I got home from the hospital last night at about 7:30. I am so glad to be home. Hospitals suck. But even more, pancreatitis sucks! And mine wasn't even a severe case, or at least that is what I understand.
Apparently, sludge from my gallbladder escaped prior to my gallbladder surgery, and hung out in my bile duct. Thursday afternoon, it got stuck (or perhaps a stone) in my opening to my pancreas, causing it to flare up, causing pain similar to what I had when I had my gallbladder attacks. That sucker hurt!
I ended up in the ER, got a cat scan, confirmed that it was pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and I was admitted to the hospital. I was on IV fluids from Thursday at 5 pm until I left last evening, but was finally able to take in some ice chips after they did an ERCP to remove the sludge. An ERCP is where they go in through my mouth with a tube and camera, through my stomach and intestines into my bile duct. They didn't find a stone, but lots of sludge and "sand" and removed it all.
I was on liquids yesterday until I got home, when I had some malt-o-meal. Today I've been able to eat a little bit.
From what I understand, we caught this early. Because I knew that my pain wasn't normal, I sought care immediately. However, if I would have ignored it and the inflammation had gotten worse, it could cause the pancreatic fluids to escape the pancreas. They are so toxic that they would start to eat at the tissue surrounding the pancreas. That would not have been good.
Now it's just a matter of allowing my digestive track to get used to food again and to heal. I'm not sure if I should return to work tomorrow or not. I may go in for a while and see how I feel. I'll decide in the morning.
