Pancreatitis can be defined as inflammation in the pancreas—the long, flat gland that is located behind the stomach in the upper abdomen. The function of the pancreas is to produce enzymes that assist digestion and create hormones that support glucose regulation. Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. Acute pancreatitis occurs suddenly and lasts for several days. Typically, acute pancreatitis will go away on its own and not cause permanent damage to the pancreas. Alternately, chronic pancreatitis describes symptoms that occur over several years, usually causing permanent damage. Cases that are classified as severe can cause life-threatening complications. Many cases require hospitalization.

Classic symptoms of acute pancreatitis include upper abdominal pain that radiates to your back, abdominal pain that feels worse after eating, nausea, vomiting, sweating, and tenderness when the abdomen is touch or massaged. Symptoms of chronic pancreatitis are similar to those of acute pancreatitis, but these symptoms can last for years and cause weight loss and steatorrhea. If the abdominal pain caused by pancreatitis becomes so intense that you cannot find a position that is comfortable to rest in, hospitalization may be required.

Pancreatitis occurs when digestive enzymes are activated while still inside the pancreas, causing damage to the organ. Typically, these enzymes are supposed to migrate to the small intestine before being activated to help aide digestion. When the enzymes become active in your pancreas, the cells of the organ become irritated and can eventually begin to scar over. If scar tissue begins to form, the pancreas will be unable to function properly, leading to serious problems with digestion. Pancreatitis can have many causes, whether acute or chronic. Some of the most common causes of pancreatitis include:

• Alcoholism
• Gallstones
• Surgery and/or certain medications
• Genetic factors
• Pancreatic cancer

If the pain caused by pancreatitis becomes so severe that hospitalization is required, your physician may first seek to alleviate your immediate symptoms before identifying the underlying cause. Especially with cases that become chronic, identifying the underlying cause is extremely important.

Self Help

There are a handful of lifestyle changes that may help ease the recovery process, or even lower your risk of developing pancreatitis altogether.

• Abstain from alcohol. Chronic alcohol abuse can cause the pancreatic enzymes to become prematurely activated, digesting the pancreas itself. Abstaining from alcohol allows the pancreas to heal, while the enzymes have a chance to recover their natural function.
• Don’t smoke. The combination of smoking and alcohol can be extremely dangerous. Chronic smoking can aggravate the pancreas, affecting an individual’s overall health and ultimately making one more susceptible to developing pancreatitis.
• Adopt a low-fat diet. The pancreas is responsible for proper digestion. When the organ is not functioning properly, the enzymes needed to break down food are not readily available, causing malabsorption. Fatty foods are harder to process, putting undue stress on the pancreas.

When it comes to pain management, meditation and yoga may help one cope with their symptoms.

Western Treatments

As mentioned earlier, a physician treating pancreatitis may seek to stabilize the patient and control the inflammation of the pancreas before addressing the underlying cause. Treatment for pancreatitis oftentimes requires hospitalization. The most effective way to control the inflammation in the pancreas is to have the patient fast for several days, or until symptoms cease. Once the inflammation goes down, solid foods are slowly reintroduced into the diet. During this fasting period, patients are given intravenous fluids to help replenish the body.

The pain caused by pancreatitis can become excruciating. For this reason, pain medications are often given to patients that are admitting into the hospital. For some, heavy duty pain medications can cause nausea, vomiting, and dizziness.

Once the immediate symptoms have been addressed, the underlying cause can be identified and treated. If the pancreatitis is caused by a narrowed or blocked bile duct, a procedure to open or widen the duct may be necessary. If gallstones caused the pancreatitis, surgery may be needed to extract the gallbladder (called a cholecystectomy). Fluids may need to be drained from the pancreas, and dead tissue may need to be removed. All of these procedures carry some risk, which patients should ask their doctors about.

Treatments based in TCM Practices

If the patient has a thick, greasy tongue coating, jaundice, and fever, a mixture including coptis rhizome, lophatherum herb, bupleurum root, rehmannia (raw) root, tang kuei root, white peony root, and akebia trifoliata may help symptoms of pancreatitis. For pain, the abovementioned mixture can be combined with a blend of curcuma tuber, corydalis rhizome, taraxacum herb, melia fruit, ji nei jin, and salvia root.

The blend of curcuma tuber, corydalis rhizome, taraxacum herb, melia fruit, ji nei jin, and salvia root can also be combined with a different mixture. This mixture includes corydalis extract rhizome, angelic root, white peony root, cinnamon twig, tang kuei root, and salvia root. This combination may address radiating pain, nausea, and vomiting that are unaccompanied by fever.

For fever without jaundice but with radiating pain, a combination of two mixtures can also be taken to potentially help alleviate symptoms. The first mixture includes isatis extract leaf and root, oldenlandia herb, lonicera flower, prunella herb, andrographis herb, and laminaria leaf. The second mixture includes isatis extract leaf and fruit, codonopsis root, oyster shell, bupleurum root, smilax rhizome, gardenia fruit, moutan root bark, and tang kuei root.