My name is Sandra Profitt. I am 60 years old and live in Indiana. My pancreatitis journey began on February 20th, 2012. I was experiencing a lot of indigestion and belching all day. Later in the day I felt sick to my stomach and threw up, followed by a bowel movement. The stomach pain became worse, and I began to sweat profusely. Within an hour, I was doubled over in the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I thought I was dying.
I was home alone and called 911. I was taken by ambulance to the local ER. After hours of questions, x-rays, CT scan, and finally pain meds, I was admitted to the hospital. They called a doctor in to manage my case. After reviewing the CT scan, the physician stated that if I did not improve by the following day, I would be transferred to another hospital. He said my pancreas looked like someone had thrown a hand grenade in it.
I was on NPO (Nothing by mouth) for eight days. Luckily, I improved as the days went by and was released to go home. I was informed I had an acute pancreatitis attack. My total length of hospital stay was nine days followed by a long recovery process at home which took several months. Interestingly, I had never even heard of pancreatitis before this all happened and didn’t have any knowledge of it being a part of my family’s medical history.
Medical Interventions
Everything was good until December 2015 when I then experienced another attack that resulted in a 3-day hospital stay. In January 2016 I had an MRI that showed I had pancreas divisum. In July 2017 I had back-to-back pancreatitis attacks within two weeks. I was referred to Dr. Evan Fogel at Indiana University, a NPF Center of Excellence.
In August 2017, I had an ERCP that confirmed that I have chronic pancreatitis and pancreas divisum. The doctor placed a stent to open the duct. In October and November of 2018, I suffered two more acute pancreatitis attacks. In December 2018, I underwent another ERCP and stent placement to open the duct. In August and September of 2022, I had two more attacks and had two more stents placed. I tolerated the stent placement and removals well.
Living with Pancreatitis
Right now, I am on a roll with no pain and no attacks. Crossing my fingers each day, I can eat just about anything, but I still experience indigestion. I try to manage it with one daily omeprazole. I also still experience a lot of gas and belching daily. When I do have a flare, I can manage it at home with Zofran, pain meds, and fasting. I am thankful that I have a great doctor at IU that helps me manage this painful disease. Although the pain is excruciating and very debilitating, I try to live my best life never knowing when an attack will happen next. Fortunately, I do not have daily pain. My support system consists of my wonderful husband, Gary, and a dachshund named Heidi, who has been by my side through it all.
Additionally, I am currently enrolled in THE PROCEED STUDY (Prospective Evaluation of Chronic Pancreatitis for Epidemiologic and Translation Studies at IU) since 2019. My doctor at IU asked me to be a part of the study. With required annual testing such as blood work, MRI etc., it helps keep an eye on things and is paid for through the study. It is a 20+ years study with an estimated 2,000 subjects participating from more than 10 institutions across the United States. I would encourage anyone with pancreatitis to take part in any study in hopes of finding a cure or treatment for this debilitating disease. Ariel Precision Medicine has an SNaP-SHOT genetic test that is available as well. Genetic testing services identified some of my genes that are linked to pancreatitis, so I am continuing that research.
