Pancreatitis...with no pain?

Nurses General Nursing

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I always thought that pancreatitis came along with horrible pain. This lady was laughing and chatting with her friend, and kept insisting she had no pain. Anyone ever seen anything like this?

Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.
I know you may not be able to tell us, but do you know what findings on the imaging specifically made them decide it was pancreatitis? I agree with core0, the picture is quite worrisome for malignancy.

I'm not sure exactly. They said the gallbladder was a bit enlarged, but no cholelithiasis. The whole picture is just so strange. Every patient I've cared for with pancreatitis is just doubled over in pain. This girl said she was just tired. And ironically, kept joking in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice about her "tumah."

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Specializes in CTICU.
I dont think at all that 25 yo's get the cancer ALL the time,actually according to statistics they are a low risk patients,just like they dont develop cataract that often or other conditions related getting older,advanced age is a major risk factor,and also although it happends rare pancreatititis develop from uknown cause and is not related to abuse of alcohol.With that said I agree that this looks like an unlucky case of pancreatic cancer...hopefully for this young person life I'm wrong.

Well jeez, I meant "frequently", not ALL the time. Must choose my words more carefully if they're going to be taken so literally!!!

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Well jeez, I meant "frequently", not ALL the time. Must choose my words more carefully if they're going to be taken so literally!!!

Actually there is a huge difference between frequently and rare,and rare it is...According to statistics,90% of cases are 55 years or older,here is the link to the source http://www.marincancerinstitute.org/cancer/pancreatic.html

Not nitpicking just straightening out the information:D

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Its true that 25 y/o don't get cancer all the time. But if you work at a tertiary center it feels like it. If I remember the incidence of pancreatic cancer in that age group is something on the order of 1 per 1 million. But other cancers are prominent in that age group. These are also rare but when present tend to be devastating.

David Carpenter, PA-C

I understand your point of you however in reality a 25 year old should as healthy as the fish in the water...There are some very rare forms of cancer unique to young age (some forms of leukemia,Hodgins Lymphoma) yet majority of the patients in cancer wards are indeed older ones...

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I'm not sure exactly. They said the gallbladder was a bit enlarged, but no cholelithiasis. The whole picture is just so strange. Every patient I've cared for with pancreatitis is just doubled over in pain. This girl said she was just tired. And ironically, kept joking in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice about her "tumah."

You have to keep in mind that there aren’t any noticeable signs or symptoms in the early stages of pancreatic cancer.The signs of pancreatic cancer, when present, are like the signs of many other illnesses.

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Sorry but I have a thing for and I would love to work in GI lab and specialize in it :))):D

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Specializes in Gyn Onc, OB, L&D, HH/Hospice/Palliative.

Having worked in Oncology for 20 yrs it seems to me I see a lot of 20, 30 yr olds and up, I've seen teenagers with Ovarian Ca. It all depends where you work, sometimes that can skew reality when you see that 0.5% or 2% all the time it certaintly seems like its 'frequently and 'all the time'. As a side note, I'm also thinking she may have some GYN or GI malignancy going on with her pancreatitis as an incidental/secondary finding,

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Specializes in CTICU.
Actually there is a huge difference between frequently and rare,and rare it is...According to statistics,90% of cases are 55 years or older,here is the link to the source http://www.marincancerinstitute.org/cancer/pancreatic.html

Not nitpicking just straightening out the information:D

Well, you are nitpicking, but you may want to read more carefully first. I did not mention pancreatic ca. specifically. I said 25yos get cancer "all the time". It is by no definition "rare" - although no argument from me that cancer is primarily a disease related to aging.

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Specializes in ICU, PACU, Cath Lab.

For what it is worth...we recently had a pt present with "mild abd pain" went in for an ex-lap thinking possible pancreatitis...well he had a completely necrotic bowel that had actually ruptured!!! We were amazed at the lack of pain this guy had!!

Also we just had a very young pt die of cancer and currently have another on the floor...so unfortunately young people do get cancer and it can seem almost as frequently as older ones...

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Specializes in Pediatrics Only.

only time i ever saw pancreatitis with no pain was in a child..

and she had a pain tolerance d/t another disease process..

she just didnt feel pain until it got severe..

was odd

cute kiddo though.

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Normally, 15-40 individual should be in overall good condition...and be at her/his physical peak,but then of course other circumstances happen such as inherited genes,exposure to toxins etc,accidents etc...yet comparing to older adults it seems that young are much more to advantage...

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Specializes in Multiple.

I personally had pancreatitis a few years ago and had mild pain only - my worst symptom was nausea and vomiting. I was under 45 years of age and rarely drank alcohol. It was due to gall stones stuck in the pancreatic duct, so in answer to the OPs question - yes it is possible. IMHO patients differ so much in how they perceive pain. The diagnosis needs to be made regarding the whole picture, and not just on single symptoms... my amylase was over 1000 (uk scale) and with minimal pain - a bit like a stomach upset, no more than that. I smiled throughout my exam and docs were surprised when they saw the CT / MRI

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