LymeNet Flash: Lyme & Pancreatitis

This is topic Lyme & Pancreatitis in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.

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Posted by Northerner (Member # 4215) on :

Hello!

My brother who has Lyme Disease has been having serious problems with his pancreas. He has trouble eating anything and has been in steady severe pain. Yesterday the doctor told him that his pancreas has shrunk to half its normal size!! I was wondering if Lyme has attacked anyone else's pancreas? And if so, what are you doing to treat it? Does anyone know of any natural supplements that could help it?

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Northerner

Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :

Is he currently taking medication to treat the Lyme? If so, the doctor should have had a serious conversation with him about potentially needing to stop medication.

I showed early signs of pancreatitis, and reduced some of my medication and cut out all alcohol and most vinegar from diet. My enzymes went back to normal. But I was far from your brother's stage.

Pancreatitis is very serious. If you feel your brother's doctor does not have a good grasp, you should get him to a specialist ASAP. This is not something that you treat on your own with herbal supplements. There might be some that can help, but make sure he gets proper treatment.

Posted by duramater (Member # 6480) on :

Northerner:

I have pancreatitis and was hospitalized for it back in January. Thus far, tests have not shown any cause (alcohol, gallstones, etc) for it so perhaps it has to do with the Lyme. I was not on any medications, so we know it wasn't that either. If there is a pancreas-Lyme connection it is quite rare.

There is at least one other person I know of who also is dealing with pancreatitis and Lyme.

Supplement-wise, the doc has me taking digestive enzymes as that helps the pancreas not work "as hard." That was something they gave me in the hospital too (along with not eating at all and taking acid-blockers). Basically, you can't really fix the pancreas, you can only let it "rest" by taking over its functions (as they did in the hospital for me).

This isn't something you can take care of by yourself. Doc needs to follow this.

Posted by Northerner (Member # 4215) on :

Hi Aniek & Duramater!

Thank you both for your replies and suggestions. No, my brother isn't currently taking antibiotics, but he has in the past.

For many years he has been screwed over by the doctors that told him nothing was wrong, while his pancreas grew steadily worse. This week he saw a new specialist doctor that told him his pancreas is so far gone that it is almost too late to treat him. He has some more tests that they are doing on him, and then the specialist is going to give him some enzymes and maybe other medicine to try to stop the destruction of his pancreas.

This whole deal is another classic example of how terrible patients are treated in the mainstream medicine world these days. He has been to the ER and almost dead with hardly any pancreas left, and everyone tells him he's fine. How can the tons of doctors he's seen over the years not catch this? Did they even try??

This makes me furious! Myself, my mom, dad, brother, and dog all have chronic Lyme Disease. And we have all been treated like trash for years. I'm sure that many of you on LymeNet can relate to all of this. You guys are a wonderful support group to come to everyday.

Thanks again Aniek and Duramater for your replies!

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Northerner

Posted by Nancy-OH (Member # 3567) on :

I found this thread to be very interesting.

I was treated for Lyme for 2-1/2 years and I'm now in "remission".

Following treatment with an Osteopath trained in Chinese Med. One of the things he has me on is Panplex 2-Phase (concentrated pancreatic enzymes with HCI).

I was amazed what a difference it made. I've been reading about digestive enzymes and how cooked food destroys imporant enzymes needed in digestion.

I'm actually not as hungry now that I'm supplementing these enzyes. What a blessing!

He also has me on Antitox Gentle Drainage. When we suffer from Lyme, we are full of sludge and need to detox. I wish I had done this along with my Lyme treatment.

Any way your brother can detox would help him, I'm certain. If he can find a FIR Machine (infrared sauna). It doesn't get as hot as a Swedish type sauna, but draws the toxins out from deep....even from organs.

Even people with heart problems can benefit from a FIR Mahcine.

It brings the toxins to the surface of the skin where so they can be sweated out.

Best of luck!
Nancy

Posted by tick sick (Member # 50341) on :

I have 5 children with congenital tick-born illness. Two of them developed pancreatitis. Both had relatively mild pancreatic enzyme elevations, but severe symptoms. Both had classic presentations, but I had to push for additional work up. Both ER doctor and GI specialists were dismissive and wanted me to take them home. I refused, knowing that both had Babesia. In dog studies a significant number of Babesia infected dogs developed pancreatitis. I told them this and they looked at me like I was crazy. At my insistence both were admitted with a different diagnosis. Within 48 hrs. both were in the ICU with severe pancreatitis.
I have not come across any literature linking Lyme with pancreatitis, but definatly Babesia, which can be present and difficult to diagnose. A skilled and patient lab tech may see it in red cells if you are fortunate enough to have some in your sample. Sometimes you can get a positive PCR at IgeneX, but again, there must be Babesia in the sample. Often the number of organisms present is low, but still cause a lot of trouble. Usually it is a clinical diagnosis.

Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :

Wow. tick sick. This is very valuable information.

Do you happen to have a link or a citation for the dog studies that linked babs to pancreatitis? That would be very valuable for people on here to have.

I love reading about how you forced the hospital doctors to treat your kids! But, you are one in a million.

Maybe with the references to the studies, every person on this site could do the same.

Those of us who have been on here for a while remember a man who died in the hospital because they refused to treat him for babesiosis since they couldn't find it. His wife was very informed, but still powerless to get them to act. Very upsetting.

Welcome to LymeNet! You have made a very valuable contribution to our community! Thank you.