Pancreatitis and vaping

[KitKit]

Hi,
It's been a long time since I have been on this board, sorry. I was just told that I have pancreatitis and have to quit smoking this includes e-cigs- anyone on here dealing with this? If so what are you doing? And help would be great!

 

[BlownAway]

I was diagnosed with that 6 months ago, and spent an uncomfortable 5 dsys in the hospital. Neither the ER doctor, the hospital doctor, nor my personal physician mentioned a possible link to my pancreatitis and vaping. The hospital doctor chuckled when I mentioned I was vaping vegetable glycerin and nicotine, and put me on the patch while I was hospitalized. My personal physicial doesn't have a problem with my vaping.
All these doctors are pretty sharp; my personal physicial might be the best I've ever had.
I'm not saying your doctor is wrong about this, but you might want to get a second opinion.

P.S. I'm still vaping like a smokestack, and not even a hint of returning pancreatitis.

 

[KitKit]

They are telling me it's the nicotine that stimulates the pancreas and sets off the pain. I have been dealing with this for about 4 months now and they are still running test after test- having MRI next week to see how much damage has been done. This scares the s**t out of me. They think it may have been caused by my BP meds. My pancretitis has not cleared up and I will do almost anything to make the pain go away!

 

[BlownAway]

My doctors don't know what caused my pancreas to become inflamed. They ruled out the most common cause (alchohol), an ultrasound of my gall bladder was OK (a rare cause of the disorder), and lab tests were normal. I was also taken off all my meds (except nicotine given to me with the patch.) The pancreatitis was treated with massive amounts of antibotics to nuke the inflamation. They were at a loss to explain it. My hospital doctor suggested that if it occurs again, he would recommend removing the pancreas. I didn't look into that any further, but apparently I can live without it.
Since your doctors suggest nicotene might trigger the pain (and I do know how painful it can get), some period of time without nicotine might be useful in pinning down the cause. I'm sure you and your doctors have thought of that. I am at a loss to suggest anything else.
Best wishes.

 

[KitKit]

Thanks BlownAway for the info- I too have been thru all the gallbladder testing- ultrasound, hida scan, endoscopy and a number of blood test. You can live without your pancreas, but you must take lots of pills every meal and you will become a type 1 diabetic without your pancreas and that is what I am worried about. I'm only 49 and have a lot of living to do.

 

[bmwjen]

I've never read about nor cared for anyone with nicotine induced pancreatitis. Research says that etoh consumption is the number one contributer, but i've had many more patients with a blocked common bile duct, gall bladder problem, etc that caused pancreatitis.

The only cure for pancreatitis is rest of the digestive system. nothing by mouth.

I'll ask some docs that I work with regarding the nicotine/pancreatitis connection, & attempt to find some research. I sorta doubt that there is any solid connection though. Any other medical providers, please feel free to chime in if you've got any new information.

 

[KitKit]

Thanks bmwjen, my pancreatitis is not induced by the nicotine, it's just made worse- per the Dr. They believe Lisopril (blood pressure meds) is what has caused the pancreatitis. I think I will try to reduce the nic amount and get down to 0. I really love my e-cig.

 

[MagnusEunson]

Not to be nosy but are you a diabetic too? Or pre-diabetic? They could be saying it not because the nicotine causes it but because, in your case, it is going to aggravate insulin response. That is if you're diabetic or pre-diabetic. -Magnus

 

[llmercll]

Thanks bmwjen, my pancreatitis is not induced by the nicotine, it's just made worse- per the Dr. They believe Lisopril (blood pressure meds) is what has caused the pancreatitis. I think I will try to reduce the nic amount and get down to 0. I really love my e-cig.

That sounds similar to a blood pressure med I take, lisinopril. Any idea if they are related?

Lisinopril - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

reducing the nic sounds like a good idea. Every little decrease helps (as long as you dont smoke more because of it!) =)

 

[Penner]

Would vaping zero nicotine juice be alright? (better than the pain of craving analogs if they want you to stop everything completely). Ask your physician.

BTW, was your lisinopril medicine the combination one:

lisinopril / hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ)? Trade names Prinzide, Zestoretic.

 

[KitKit]

To answer all of the above questions- no I am not a diabetic, 2nd I can't spell the meds are the same lisinopril is what I was taking and yes it was the combo with HCTZ 25/12.5 mg

 

[Critter Man]

I'm calling BS on your doctor. If you got stabbed in the leg, your doctor would tell you that you need to stop vaping. Nicotine is metabolized by your liver, but it's excreted through your kidneys, not your pancreas. Seriously, they are trained to tell you to stop smoking anytime they talk to you. The ignorant ones will equate vaping with smoking. Even cigarettes don't hurt your pancreas, though.

 

[jplanet]

I was just recently in the hospital with an unbelievably painful biliary spasm that was brought on by a particular e-juice flavor - it is suspected that malic acid is the culprit, as it is an irritant, usually added to tart fruit flavors. I am vulnerable to this because of the scarring left from having my gallbladder removed. The biliary ducts are quite close to the pancreas - I wouldn't want to do anything to aggravate pancreatitis, that must be awfully uncomfortable...Your doctor may be right - no harm on going on the patch for a few days.

 

[bmwjen]

checked with about 5 of the docs I work along side of on the daily. There are about 100 causes for pancreatitis. None of the docs recall "smoking" or "nicotine" being one of them...........but they did say......."hey, anything can happen".

 

[Vocalek]

Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) is a diuretic. It has been known to raise blood glucose levels.

This is interesting, and it mentions hydrochlorothiazide as a potential cause of pancratitis.

http://www.mississippicme.uab.edu/courses/Pancreatitis/ID0429M.asp

Discussion:
Typically, medication-induced pancreatitis resolves (often slowly) when the offending medication is discontinued.

Outcome: The HCTZ is changed to an ACE inhibitor. Two weeks later, with all the changes in his lifestyle still in place, the pain finally begins to abate somewhat, with near complete resolution taking over two months.

Comment: This is a not uncommon presentation for drug-induced pancreatitis. The cornerstone for management is discontinuation of all potential inciting agents, and the outcome is usually favorable, albeit often slowly. The patient should be urged to maintain all of his positive lifestyle changes, even with resolution of pancreatitis

 

[ipetbumblebees]

I know this is somewhat old, but I'll tell my story (the quick version). I was diagnosed with pancreatitis last October. I was having a bad year and going through alcohol binges. During my worst 4-5 week binge, I developed acute pancreatitis and was hospitalized for four days. Over the next couple months, after being released, I couldn't eat any solid foods. Eating caused extreme pain and some days I didn't eat at all. I lost 20 pounds in those couple months.


I feel your guys' pain, and I do have flare-ups occasionally. Luckily, I was able to quit the booze (it was either that or die).

As far as smoking and pancreatitis, after extensive reading on pancreatitis (when something like that happens to me, I try to learn as much as I can) I found numerous evidences (can't produce them right now) that link cigarette smoking to causing complications with pancreatitis (if you've already had it). I believe it's because, when you smoke, the smoke doesn't only go into your lungs, in goes into your stomach as well.

There are also numerous studies that link cigarette smoking to an increased risk of developing diabetes. This has been proven; therefore, smoking definitely has an affect on the pancreas. Here's a link I found from a quick Google search: Cigarette smoking and diabetes. [Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2003 Mar-Apr] - PubMed - NCBI

As far as vaping, I highly doubt it, but of course, we can't know for sure. And I kept smoking for many months after my pancreatitis, and even that didn't cause too many flare-ups (that I know of, at least).

Either way, I'm completely off tobacco now. And even though I'm still getting nicotine from vaping, my best guess is that it's all the carcinogens, tar, and chemicals in the tobacco from cigarette smoking that affects the pancreas. Of course, I'm not an expert, and only going by what I've read (which is a lot).

I hope all of you other pancreatitis survivors are doing well. It's a little known, very serious, and extremely painful condition (I read a study on female pancreatitis survivors--it concluded that the pain is worse than child birth). I know what you are all going through.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my story, and maybe try to help others suffering with this who didn't know that cigarette smoking has an effect on the pancreas.

Dave