Has anyone experienced pancreatic issues/disease since being banded. I went to my pcp today after experiencing what I thought was gall bladder issues. I have a lab slip to go to immediately to the hospital to have blood drawn to rule out pancreatic disease. I've also been given nexium and told to take latose pills before each meal, based on my symptoms (pain after eating, not everytime, random and things with milk seem to be a common factor. According to my pcp he said that pancreatic disease is commom after this type of surgery. Now I'm scared...I've only been banded since 12/30/11.

I know that gallbladder issues are common after anyone loses weight, but I've never heard anything about pancreatic disease.

i went thinking it was my gall bladder but now I have lab paperwork for pancreatic disease, although i've just read that sometimes gallstones can contribute....low fat diet and meds and we will see. He said they will most like do an ultrasound and cat scan but I have to try the low fat diet and meds through next week.

Wow that's scary, ccsbulldog. Did they mention what would lead to the pancreatic disease? You mentioned low fat may be necessary, could the high protein (usually higher in fat) diet be a contributing factor?

One of the causes of pancreatitis is gallstones stuck in the billary duct between the gallbladder and the pancreas. Perhaps that's what is going on with you?

Anyway, I hope you are able to get answers, and some relief.

I had Pancrititis in 97 which had nothing to do with the band or gall stones. I had a reaction to a medication that put me in the hospital with it and it got so bad that I ended up with Lactic Acidosis on top of it. My body pretty much turned itself into a acid factory, I couldn't keep anything down and my body was starting to shut itself down. Luckily one of the staff of Doctors which I had probably about 10-12 of them trying to figure out stuff, but a Nephrologist was able to figure it out working with my sister and they found a specialist that deals with it.

Anyway My Mom also got Pancrititis because she had a couple of pea sized gall stones caught int he bile ducts. Which caused this issue on her, not fun at all. You do feel pain when it is coming on, this might sound horribly gross but when you vomit it is kind of unlike anything else you have seen.

She had to be taken to the ER by Ambulance, and I did tell the Paramedics to check for Pancrititis first thing. They relayed the info and it was correct, that is kinda how distinct the vomit is

Gross part: Vomit in cases that I have heard of or seen personally. It almost a flourescent green color, with what looks like multi colors of yellow and almost swirly.. think of the painting A starry night but in shades of green!!! Cannot keep anything down!

I have not had any issues since being banded, however having gone through this before I am careful what I do eat and even if weight loss is a bit slower that is fine with me. The pain you feel with it is pretty severe, vomiting, alot of times a fever, and just plain wiped out. But you wont most likely be able to keep anything down.. Popsicle, Gatorade, Water, anything.... try not to be freaked out about it just get it checked out.

I was diagnosed with pancreatitis about 6 weeks after my surgery...the really scary part was that the bariatric surgeon attributed my pain to a simple pulled muscle. When I was discharged from the hospital, I was advised to follow up with my PCP (board certified in internal medicine). A good thing that I did...because he took one look at the lab results run during the time I was in the hospital and noticed my lipase level was significantly elevated...which indicates inflammation in the pancreas.

As per my PCP, there are generally only 3 reasons for this enzyme to become elevated - 2% is medication induced (quite rare), ~48% is from excessive drinking of alcohol, and the other ~48% is from gall bladder issues...not only related to gallstones.

There is a significant relationship between rapid and significant weight loss and gallbladder disease. In my case, my gallbladder essentially has ceased to function entirely..as diagnosed by my HIDA scan. My PCP does not attribute this entirely to my weight loss, but was exacerbated by my weight loss to the degree where I can now feel the nausea and pain. He felt eventually that the symptoms would have appeared, the weight loss just sped up the process.

I have a surgical consult scheduled for next week to determine when or if I need to have my gallbladder removed...this drill is getting old. If I need to have this surgery it will be my 3rd abdominal surgery in less than a year.

But, I still have no regrets about having my band surgery.

Best wishes to you...feel better!

Sojour - not sure what the cause it, my guess is my gall bladder since i rarely (less than twice a year) drink, and am on no medications. I'm really hoping it's gall bladder since that's less scary than pancreas problems, although my pcp did say there was a colloration between the two (pancreas/lap band) that I did not know about. Good luck to you also!

mis73 - I think he's trying to rule out everything. The low fat is to rule out the gallbladder from I got if the symptoms stop with low fat diet than gall bladder, but he also gave me a ten day supply of nexum and I had to buy lactose pills to eat before each meal as I had said most times when I experienced the pain I had eaten a yogart or drank 1% milk with carnation mix. I have to try this until next week, but I have a lab slip so if I experience pain I am to go immediately to the hospital and have blood drawn. I am also going to have a ultra sound and cat scan ordered.

My head was spinning so fast. What makes me upset is that I mentioned my symptoms to my lap band surgeon on two occasions and the first time he thought it had to do with the salad I ate, because it happened after eating that and the 2nd time I told him it happened after eating a greek yogart. I was told just to keep track of it and to let him know. I didn't call him because I just didn't feel like he took me serious. I don't know if he thinks I'm a complainer, but I'm not. That's why I went to my pcp who has been my doctor for 18 years. I feel better that i was listened to and something is being done. I'm the type of person who goes to the doctor once a year for yearly, I'm not a frequent flyer, so it bothered me that my

surgeon did not take me serious. - Okay now I'm done venting

I had acute pancreatic 12 years ago due to gall stones & blocked duct.45 days in hospital, very serious but completely recovered & no problem since. Surgery date is in 1 week & the thought of developing pancreatic again terrifies me! My surgeon said small chance he could have trouble getting band around stomach bc pancreas sometimes is fused to stomach after pancreatis. But never suggested I would be at risk of developing pancreatis again. Yikes:(

Wow this is an incredibly informative thread, I honestly had no idea about any of this. I knew having your gallbladder go south was fairly common after a rapid weight loss but I had no idea how the pancreas could be so adversely effected, too.

Thank you all so much for sharing, and ccsbulldog, I hope you're on the mend soon. Let us know what happens, ok?

agerpay1 - I was never told about the connection. I am not sorry I had th the surgery and even if I knew about the increased risk, I would have still had surgery. Until these "attacks" started I have been very pleased. Good luck to you with your surgery.

Will do mis73

Sojour - not sure what the cause it, my guess is my gall bladder since i rarely (less than twice a year) drink, and am on no medications. I'm really hoping it's gall bladder since that's less scary than pancreas problems, although my pcp did say there was a colloration between the two (pancreas/lap band) that I did not know about. Good luck to you also!

mis73 - I think he's trying to rule out everything. The low fat is to rule out the gallbladder from I got if the symptoms stop with low fat diet than gall bladder, but he also gave me a ten day supply of nexum and I had to buy lactose pills to eat before each meal as I had said most times when I experienced the pain I had eaten a yogart or drank 1% milk with carnation mix. I have to try this until next week, but I have a lab slip so if I experience pain I am to go immediately to the hospital and have blood drawn. I am also going to have a ultra sound and cat scan ordered.

My head was spinning so fast. What makes me upset is that I mentioned my symptoms to my lap band surgeon on two occasions and the first time he thought it had to do with the salad I ate, because it happened after eating that and the 2nd time I told him it happened after eating a greek yogart. I was told just to keep track of it and to let him know. I didn't call him because I just didn't feel like he took me serious. I don't know if he thinks I'm a complainer, but I'm not. That's why I went to my pcp who has been my doctor for 18 years. I feel better that i was listened to and something is being done. I'm the type of person who goes to the doctor once a year for yearly, I'm not a frequent flyer, so it bothered me that my

surgeon did not take me serious. - Okay now I'm done venting

I was feeling a bit "chilled to the bone" reading about how your bariatric surgeon lightly attributed your symptoms to other things besides those that could be directly related to the band...my surgeon did the same thing, and my PCP was quite annoyed that the lipase reading was essentially ignored by him.

I had to "jump through the insurance hoops"...with first an abdominal ultrasound, then the abdominal MRI...before they finally would approve the HIDA scan, which was the only test which could determine that my gall bladder had stopped working, and therefore explain my symptoms.

My surgeon has told me that I needed to "get with the program" because my first fill was delayed to 14 weeks post op, due to the other medical issues I have had going on (2 hospitalizations since band surgery)...though he did admit that my rate of weight loss to date was well above average for his patients. I also have felt that he was insensitive to the core issues of WHY I was having these problems.

I hope we can both feel better fast...this is getting very old...

I had my gall bladder out about 8 years before I had lapband surgery. I ended up with a pancreatic disease 3 weeks after that due to stones in my bile duct, just as someone else mentioned. I am careful of what medicatons I use; I can not use most arthiritis meds as they can cause a reoccurance of my pain and pancreatitis! I have not had a problem since lapband surgery, however. Be careful of your diet. Sounds to me like you have a lactose intolerance. But, I am not a doctor, Good luck. Karen

So here's and update on my "pancreatic issues". As I have not had any "attacks" since starting the nexium, the lactose pills and low fat diet, my pcp has concluded that I have excess stomach acid, apparently a common problem for those who have had lap band surgery. He stated he has other patients who have the same symptoms as me. As my insurance won't pay for nexium, he has prescribed omeprazole 40 mgs. I have to take it with food for the next month and then get the script refilled but do not take it unless I start experiencing symptoms again. I am hoping for no more "attacks". I haven't had any in about a month now, thank goodness!

I had a serious case of acute pancreatitis caused by gallstones about 8 months after getting a lap band. I was doing fine after the lap band surgery, but one morning suddenly developed severe abdominal pains. I ended up in an ambulance, and was in the hospital 4 straight months. My case was one of the worst - 8 operations, another 2 1/2 months in the hospital, lots of complications to numerous to mention (here's a sampling - multi-organ failure, sepsis, an ileostomy (now reversed), severe malnutrition, a cancer diagnosis probably due to a weakened immune system, etc.etc. etc. I went about 4 months with an open wound (healed by a wound vac) and nothing by mouth, not even Water. I was told it was a miracle I survived. I also lost my lap band, but lost a lot of weight due to the illness so am now normal weight. It was an absolute nightmare, but I survived, recovered, and am doing really, really well now - after a little over 3 years I have lots of abdominal scars but no disabilities. Looking at me, you would have no idea now what I went through. I had to retire on disability, but a year ago (all of this happened beginning in March, 2009) I returned to work, in a job that was a significant promotion over my previous job. As I write this, I can hardly believe what I endured, and that I am doing so well. Incidentally, my lap band surgeon cared for me throughout and performed all of my surgeries. My problems were not caused by anything he did wrong, just bad luck.

God is good! Good luck at all of you.