Saturday, September 10, 2011

Pancreatitis & Oatmeal

oatmeal and honeyI love oatmeal with honey!

Repeatedly, I have read the importance of eating enough grains.

Eating grains is not my strong suit. Nonetheless, I've been craving oatmeal for about the past month.

I'm not the queen of eating whole grains. It is definitely something I am working on.

oatmeal and berries
Oatmeal is a food I can enjoy and know is something I should have in my balanced pancreatic diet.

Sometimes I'll add a few berries to mix things up!

Noteworthy: It is always better to make too little than too much. If I've made too much I tend to want to eat it all. My pancreas benefits from frugality rather than overabundance. Therefore, due to my lack of discipline, I'm always better off making a little, then making more if I am still hungry.

6 comments:

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  2. Hi Mitchell,

    You are quite welcome. I, too, ran into the same problem when I was first diagnosed. That is one of the reasons I started this blog. So, I'm glad it is useful to you in that way.

    One of the most important things I learned was this: If it hurts, don't eat it! Often, it will take an hour or so before the pain creeps up. So, it's best to gadge how foods affect you by how you feel an hour later. Clearly hindsight would be 20/20, but moderation is often the best we can do.

    So take it slow and easy with food intake. Getting back on food, initially, can take quite sometime and be a rather frustrating process.

    Broths and liquids can be the easiest on the system for many people when they are just starting to get back into eating foods. For some people it can be months before the pancreas is read for solids and for many of us it is at the very minimum several weeks.

    Don't worry about losing weight. That's not the issue. The issue is allowing the pancreas to heal. There are liquids people can be put on (intravenously) to keep us alive. The goal is to rest the pancreas and to slowly bring food back into the diet at the rate by which the pancreas allows us to do so without experiencing pain. Pain is a sign that we are damaging the pancreas and therefore should decrease the activity that is creating the pain. No alcohol under any circumstances as it cannot be tolerated by someone who is a sufferer of alcoholic pancreatitis and foods are something that have to be implimented at a very gingerly rate based on the tolerance level and acceptance of the pancreas.

    Broth is a good starter. Tapioca. Toast with honey. Yogurt. There are all foods that are often first reintroduced into people's diets. But each person is different so each diet will fluctuate based on that particular person's needs.

    All the best to you! May you enjoy a happy and full life that includes food and little to no pain or discomfort!

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  3. I just stumbled onto your blog. I have acute pancreatitis brought on by medication for my rheumatoid arthritis.What initailly was thought to be a Crohn's flareup, then colitis flareup.I was admitted into the hospital for severe dehysration, due to the diarrhea. I spent 3 wks in the hospital with the enzymes going up every blood work. Until one day I realized that one of the meds I was taking was supposed to be taken only if the Cimzia was being taken. So, after checking with my rheumatologist. that med was stopped and in 48 hrs.. my enzymes started coming down. There is damage to my pancreas, which I have been told it will heal. I am eating fat free or low fat with whole grains. It's somewhat challenging, especially when we go out to eat. I don't know how long it takes the pancreas to heal. Is it healed when the enzymes are normal? Do I have to continue on this diet forever? Thank you,Martha

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    1. Hi there!

      I'm sorry you are going through this. Personally, I always watch what I eat at restaurants.

      I keep hearing about prescription drugs that cause pancreatitis.

      Try to be as gentle as possible with your eating habits until you have completely healed. The goal being to not get chronic pancreatitis. For many people, the pancreas can heal. For some of us, a bout of pancreatitis turns into chronic pancreatitis.

      Fat free foods, broth, liquid foods (jello, maybe a clear chicken soup, etc) might be easier on the pancreas then some heavier options.

      Spicy hot food, fatty foods, fatty red meat and over-eating all seems to be strong triggers for me. Acidic foods I am reserved about eating.

      I find that Dandelion Tea as well as Chrissy's Tea are very helpful. Chrissy's Tea recipe is on this site so you can 'Search' it.

      Hope that helps and I hope you feel better soon!

      Best,

      Christine

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  4. I haven't been diagnosed with pancreatitis, but my naturist told me that my pancreas is not working properly and that my liver is swollen. She told me that I should avoid eating anything that contains sugar,acid,fried,and fat foods. I began to have abdominal pains on the right side of my stomach, middle and low quadrant. I had been suffering from constipation, so I thought my pains were related to that; I was wrong. I also began to have severe headaches. I would sometimes wake up with a headache or get it during the day. I had no idea what was going on with me. So I went to the doctor and told her what I was experiencing and she gave me motrin for my headaches and when I told her about my abdominal pains, she said it was because of my problem with constipation. She never checked to see if my abdominal pains were coming from something else. I began to eat a lot of papaya, which it helped, but when I wouldn't eat it, I had to massage my stomach in the morning to get a bowel movement. I know have to take blood stimulator for the liver, sarsaparilla for the pancreas and other natural, herbal supplements. Hope it goes well, and both my liver and pancreas heals.

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  5. Hi I have sevre acute pancreatitis and have heard so many different answers to if or when it will be healed. I have had my operation cancelled twice sue to on going lung infections. My lungs collapsed during the main attack and haven't fully recovered yet. I am finally getting to see a chest doctor soon.
    I am keen to do whatever it takes to get better. Have you or anyone else tips on diet etc.
    And has anyone had to change career or been able to work in construction with this.
    my condition is idiopathic acute pancreatitis and I didn't even know we had one.

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