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(08) 6110 0570admin@pdchealthhub.com.auPancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. It can be sudden and severe, or ongoing, and when it becomes chronic it changes how you digest food and can lead to type 3c diabetes.
Pancreatitis means inflammation of the pancreas, the organ near the stomach that makes digestive juices and hormones including insulin.1 Acute pancreatitis comes on suddenly, usually with severe pain in the upper tummy that can spread to the back, and it is treated in hospital.1 Chronic pancreatitis is ongoing and causes lasting damage.1 The most common causes of both are gallstones and heavy alcohol use, and chronic pancreatitis can also follow genetic conditions, autoimmune disease, blockages, previous surgery or radiation, and some medicines.2
Over time, chronic pancreatitis can stop the pancreas releasing enough digestive enzymes. This is called pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, and it mainly affects fat, so it shows up as oily stools, bloating, wind, weight loss and low levels of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.34 Reduced bone density may also develop over time when digestion is affected.4 The same damage can reduce insulin production, which is how diabetes after pancreatitis, often called type 3c diabetes, develops.15
Treatment for chronic pancreatitis aims at symptoms, digestion and preventing complications, and usually includes pain relief, smaller low fat meals, digestive enzyme supplements, and, where they apply, stopping alcohol and smoking.1 Enzyme capsules are prescribed by your doctor and are swallowed whole with meals and snacks that contain fat or protein.3 An Accredited Practising Dietitian sets and reviews the dose against your symptoms and what you actually eat, and checks whether vitamins need replacing.34 Severely restricting fat is not recommended once enzymes are working properly.4
PHOTO NEEDED · Add a Hero Image to this condition in the CMS: a PDC clinician with a client, natural light, no identifiable health information on screen
Symptoms are a guide, not a diagnosis. Your GP confirms the diagnosis; our team helps you manage it day to day.
The teams and services that most often support people with this condition. They work from one shared plan, and one GP referral reaches all of them.
This page follows Healthdirect's Australian consumer information on pancreatitis and the Australasian Pancreatic Club guidelines on pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, with practical enzyme dosing guidance from the Pancare Foundation.
No. Diabetes develops when enough of the insulin making part of the pancreas is damaged, which is more likely with chronic pancreatitis than after a single acute episode. If it does develop it is usually called type 3c diabetes. Your GP can check your glucose levels to see where you sit.
They replace the digestive enzymes your pancreas is no longer releasing in enough quantity, so that fat, protein and starch are broken down and absorbed. They are swallowed whole with meals and snacks that contain fat or protein. A dietitian helps match the dose to the meal, which is usually why a dose that worked last month stops working.
Usually not. Australian guidance is to get the enzyme dose right rather than to strip fat out of the diet, because very low fat eating makes weight loss and vitamin deficiency worse. Smaller, more frequent meals often help. A dietitian works this out with you rather than handing you a list.
Heavy alcohol use is one of the two most common causes, along with gallstones, and some people with pancreatitis have neither. What matters from here is that stopping alcohol and smoking reduces further damage to the pancreas. That is a clinical fact rather than a verdict on you, your GP can organise support, and we will work with whatever stage you are at.
Your GP coordinates, and a gastroenterologist or surgeon is often involved for the pancreas itself. Dietetics is the main allied health input, with diabetes education added if glucose rises, and a pharmacist for the enzyme capsules. PDC Health Hub provides the dietetics, diabetes education, exercise physiology and pharmacist support, and we do not diagnose or prescribe.
Tell us what is going on and we will point you to the right discipline, or to more than one. Most people start with a single appointment and leave with a plan the rest of the team can see.
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