Living without a Pancreas

People who have cysts or tumors in the pancreas often have digestive issues as a side effect.  The pancreas makes an array of important enzymes and hormones that serve to digest your food.  When one or more of these is missing, you may have trouble digesting sugars or fats or other important elements of your food.  In extreme cases, the food passes through your body and out the other end, but the essential ingredients don't get to your cells.  You might lose a lot of weight and even look anorexic.

 

The most well-known of the pancreatic hormones is insulin, but it's only one of many.

 

Joyce talks with Jacki H., a woman who has lived without a pancreas for decades, leading an active life, traveling and eating lots of different foods..  She has learned how to manage and live a healthy life.  Her experience is very instructive to people living with gastric imbalances.

 

The drug Jacki mentions is Creon, the most commonly prescribed enzyme formulation to help with pancreatic insufficiency.

 

See also the article on this subject prepared for the VHL Family Alliance: Tummy Troubles?

 

There are support groups for various pancreas issues and pancreatectomy:

http://www.pancreastomorrow.com/support-groups