{"id":9458,"date":"2024-10-03T19:47:47","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T19:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=9458"},"modified":"2024-10-03T19:47:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T19:47:47","slug":"pancreatitis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/pancreatitis\/","title":{"rendered":"Pancreatitis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-1897380540.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9459 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-1897380540-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-1897380540-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-1897380540-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-1897380540-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-1897380540-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-1897380540-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-1897380540-500x281.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Pancreatitis is the inflammation or swelling of the pancreas. This may happen when digestive juices or enzymes attack the pancreas. The pancreas is a gland on the left side of your belly that lies behind your stomach. The pancreas\u2019 two main functions are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To make enzymes to send to your small intestines. These enzymes help break down food.<\/li>\n<li>To make hormones insulin and glucagon, sending them into your bloodstream. These hormones control your body\u2019s blood sugar level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pancreatitis can be either acute or chronic. Signs and symptoms of acute pancreatitis include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pain in the upper belly<\/li>\n<li>Pain in the upper belly that radiates to the back<\/li>\n<li>Tenderness when touching the belly<\/li>\n<li>Fever<\/li>\n<li>Rapid pulse<\/li>\n<li>Upset stomach<\/li>\n<li>Vomiting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Signs and symptoms of chronic pancreatitis include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pain in the upper belly<\/li>\n<li>Belly pain that feels worse after eating<\/li>\n<li>Losing weight without trying<\/li>\n<li>Oily, smelly stools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Several conditions can lead to acute pancreatitis, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blockage in the bile duct caused by gallstones<\/li>\n<li>Heavy alcohol use<\/li>\n<li>Certain medicines<\/li>\n<li>High triglyceride levels in the blood<\/li>\n<li>High calcium levels in the blood<\/li>\n<li>Pancreatic cancer<\/li>\n<li>Injuries from trauma or surgery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Conditions that can lead to chronic pancreatitis include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Damage from repeated acute pancreatitis<\/li>\n<li>Heavy alcohol use<\/li>\n<li>Inherited genes linked to pancreatitis<\/li>\n<li>High triglyceride levels in the blood<\/li>\n<li>High calcium levels in the blood<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sometimes a cause for pancreatitis is never found. This is called idiopathic pancreatitis.<\/p>\n<p>Many factors can increase your risk of pancreatitis, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Excessive alcohol use<\/li>\n<li>Cigarette smoking<\/li>\n<li>Obesity<\/li>\n<li>Diabetes<\/li>\n<li>Family history of pancreatitis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pancreatitis can cause several serious complications that include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Kidney failure<\/li>\n<li>Breathing problems<\/li>\n<li>Infection<\/li>\n<li>Pseudocyst<\/li>\n<li>Malnutrition<\/li>\n<li>Diabetes<\/li>\n<li>Pancreatic cancer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When diagnosing pancreatitis, your healthcare provider will ask questions about your health history and symptoms, give you a general physical, and check for pain or tenderness in your belly. They may also administer tests and procedures including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blood tests<\/li>\n<li>Ultrasounds<\/li>\n<li>CT scans<\/li>\n<li>MRIs<\/li>\n<li>Endoscopic ultrasound<\/li>\n<li>Stool tests<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There is no specific medicine to treat pancreatitis. Treatment will begin with a hospital stay to manage any symptoms and complications. Treatment can include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pain medicines<\/li>\n<li>Intravenous fluids<\/li>\n<li>Nutrition plans<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When the symptoms and complications are under control, other treatments are used to treat any underlying causes, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Procedures to open bile ducts<\/li>\n<li>Gallbladder surgery<\/li>\n<li>Pancreas procedures<\/li>\n<li>Treatment for alcohol dependence<\/li>\n<li>Changes in medicine<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you or anyone you know is experiencing signs or symptoms of pancreatitis, you can schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist at Flushing Hospital\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/clinical-services\/ambulatory-care\/\">Ambulatory Care Center<\/a>, by calling 718-670-5486.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pancreatitis is the inflammation or swelling of the pancreas. This may happen when digestive juices or enzymes attack the pancreas. The pancreas is a gland on the left side of your belly that lies behind your stomach. The pancreas\u2019 two &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/pancreatitis\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1,14,4],"tags":[2311,2018,2312,2120],"class_list":["post-9458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-health","category-health","category-mens-health","category-womens-health","tag-inflammation","tag-pancreas","tag-pancreas-inflammation","tag-pancreatitis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9458"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9460,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9458\/revisions\/9460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}