Hello All,
As I am new here, I don’t know what has been done to make the public aware there are more pancreatic conditions than diabetes. I emailed Dr. Oz who appears on Oprah’s show and told him about my beloved husband. I explained he passed away due to unexplainable pancreatitis. I think it might well become a televised subject were more of us to email him. You can do so by going to www.oprah.com and look for Dr. Oz.
Love And Blessed Be,
Theresa
Theresa i wanted to also say that i too will give Dr Oz my input on this maybe if enough write an email he will see and feel our desperation.
nancy
hello theresa,
i do know many have tried to make a public appeal concerning pncreatic disease most fall on deaf ears. i was unaware that more ppl have pancreatic problems then with diabetes im shocked. the sad part is that in the short amount of time that i have been having problems i have seen and heard so many more that have been battleing this illness ,every day the list grows and grows. i do believe there should be more public awareness along with earlier intervention of medical care as in gallstone pancreatitis. i can only speak for myself on this but, i have spoken to many that have been treated as i was. i had for 6 mos been back and forth to the ER with excrusiating pain in both my belly and back only to be given a shot and told to see my gastro doc. well that was all good except the gastro doc had a 5 mo window wait , i could possibly get in earlier if some1 cancelled. i was told by the gastro docs office that if the pain gets unbearable once again to return to the ER.
well i did so for 6 mos nearly every week. when i finally got in2 see the gastro i was jaundice and suffering beyond toleration in pain. it was then he put me in the hosp and then is when they found the stones in my bile ducts and then i wound up in ICU. its then that i was told i had pancreatitis. its unfortunate that we as ppl, as patients, have to go through such disbelief and agony and nearly life threatening illness that no1 takes it serious. i do believe if an earlier intervention was taken as in my case i possible would not have developed pancreatic problems. but as the story goes with me im always a dollar short and a day late.
i do pray that intime the public (doctors) will take notice and realize that this condition is very serious and when ppl come to them for care ( medical care providers) it is their moral obligation as one to do what it is that needs to be done without hesitation. theresa please know my thoughts have been with you since learning of your devastation and can only hold out that maybe some1 will listen to you and the death of your loved one will in some way bring good to the cause. i feel your pain and i pray as the days linger on you are given the peace of mind and soul that no doubt you deserve. i wanted to ask how long was he suffring before medical intervention and what was his symptoms. you have a friend in the south
nancy
I was going to post the other day about this same subject. Well not the Oprah show, but public awareness. I just feel like I need to be doing something to make “all” ER docs aware of the mis-truths and mysteries of pancreatitis, the specialists think more about those of us who have symptoms yet don’t have alot of tests showing anything. About the people who are in constant pain and are sent home with a bottle to just 'handle" it. And many other things.
It seems like the Oprah show would be a good venue to start because it reaches many. I am not an Oprah fan but I know many people are! But what if we could get several people to do a show, like a national news, and Montel Williams. I know he does medical shows due to him having MS. But also what else can we do to get people to understand how awful this disease can be. I just wonder if we were able to provide monies comparable to 1 year from the Jerry Lewis telethon, for example, what kind of research could be done with THAT kind of money??!!! I wish we could (together) write an article or something that could be mass distributed, it could contain information from the medical AND patient side. We could deliver it to ER’s and hospitals all over the country.
Well I just have been thinking about this for a while now. I just think the pancreas deserves more attention in the digestive way. I was just looking at an old family medical book from 1966, besides the “removal of the pancreas”, the treatment for pancreatitis has not changed. 42 years!!! can you believe that??? Compare that to the breast cancer treatment or even an just a cold. We now have chemotherapy for cancer and anti-virals for colds.
Theresa,
I am sorry to steal the post, I hope you don’t mind. You have paid the ultimate price because of this disease. I will be sure to give my 2 cents to Dr. Oz in hopes to convince him to do this story.
If anybody has ideas on what we can do, please share.
Thanks Keri
I wrote the letter. I think later I am going to write letters to many talk shows. Maybe if we all did that, one of them will respond
Montel Williams
CBS News
NBC News
Fox News
Ellen
Rachel Ray (maybe she could help with pancreatic friendly menu)
Maury Povich
Can you think of any more??
Dr. Phil, maybe he could help with depression ect with chronic diseases??
Just a thought
Keri
This is a great idea. I went on the Oprah site and filled in the part where it said Dr. Oz my _________ hurts. Of course I filled in pancreas. Maybe if a bunch of us do the same thing they will get the hint and put someone on. Keep thinking, Keri!
Ellen, That’s the same thing I did. I just explained that I knew why and then I told my(our) general story. I do hope it does some good. I myself had never even heard of pancreatitis before my first acute attack. So I’ll bet that many, many people are the same way.
Keri
I too never heard of pancreatitis before i had it. only pancreatic cancer was i aware of.
nancy
Several of us have done this in the past. So far no takers for a show. But keep sending requests. Eventually maybe someone will listen and do a show.
Evidently Katie Couric did a segment on pancreatic cancer. She had a relative or in-law that died of that disease.
Anyone out there a relative of a news anchor or talk show host? : )
Vonnie
I will do that Theresa, anything to help out…I sure hope things are calming down for you, as I know the hurt never goes away. Welcome to Careplace by the way, I sent you a quick email last week, but I have been down and sick again myself Sorry…I will email Dr. Oz first thing in the morning ok…Prayers and Hugs to you dear…
With Love,
Mrs Barb 
AKA/Barb
Hello All,
Thank you all so much!!! You cannot know just how much I appreciate your repsonses!!! Money is very tight right now due to medical bills, but I will do whatever I can for our cause. I am willing to appear on any show and tell my story. I do not recommend Dr. Phil as he is such a bully and doesn’t show any realy caring. My husband and I could not stand him. I actually saw him keep shoving a man by the shoulders.
Now to my husband’s symptoms. He had a very high pain threshold, and it was not until the day I had to call 911 I realized he had any pain. He never had jaundice. He was vomiting and had diarhhea off and on for about two weeks. I was worried about his weight loss and his distended stomach. He also had very high triglycerides and was off medication for that for two weeks. Our wonderful physician kept telling me today not to blame myself. He said the sepsis probably caused the pancreatitis. He also mentioned another condition, and I’m sorry I cannot remember it. It is essentialy a condition of the capularies in which they feed upon the body. The strange thing is my husband would get better, and we just thought he was taking a longer time getting over the flu. Another thing to consider is sensitive stomachs run in my husband’s family on the male side. He, my brother-in-law, and my father-in-law get diarhhea and vomiting at the drop of a hat. I was in shock the day I had to call 911. I still blame myself, because I think I should have made sure he took the meds for high triglycerides. The day he had to go to ICU, his blood sugar went up to 1800. His temp went up to 107, and his blood sugar was extremely low. I will be getting his medical records and all autopsy reports. Our physician said he would gladly interpret them for me. If there is anything on the records I can see will help all of you, I will gladly share them with you. I know it is said 80% of people who have pancreatitis abuse alchohol. Please know I am not judging any of you who are drinkers. It’s just there are other causes for pancreatitis. My physician mentioned necrotizing and hemmor–sorry cannot think how to spell that right now.
Thank you all so much for all your love and support. I am giving you all great big((((((((((((ALL Here))))))))))_))))))))))))) I also want to thank all of you for the fantastic information and ideas here. Another idea. I have been watching a show called Mystery Diagnosis. I have been waiting for a case about pancreatitis. I wonder if it’s possible to find out the producers names. It’s on Discovery Health network.
Love And Blessed Be,
Theresa
Hello ALL,
I need to make a correction. It as his blood pressure that was extremely low.
Love And Blessed Be,
Theresa
Hi Theresa 13 glad to see your post 
I sure hope things start to calm down alittle for you, I know how loss feels, and it is just terrible!!! I watch the Discovery Health channel too there have been a couple of Pancreas shows on there and it is knowlegdeable to watch. I scare myself sometimes watching that though it’s all so real nothing fake about it. I also wanted to tell you that I have not had to change to get online to any of our tv-networks, but believe me I will. Ok here is a big ol’bear hug, with lots of prayers and love…Mrs Barb
hello Theresa, you can go to the web site for discovery health and any other one where you think there may be info about pancreatitis shows it has all of the shows listed . geez theresa you have had a rough ride of emotional heartbreak. please do not blame yourelf for the loss of ur hubby it was in gods hands and i can tell you are a very attentive person just you coming here to share your pain and not having the actual illness of pancreatic disease shows your love of your husband and the gift of knowledge you want to pass onto us. unfortuately your husband died because of a terrible illness that you or he thought was not possibly deadly and it was only the flu. why did he stop taking his tryglceride meds were they making him sick to his belly maybe. you also mentioned he was getting better and he always recovered did he have these symptoms on and off for a while or possibly years and this is why you and he thought it was just another episode and it will pass. I agree with you about Dr phil more like Doc phony he is not a real doc at all. his only real case was the Oprah winfrey show from back in the cattle case. I too have seen him bully ppl and not actually showing true sincerity in his actions as with his new public outcry for Brittney .i do believe he was out for ratings more then his passionate want to help a troubled young girl. He betrayed her confidence by reporting all he spoke of and her resposes to the media and that is taboo .so ,i will leave it there i dont think he would be the one i would want to use as our public speaker. once again Theresa hope you find solace in knowing your hubby is no longer in pain and he is watching the kindness you have given to us during this most difficult time in your life. your friend in the south
nancy
Hello Theresa, I just wanted to pop in and say HI, and I am thinking of you…I want to send you big hugs and prayers, and thanks for all your information you have provided us during this time of sorrow, you are an awesome friend to Careplace…
With Love, Barb/aka-
MrsBarb
Theresa,
Just wanted to drop a note to tell you im thinking of you and hope that your burdens and sorrows are lifting. please know your in my prayers and thoughts. your friend in the south
nancy