Flare vs. Pancreatitis . .

[Bob from Midwest]

So I've had five full-on flares that I can think of in my life. Two pre-diagnosis and three since. Two of those I went to the hospital for, and I was dignified by the doctors, but it turned out to be nothing I shouldn't have just grit my teeth through. I felt like an ass and had the bills to prove it. This flare I'm in now (maybe) has started at noon and gone till 7:00 with constant pain. I'm still sore but there are no active knives carving up my guts as we speak. I have been on 6MP for three weeks. Have had low grade fever in the evening, and sore throat every day until yesterday. I know that pancreatitis is a concern with 6MP and I wanted to know if any of you who've dealt with both a horrible flare and pancreatitis if there was a way to tell the difference. My disease was located in the TI, but I have major pain in the left flank. I am a high anxiety person, so I am just trying to find some peace of mind about this. Thank you for your time.

 

[KayleighMeek]

Hi sorry to hear you are suffering. I had pancreatitis caused by taking 6mp the pain I had was central and just under my ribs it almost started like heartburn or indigestion pain. Later on it started to radiate to my back, which is very common with pancreatitis, and then I started vomiting a lot. But I had a sudden and severe reaction to 6mp so it could be possible for your pancreas to be inflammed and not have vomiting. If you are worried about cost could you arrange with a dr to get some blood tests? They could possibly check your amylase to see if its raised which could point to pancreatitis and then go from there but if it's not then you would know its more likely a flare so they could sort out some medication for you.
Hope you feel better soon

 

[2thFairy]

I had mild pancreatitis from azathioprine. My symptoms were localized pain, vomiting, and I was very pale. I would get severe nausea right after I ate anything and could only eat a few bites before I felt full in the days before the vomiting started. I would wake from a dead sleep to puke. It hit me right at 7 weeks from when I first started taking it.

 

[Carrie]

I got pancreatitis from 6MP, too. Honestly, I thought I had a bowel obstruction, and ended up at A&E for it. When they did blood testing, they accused me of just being a drunk because my liver tests were so messed up (thanks, guys!). I continued taking it for a few more months until my general condition got much worse an my GI decided it wasn't doing anything positive for me or my liver.

So, for me, I thought the pain was pretty similar to bowel obstruction pain, and I believe was located in the upper-center of my abdomen (but so is a lot of my pain!).

My current GI tried me on Aza a few months ago to prolong the efficacy of Humira, and that was awful. Constant nausea, major fatigue, paleness, etc. Luckily, I got the OK to stop taking it at the follow-up.

I hope this is a quick-passing issue, and that the 6MP is doing more good than harm!

 

[2thFairy]

If 6MP had already caused pancreatitis, I'm shocked your GI would try you on azathioprine.

 

[Carrie]

If 6MP had already caused pancreatitis, I'm shocked your GI would try you on azathioprine.

I know, and I should have refused or protested or whatever. Even with all the crap I dealt with during my last flare, I have a difficult time questioning "authority."

 

[KayleighMeek]

I had the same my GI tried me with aza first got pancreatitis and then said to try 6mp as it may not have the same reaction and it was even worse.

 

[2thFairy]

Yeah, my GI said that 6MP is supposed to be not as hard on your system as azathioprine, but he didn't want to risk further damage to my pancreas and had me move on to Remicade at that point.