Please help stop the punishment of patients with chronic pancreatitis. We continually suffer due to the stigma surrounding narcotic pain relievers and the abuse of them on the streets. Because of this so many are labeled as seekers and accused of abusing medication when in fact we only want and hope to be able to hold on to what little semblance we have left of our once fulfilling lives that we're being robbed of daily.  Chronic pancreatitis is an incurable and deadly disease. It remains an enigma in the field of gastroenterology. Challenges can be encountered in defining the etiology and pathogenesis, in securing the diagnosis, and finally in providing adequate therapy. Abdominal pain is a major clinical problem in patients with chronic pancreatitis. The cause of pain is usually multifactorial with a complex interplay of factors contributing to a varying degree to the pain in an individual patient and, therefore, a rigid standardized approach for pain control tends to lead to suboptimal results. Intense abdominal pain is the most prominent feature of CP and its treatment remains a major clinical challenge. Medical management requires a multidisciplinary approach including identification of risk factors associated with disease progression and appropriate modification. A systematically evaluation of extra pancreatic causes of pain and complications followed by appropriate treatments is essential in all patients.We must be treated differently because our pain is worse than any other disease, (even cancer) we suffer from visceral pain which is very hard to control. We need to be able to manage our pain from day to day considering we have pain that rises well above traditional pain scales. We suffer from malabsorption which leads to malnutrition, often throwing up our medicines requiring us to take another dose. We are not getting proper medical care with this disease where our pain is concerned and with the many other complications that can arise with this disease.The role of pain modifying agents (antidepressants, gabapentin, pregabalin), celiac plexus block, antioxidants, octreotide and total pancreatectomy with islet cell auto transplantation remains to be determined. Help stop the inhumane treatment we are getting; we are being treated like drug seekers and dismissed, left to suffer in unrelenting pain and nausea. Patients with serious rare illnesses should not have to suffer. This disease does not discriminate, it affects men, women and children alike. It is also extremely hard on our families, tearing many apart. as well as causing severe financial hardships on us. Palliative care may be a better option for us. Chronic pancreatitis significantly impairs patients' quality of life. Severity of abdominal pain, low body weight, and the inability to work were the factors most closely associated with poor health status perception. With the new laws on pain medications we are having serious issues finding any doctors willing to treat us. If something is not done we WILL see an increase in death and suicide rates. We strongly believe that palliative care is where people with this disease need to be treated.

Thank you for helping!

Resources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3831211/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21959613
The National Chronic Pancreatitis Support Network  www.ncpsupport.org ;