the autoimmune professor

Thankfully, my liver enzymes decreased back to normal and the ultrasound and CT scan showed that my liver looks ok. While they were doing an ultrasound and CT scan of my abdomen, the doctor had the tech also look at my pancreas and gallbladder since I am still having GI issues. (As much as I do not want an endoscope and colonoscopy, it is probably time). Good thing is that my pancreas looks good (I will get into why this is important), but I have some gall stones, so waiting to schedule a HIDA scan as apparently if my gallbladder is not working or a stone is stuck, this could be causing the GI issues.

My dad had pancreatitis and died at the age of 58 of pancreatic cancer. It was not autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) and instead caused by lifestyle and environmental factors, but it is always in the back of my head, especially since it is so difficult to diagnose or catch. I am absolutely terrified that I am going to get pancreatic issues.

Overall, pancreatitis can be caused by gallstones, heavy alcohol consumption, certain medications, genetic conditions, trauma, or autoimmune. Additionally, though this has not been fully researched, there has been small correlations with pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer and tobacco use.

Autoimmune pancreatitis is uncommon, but prevalence is rising just like all other autoimmune diseases these days. Of those with pancreatitis, only about 5-6% is autoimmune, but that does not mean that it still isn’t important to get information out there. Autoimmune pancreatitis is when your immune system starts to attack the healthy cells in your pancreas which then triggers swelling and inflammation in the pancreas. Those that already have other autoimmune conditions do face a higher risk of getting pancreatitis. Another issue with AIP is that the symptoms are very similar to pancreatic cancer, so it is important to be very thorough.

There are two types of autoimmune pancreatitis. Type 1 is the most common and is associated with very high levels of IgG4 which occurs when there is inflammation. This type of AIP will not only affect the pancreas, but will also affect other organs. Type 2 only affects your pancreas and occurs when your white blood cells (neutrophils) damage the pancreas and pancreas ducts. This tends to occur in those that are younger and have inflammatory bowel disease. Symptoms can include upper abdominal pain, middle back pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. Check out Cleveland Clinic below for more information:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17936-autoimmune-pancreatitis