Seldom does anyone think about the functions of the pancreas in the human body. Hearing the diagnosis of "chronic pancreatitis", the patient is usually confused. And where did such an attack come from? If the diagnosis was carried out correctly, you will have to change your lifestyle once and for all. Treatment of chronic pancreatitis is long and serious. If you let the disease take its course, then everything will end in death.
Brief description of pancreatitis as a disease
Chronic pancreatitis occurs when progressive damage begins in the tissues of the pancreas due to persistent inflammation. Today it is one of the most common and serious diseases among men aged 43-50 and women aged 35-50.
Over the past two decades, the percentage of chronic pancreatitis among the adult population has increased several times. Doctors attribute this to thoughtless drinking of alcoholic beverages and poor quality food. Alas, now even small children are sometimes diagnosed with this.
The disease progresses for 5-6 years without symptoms. Then he makes himself felt with pain in the abdomen. The continuous inflammatory process of the pancreas also signals itself by impaired insulin resistance, obesity, general weakness, frequent abdominal upsets, diarrhea and undigested food in the stool.
According to the international classification, the following ICD code for chronic pancreatitis is 10:
- K86.0 Chronic pancreatitis of alcoholic etiology.
- K86.1 Other chronic pancreatitis.
Often, patients also have biliary (or biliary-dependent) pancreatitis. It develops due to existing diseases of the liver, gallbladder and biliary tract.
What is the pancreas and what are its functions?
This organ is located in the abdomen, just below the stomach, next to the spleen.
In Latin, this gland is called pancreas. That is why its enzymes are called "pancreatic". And inflammation of this gland is called "pancreatitis".
The pancreas has two main functions:
- exocrine - regulates digestion;
- endocrine - responsible for insulin production and blood sugar regulation.
Check your pancreas with an ultrasound if the following symptoms bother you from time to time:
- bloating, gastrointestinal disorders;
- unpleasant sour taste in the mouth inbreaks between meals;
- nausea and vomiting after eating fatty and heavy foods;
- girdle pain in the upper abdomen (aggravated after junk food or drinking alcohol).
What contributes to the development of pancreatitis
Most often, however sad it may sound, addiction to alcoholic beverages causes chronic inflammation of the pancreas. In our society, drinking on the weekends has become the norm. Going to clubs with plentiful alcoholic libations, gatherings at home for beer - all this has become commonplace. Few people realize that this is a banal household alcoholism.
Problems with the liver and gallstone disease are also often the causes of the rapid development of pancreatitis.
The third "honorable" place should be given to malnutrition for many years. All organs suffer, but one of the first to take a hit is the pancreas. Can chronic pancreatitis be cured? The answer to this question largely depends on the desire of the patient himself.
Three stages of disease progression
Three forms can be distinguished according to the severity of symptoms.
- Severe course: due to constant pain, from which medications no longer save, the patient is forced to undergo inpatient treatment 4-5 times a year. Due to pancreatic diarrhea, the patient is rapidly losing weight, has a pale and haggard appearance. Almost any food eaten causes nausea and the urge to vomit. addedmore and more complications: diabetes mellitus, reduced insulin resistance, intestinal paresis, cholelithiasis, bile stasis.
- Moderate: exocrine function of the pancreas is practically absent, in the analysis of feces a large amount of fat and protein. The patient loses weight, often experiences girdle pain. But after a course of treatment, she still maintains a long-term remission - about a year. Then the symptoms return, and every next year the tests get worse.
- Mild course: tests are almost normal, body weight and appearance, like a he althy person. Of the symptoms, only frequent diarrhea, mild nausea after fatty plentiful meals, an unpleasant sour taste in the mouth.
Chronic pancreatitis: symptoms and treatment in adults
Often people don't give a damn about their he alth. Having heard their diagnosis, they are in no hurry to adjust their diet and give up alcohol. Meanwhile, chronic pancreatitis can progress to pancreatic necrosis in a few years, and this is already a fatal diagnosis, and the chances of surviving with it are low.
When you discover the symptoms of this disease, do not hesitate, consult a doctor. Diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis is simple and easy to implement today. In just a couple of days, doctors will be able to say exactly what the patient is suffering from.
Treatment of chronic pancreatitis is usually carried out in a hospital. Sample order of activities for a patient in the hospital:
- Following a strict diet. The first days after exacerbation andalmost complete fasting is recommended for diagnosis.
- Elimination of pain and spasms - this is where medication comes into play.
- Normalization of the digestive process. Reporting to the patient that now for the rest of his life he needs to adhere to a certain diet, completely eliminate alcohol from his life.
- Replenishment of enzyme deficiency with fermented preparations.
- If it is still possible, try to restore part of the affected pancreatic tissue.
Pharmacology against pancreatitis
If the tests showed the presence of an infection, antibiotic therapy is carried out for 8-10 days. If the ducts are inflamed, most often they prescribe "Amoxiclav", "Amoxicillin" (the doctor always chooses the drug). Also, antibiotics in some cases can facilitate the outflow of bile. But sometimes Ursosan is additionally prescribed for this. Such measures help to stop the inflammatory process, thereby relieving pain in chronic pancreatitis. With spasmodic girdle pain, "Noshpa" or "Drotaverin" is prescribed.
In parallel, it is necessary to follow the rules of nutrition in chronic pancreatitis. Otherwise, the course of antibiotics will be taken in vain, and the symptoms will return again.
To reduce the level of acidity, "Maalox" or "Almagel" is most often prescribed.
To reduce the general intoxication of the body with inflammation of the pancreas, modern preparations "Hemodez" have proven themselves well,"Ringer".
Chronic pancreatitis (ICD code 10 - K 86.0) most often gives a complication to the work of the gastrointestinal tract. For normal digestion, the patient is prescribed enzyme preparations "Creon", "Pancreatin".
If drugs for chronic pancreatitis did not give the expected improvement in the condition, then the patient is prepared for surgery.
Dietary guidelines for patients
Diet plays a huge role in restoring the well-being of a sick person. Most often, the pancreas begins to function incorrectly if a person abuses fatty, spicy, s alty foods and often drinks alcohol. Heavy smokers are also at risk.
Diet and treatment of chronic pancreatitis are closely related. If you continue to eat as before, the disease will develop into pancreatic necrosis (i.e., the actual death of the pancreas and the poisoning of the body with toxins).
- Favor well-ground foods (even if you take separate enzymes for digestion). Cream soups, mashed vegetables, minced meat (e.g. steamed patties).
- Stick to fractional meals. The stomach is now simply not able to digest large volumes of food. 7-8 meals per day are optimal. The total volume of one serving is about 200 grams.
- The balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates should be balanced. Once and for all, forget about meat diets and vegetable fasting days. Daily in small amounts in the diet shouldbe proteins, he althy fats, and carbohydrates.
- The total daily caloric intake is about 1500-2000 kcal for women and 2500-3000 kcal for men. You can’t overeat, this will exacerbate the disease and cause pain in the abdominal region.
Approximate diet for the day
Oatmeal porridge on the water will be an excellent breakfast. To make up for the lack of he althy fats, add a teaspoon of olive oil. For drinks, prefer weakly concentrated home-made compotes (you can cook them from fresh frozen berries or use dried fruits).
Snack - one non-sour apple, a glass of fermented baked milk.
For lunch, be sure to eat protein food. Light vegetable soup with the addition of slices of boiled chicken fillet. Or a plate of buckwheat porridge with veal goulash. You can’t fry food, i.e. you can forget about chops, scrambled eggs, classic butter cutlets forever.
Another snack - a bar of low-fat cottage cheese with a spoonful of honey or non-acidic fruit.
Dinner would be perfect to make protein. Steamed fish with greens (cod, pollock, carp - give preference to low-fat varieties). As a side dish, a vegetable salad seasoned with a tablespoon of olive oil is suitable.
Sometimes you can arrange a "holiday of the stomach" - to please yourself with low-fat ice cream, milkshake or kefir smoothie with your favorite fresh berries.
Nutrition for chronic pancreatitis is the key to stable remission.
Folk remedies for pancreatitis
Many patients likeuse simple home remedies in the treatment of diseases. Elderly people are still convinced that herbal infusions can heal almost any disease. Symptoms of chronic pancreatitis and treatment in adults indicate the opposite: starting from the second stage, traditional medicine is powerless.
Here are the most popular ones.
- Decoction of wild rose and pine needles. Dry rose hips (300 g) and 100 grams of green needles are poured with a liter of water and brought to a boil. Then the berries are mashed with a crush to the state of puree, as far as possible, and boiled for another half hour. The slurry of pine needles and rose hips is decanted, and the decoction is taken twice a day half an hour before meals in a glass.
- Mix equal proportions of corn silk, peppermint, calendula and plantain. Pour boiling water, insist for two hours. The resulting infusion should be taken on an empty stomach, several times a day. Only at the initial stage of inflammation of the pancreas, immediately after the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, can such infusions be useful.
- There is an opinion that raw potato juice, mixed in half with carrot juice, can heal pancreatitis in a couple of weeks. Whether to believe this miraculous recipe is up to you. If you decide to try it, be careful, as raw carrot juice can cause pain.
- People are advised to drink goat's milk on an empty stomach every day. Allegedly, after such a breakfast, the manifestations of the disease disappeared for many people. Goat milk really has a number of useful properties. But scientific studies have not proven the effect of goat's milk on the condition.pancreas.
Many patients are interested in the question of how to cure chronic pancreatitis forever with folk remedies. If it were possible so simply, would people suffer from an exacerbation of the disease for many years? Treatment of chronic pancreatitis is not as quick and simple as it might seem at first glance. It happens that the disease returns after a couple of years, and during this time irreversible changes have time to occur.
Can chronic pancreatitis be cured?
It is definitely difficult to answer this question. A lot depends on the stage of the disease and on the individual characteristics of the organism, the general state of he alth. The important thing is whether the person himself is ready to make efforts for recovery.
Starting from the second stage, it is impossible to get rid of this disease. If degenerative processes have already begun in the pancreas, they can only be slowed down.
Patients who have permanently given up alcohol in any quantities, completely revised their diet and lifestyle, can forget about the recurrence of pancreatitis for many years and even decades. But returning to the old way of life will invariably lead to an aggravation of the condition.
Surgical treatments
In some cases, surgery is unavoidable: it is about the survival of the patient. With improper treatment of chronic pancreatitis, the case often ends with surgery.
The main task of the surgeon is to eliminate necrotic foci in the pancreas. In the presence of cysts and abscesses - completetheir removal. Drainage of the pancreas is done to reduce pressure. Also, pus and fluid are released through the drainage, which can cause an infectious process if they have nowhere to be released.
Surgeons often have to make anastomoses between the pancreas and intestines. The prognosis of the patient's life expectancy after such operations is unfavorable.
