Pancreatitis

[Cherryblossom99]

I have had recurring episodes of intense pain around my right ribs going into my back and side for a while now. Last time I had an episode I eventually went to A&E after 6 days because I couldn't stick the pain anymore after multiple calls to out of hours/GP. They didn't do much at A&E, took bloods and sent me home.
It has flared up again since Tuesday and I called the GP yesterday, he got me to come in and felt my stomach and was concerned about the tenderness. He said that he would query pancreatitis based on the area of the pain and my description. He wanted me to go to A&E for bloods to test my amylase. However I was reluctant due to anxiety so he then checked what bloods the hospital took back in May and they included my amylase which was normal. So he prescribed antibiotics for h pylori which I have had before.
When I got home I googled pancreatitis and I am now worried as it seemed to match my description of the pain. It also said that amylase levels begin to decrease 48 hours into the episode and by the time I'd gone to A&E it was day 6. I am worried that this has been pancreatitis all along and am now panicking

Anyone have any advice or experiences? Thanks

You need to call your GP or 111. You can’t expect people on here to give medical advice. Pancreatitis can kill you.

My experience of pancreatitis was continuous pain and feeling very ill. Also very dark orange urine.

Have you been diagnosed with gallstones?

My GP diagnosed it on the basis of abdominal exam and sent me to A & E where I stayed overnight on a ward on an antibiotic drip.

You could just go up to A&E now. Tell them what's been going on.

No nothing like gallstones. I wasn't going to rely solely on medical advice given on here. I was just looking for an idea.
I didn't realise how serious pancreatitis could be until I got home and researched it.
I have been trying to get help with this pain for a while and yesterday when the GP mentioned pancreatitis it was the first time it had been mentioned

The last episode took about 8 days to go away so I'm hoping this will be the same. Next time it occurs I will go straight to hospital.

If you still have it and are in intense pain I would go to A & E. If it has subsided go back to the GP and get referred for a scan. Don’t wait for it to come back.

If it is pancreatitis something else is going on that needs urgent attention.

It took them ages to find I had gallstones as I had no pain on the right at all at first.

I had pancreatitis along with gallstones and jaundice, but the gallstones were asymptomatic and it was only when the pancreatitis kicked in that I realised I was unwell. All 3 conditions were very quickly diagnosed in A&E (the dark brown urine was a bit of a giveaway!). Don't ignore pancreatitis - it can be serious.

I kind of wish I'd just gone to hospital last night tbh as maybe the doctor would have given me a letter to take down.
I wouldn't say I'm in agony and I can continue with normal activities but the pain is definitely bothering me and is difficult to ignore.
I hadn't realised how serious pancreatitis can be or that amylase levels can return to normal within a couple of days of the episode onset or I would have gone.
I'm only 23 and perhaps naively didn't realise you could have pancreatic issues so young.

@Cherryblossom99 I had those symptoms with a blocked stone from gallbladder and was only early 30s

Hi OP,

did you ever get to the bottom of this? Having similar symptoms.

Hi fml girl

No I haven't found out what it was, I had another episode about 5 weeks ago however it was on the left hand side this time rather than the right! It was also up into my shoulder blade.
I'm dreading the next flare as it usually occurs every 6 weeks or so