be consumed (it is loaded with nutrients) or if you have a juicer create your own veggie juice using tomatoes, spinach, watercress, beets, celery and garlic. Then ...

If you have no symptoms on juice for another 48 - 72 hours then try small amounts of food such as brown rice and veggies to see how things go.

I never once mentioned that drinking Ensure was a good thing. It contains milk and/or milk solids such as whey (FAT), canola and corn oil. Did I mention OIL is NOT good? If you want to continue having pain drink Ensure.

What CP victims need to understand is that food is NOT your friend and most foods that normal people eat will do nothing but piss-off your pancreas.

You will most likely NOT die from starvation in one week - it usually takes much longer to die from lack of food and ANYTHING with fat or dairy should be avoided - when you have pain. When you have pain ALL food should be avoided - period.

BIG NOTE: If it is NOT VEGETABLE or FRUIT or freshly cooked whole grain in origin it is not good to consume until your pancreas has healed.

That means nothing that is processed.

Processed foods (prepackaged) all contain ingredients and ...

I don't care what the label says regarding fat content, it could say fat free but the ingredients say OIL (palm, coconut, peanut etc) and that is NOT fat free.

OIL is fat.

Margarine is fat.

Milk is fat.

Milk solids contain fat.

ALL meat contains fat.

Broth, unless totally veggie in origin, contains fat.

Fat is the enemy.

Alcohol is the enemy. And ...

If you are currently experiencing pain FOOD is the enemy.

The pancreas needs to "rest" until the pain resolves and has been resolved for at least 72 hours (3 days).

That could mean a WEEK without food.

Whatever it takes.

Unless you are diabetic or have some underlying metabolic problem fasting should not be a problem in fact it is the ONLY good thing that doctors do in the hospital for Pancreatitis patients - they take away the food.

Got pain?

NO food!

I have went weeks on only veggie juice (when I was really sick) and I mean AFTER the pain resolved yet I still did not feel well.

People with CP (Chronic Pancreatitis) need to learn that food is NOT your friend, especially when you have pain. Pain should tell you that your pancreas is NOT happy. If you keep pushing food onto your pancreas, when you already have pain, you will eventually pay and the price could be high.

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