Beating Pancreatitis Ebook

Beating Pancreatitis

Meal Times Were Always Difficult For My Father. When We Discovered He Had Pancreatitis We Found Out Why The Pancreatitis Diet Is So Important!

Dear Friend,

For as long as I can remember my Father suffered from continuous bouts of pain especially around meal times. I have an enduring picture of him seated at the kitchen table bent over with elbows on the table and hands shielding his eyes. "What's the matter, Dad?" I would say. "Oh, it's just heartburn!" he'd say. Or "hiccups", or in later years, "My ulcer's playing up" or "My hiatal hernia's giving me curry!"

The pains seemed to strike more and more often and the doctors always seemed to come up with some explanation for the cause. He'd been given the run down - "It's heartburn. Go home and take a couple of paracetemol for the pain". So off he'd go and take the aspirin, or Mylanta, or some other drug that seemed to have little overall effect whatsoever.

You see my Dad, Les, had a history of gastro-intestinal ailments and had been prescribed a load of different drugs over the years, none of which seemed to fully fix his problems. Among other things, he'd been diagnosed with a duodenal ulcer, hiatus hernia, appendicitis and diabetes and despite a cocktail of drug treatments he never really got 100% well.

We Never Realized That My Father's Diet Could Have Contributed So Significantly To His Pancreatitis.

Dad was diagnosed with a major attack of Pancreatitis in July 2004. It was then that it started to dawn on us that the diet he maintained over the years had probably contributed to this latest condition. In fact it was after a fatty take-out meal that he suffered his final, attack of pancreatitis.

Unfortunately, Dad never recovered from his latest battle with pancreatitis! After sharing a meal with his granddaughter, he became violently ill. He was taken to hospital by ambulance and placed on an intravenous drip and given pain medication. He had blood tests, an ultra-sound and CT scan - all of which pointed to major pancreas problems!

He was placed into a medically-induced coma hoping that this might allow the organs to repair themselves. It turned out to be a forlorn hope!

If only we'd realized that what you eat and drink can have a powerful influence on your pancreatitis. We might have paid much closer attention to how Dad was feeling during and after meals and what his diet consisted of!

After my Dad passed away, we took it upon ourselves to find out everything we could about pancreatitis. This research lead us on a journey of discovery about many, many factors relevant to pancreatitis. Of these factors, none grabbed our attention as much as the importance of diet and nutrition for the pancreatitis sufferer.
What we discovered is that the pancreas is really a remarkable organ. In fact, it is really two organs in one! It is what's known as an endocrine gland that secretes hormones such as insulin, and it is also an exocrine gland which secretes enzymes directly into the gut rather than into the blood.

Therefore, it is fair to say that the pancreas plays a vital role in the digestion process!

Inflammation of the pancreas organ, which is pancreatitis, can therefore have a major influence on digestion. For the pancreatitis sufferer this means dietary modification and monitoring are essential parts of the treatment process.

We discovered that there are two very important reasons why the person with pancreatitis must modify and monitor their diet:

firstly as a means of reducing the chance of further attacks or inflammation of the pancreas; and
secondly to ensure your body receives the nourishment it needs to maintain itself and further reduce the chance of inflammation or the appearance of other complications (eg: diabetes).
But, identifying these reasons turned out to be only half the story and raised a whole lot more questions in our minds and in the minds of the growing number of pancreatitis sufferers we knew. Practical things like:

• Shopping. What things do you need to consider when you are buying food for the pancreatitis sufferer
  Food storage. Keeping food safely and in a manner that maintains its freshness is vitally important in order to ensure maximum nutritional benefit is gained.
• Meal planning. What types of meals best suit pancreatitis and will minimize the chances of pain flare-ups in future.
• Meal preparation. Cooking needs to be undertaken in a way which ensures reduced chances of pain and maximum nutrition. What recipes will provide the types of meals that are best for the person with pancreatitis.
• General diet principles to apply when your pancreas' function has been diminished.

After all this research we put together a book that brings it all together. This book is called 'Cooking Hints and Recipes for Pancreatitis.' This book covers off on everything the pancreatitis sufferer needs to know to ensure that what they are eating isn't likely to lead to more pancreatitis flare-ups.

Furthermore, we've added an interview with renowned dietitian and author, Ruth Logan entitled 'Nutrition and Diet For Pancreatitis'

The best news is you get both of these publications for free when you purchase a copy of the book 'Beating Pancreatitis - How to Get Healthy and Enjoy Life Again.'

Finally, YOU Can Get Your Life Back After Pancreatitis!

This new e-book 'Beating Pancreatitis - How to Get Healthy and Enjoy Life Again' provides comprehensive details about this most unusual of health conditions AND it does so in a user-friendly, non-intimidating and positive way. It includes a section on Frequently Asked Questions which gives well-researched, practical answers to all those questions that had been going around in my head!

• What causes pancreatitis and who is most at risk of developing it? I wanted to know what had caused my Father's pancreatitis and whether I or any other relatives should be worried about the risk factors. Alcohol consumption can cause pancreatitis but my Dad hadn't been a great drinker of alcohol. He'd not really had any issues with gallstones either so another cause could be discounted. My research led to the development of a profile of the risk factors for both chronic and acute pancreatitis.
• How can pancreatitis be prevented? What should we be doing to prevent getting pancreatitis? This was important to me to know so that those at risk could take steps, get advice and assistance that would help prevent pancreatitis.
• How do I know if I have pancreatitis?Inflammation of the pancreas and pancreatic problems in general are notoriously difficult to diagnose. So, I really wanted to know what the signs and symptoms of the disease were. Why is it so difficult to diagnose and how can diagnosis be improved? I realized that many pancreatitus sufferers have a very difficult time in the early stages of their condition. Dealing with the uncertainty and with some medical carers who just think you are either alcoholic or on drugs can be very frustrating. I also discovered that Diabetes is a symptom or result of having pancreas problems. But, more than that, I learnt a lot about the possible causes of pancreatic illnesses, such as:
  
  - the effects of pancreatic cysts
  • how gallstones can result in chronic pancreatitis problems
  - how sometimes it's just not clear what the causes of panc problems are (known as idiopathic causes)
  - what the true relationship is between alcohol and pancreas pains
• What tests will be carried out to see if I have pancreatitis? The reading I'd done said there were a lot of possible options and that early treatment was essential in serious cases. So, which tests are most relevant and why and what do they measure exactly? I also wanted to know what complications there might be with these different forms of treatment. I outline a typical treatment protocol for pancreatitis and go through the spectrum from the physical examination, the different pancreatic function tests - both the direct and more invasive such as the secretin-stimulation test and the Lundh Meal and the indirect, non-invasive such as the fecal fat determination test. There's also much to know about the various imaging techniques that are now used including Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography (ERCP), Magnetic Resonance Cholangio-Pancreatography (MRCP) and Computed Tomography or CT Scans that are now being widely used to identify changes in the size of the pancreas or pancreatic duct.
  What kind of doctor do I see if I suspect I have pancreatitis? It's really easy to feel like you're on the 'medical merry-go-round' when you have or are suspected of having pancreas problems. It's important to know who to see and why, and what questions to ask! Usually you'll see your general physician, but often times the process of diagnosis can be lengthy and uncertain. Ultimately, you'll want to see a gastro-enterologist.
• What are the stages of the disease and can it spread? With my Dad's history I really wanted to know about how pancreatitis problems can progress over time. I was sure my Dad had shown symptoms of pancreatitis in the past that hadn't been diagnosed. This raised questions in my mind about the differences between chronic and acute pancreatitis. Being aware of the different paths these conditions can take makes decisions on what to do about them much simpler. I've outlined a process on what to do in the first week of being diagnosed.
• How is pancreatitis normally treated? What are common side-effects from the various treatments? I knew there had to be some standard treatment protocols but this problem seemed to have a lot of treatment options. It's so important to know what the options are and what the possible implications of each might be. Diet modification, pancreas enzyme therapy and pain management are important for those with pancreatitis problems, however each of these has implications that are important in successfully treating pancreatitis.

And of course there are numerous tips and ideas on diet modification and nutritional treatments to help ease pain and reduce the chances of further pancreatitis attacks!

'Beating Pancreatitis - How to Get Healthy and Enjoy Life Again'combines all this together with an extensive description of things like:

• What the pancreas does and what pancreatitis is (including the different forms it takes), the different causes and symptoms of the disease
• The number of ways it can be diagnosed
• What stages it can take over time
• What different medical procedures are used to test for pancreatitis and to track its progress (and the positives and negatives of having these tests!)
• The different ways of treating pancreatitis - from traditional pain medications and pancreatic enzymes through to different surgical options and
• Several alternative treatments including a number of NATURAL THERAPIES that are now being used to help treat both the pain and the risk of on-going pancreas attacks.
• Several things you can do to prevent getting pancreatitis
• Numerous tips and ideas on diet modification and nutritional treatments that help ease the pain and prevent future attacks.
• All the medical words and jargon broken down into easily understood language

So if you're worried about having this disease and concerned about the quality of your life, your ability to socialize, to eat well and enjoy the simple pleasures in life because of pancreatitus - then relax. You're not alone. And help is at hand. Read on to discover how others have fought and shielded themselves from the most harmful and incapacitating aspects of this condition.

If someone you know and love is suffering from Pancreatitis then this could be the most inspiring and life-changing message you've ever read.

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