Last Friday night, I went to the emergency hospital. It was the first time since my initial severe acute pancreatic attack back in March of 2008 that I had returned to a hospital on behalf of myself. The blood work showed my Lipase level at 526 and Amylase at 314. According to the National Institutes of Health 'The normal range for Amylase is 23 to 85 units per liter (U/L). Some laboratories give a range of 40 to 140 U/L.'. The hospital nurse wrote on my paperwork
that the normal range for Lipase was between 28-100. Although I've read a range from 7-160. Any way you look at it both my Lipase and Amylase levels were far too high with the Lipase levels within the range of signaling that I was having an Acute Pancreatic attack. I was sent home and told that I was fine.
The following day, I wasn't feeling any better. In fact, I was feeling somewhat worse. So, I went online to see what the levels meant and to see if I could make any sense out of it. I realized that from the Lipase range the nurse gave me coupled with my Amylase numbers that I was probably in the midst of an Acute Pancreatic attack, that my Chronic Pancreatitis had turned into Pancreatic Cancer or that it was a Bile Duct Issue. We had ruled out a Duodenal Ulcer the night before.
The reason I had gone to the Emergency Hospital was because I wasn't sure than my symptoms were related to my pancreas. The symptoms felt different. I thought it was possible for the root of the problem to lie elsewhere. If this were the case, I didn't want to create more harm to my system or mask the problem by drinking my teas. So, off to the hospital I went in an attempt to better understand what was happening in my abdomen.
Once the results came back and I was told that the problem was not a Duodenal Ulcer I figured it would be fine for me to drink my Chrissy's Tea. So once returning from the hospital after my Friday night adventure, I got out my trusted teas and started drinking them.
It wasn't until Saturday that I read up on Lipase and Amylase levels realizing that I might be mid attack. At which point, I decided to return to the Emergency Room. The urgency was based on the fact that an Acute Pancreatic attack can shut down other organs killing the patient. I didn't want to be that patient.
The new tests were done almost exactly 18 hours later. The new blood work showed my Lipase level at 51 and my Amylase level at 130. The Lipase level was very much within range no matter which level ranges were considered and my Amylase levels were high or above range depending on which ranges were considered.
I was very surprised my levels had dropped so significantly. The doctor on duty also had a CatScan done. (The night before a ultrasound was done and everything looked fine. The Duodenum could not be seen, so although that was my main contention spot no results or findings were evaluated for it on Friday night's visit to the ER). The Cat Scan revealed that I have no masses. This means that I have no tumors - most importantly, it means my Chronic
Pancreatitis has not turned into Pancreatic Cancer.
My assumption (and it is only that) is that my tea, Chrissy's Tea, brought the levels down so quickly. From what I read, it typically takes 5-7 days for Lipase levels to return to normal. Chrissy's Tea is filled with anti-inflammatories. I use it to reduce inflammation. It also has some antiseptic herbs which I assume can help with bacteria or other problems that might be going on internally. Some of the herbs focus on the pancreas, breast, cysts and tumors while other focus on the gallbladder and liver, while others focus on menopause and others on bacteria, sinusitis and congestion and some help vision or the thyroid, etc. Basically, the teas I use work on strengthening the endocrine system.
I understand the medical community doesn't have the cure for pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer. I also understand that I don't want to become a statistic in the meantime. From my most recent hospital visit, I am even more of a believe than I was before (and I believed firmly in my approach before) that the teas help me stay alive for longer. The teas seem to be the best at fighting off or decreasing inflammation. Anything that ends in 'itis' means inflammation. My understanding is that inflammation is a precursor to scarring and scarring is a precursor to pancreatic cancer. Therefore, if I can keep the inflammation at bay, then I have a better chance of keeping the scarring at bay resulting of less chance of getting pancreatic cancer sooner rather than later.
I doubt that I will always be able to keep from getting scarring of the pancreas. But let's say that by keeping the scarring to a minimum I can increase my lifespan by 5 years... or 10 years... or dare I hope for 15 or 20 years. I know that if I live long enough this disease will most likely
kill me. So, that's not the conversation. The conversation is longevity and quality of life. I don't want an Acute Pancreatic Attack to take out an organ which is a very real possibility particularly when it takes a long time to get the attack under control. So, the better I can maintain my pancreas and the quicker I can get attacks under control, the better.
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