Your pancreas is a long, flat gland that is tucked behind your stomach, between the upper part of your small intestine (duodenum) and your spleen. Your pancreas is important for both metabolism and digestion.
These functions of metabolism and digestion may be affected by pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition that occurs when pancreatic digestive enzymes become active within your gland and attack your pancreas, itself.
There are 2 kinds of pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis appears quickly and only lasts for a few days. Chronic pancreatitis develops slowly and continues for many years. Both acute and chronic pancreatitis can lead to serious complications.
You may wonder how big a problem pancreatitis is. Somewhere around 80,000 cases occur each year in the United States. Pancreatitis is more common in men than in women.
The number one cause of pancreatitis is gallstones. The second most common cause is excessive use of alcohol. There are also several other causes of pancreatitis including trauma to your abdomen, steroids, mumps, scorpion venom, various medications, environment, genetics and autoimmune causes where your bodys defense mechanisms attack your own body.
There are some risk factors that may increase your likelihood of getting pancreatitis. Since excessive use of alcohol is the second leading cause of this disease, drinking alcohol excessively increases your risk of getting pancreatitis. Other risk factors are:
Ethnicity
Gallbladder disease
Gender
Genetic mutations
Other medical conditions.
There are several ways that you may be affected by pancreatitis. Some of these effects are:
Severe upper abdominal pain that radiates through to your back is the hallmark sign of pancreatitis.
Nausea and vomiting are also prominent symptoms of this disease.
Fever is an indicator of pancreatitis.
Rapid pulse can also be a sign of this disorder.
Low blood pressure and dehydration, shock and internal bleeding are symptoms of a severe case of pancreatitis.
You or a loved one may have pancreatitis. This disease may be the cause of your disability and the reason why you are not able to work.
As a result, you or your loved one may need assistance. You may need financial help.
Where will the help that you need come from? Who will be able to help you? Who can you call on?
Have you or your loved one applied for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration because of the disability caused by pancreatitis? Were you or your loved one denied?
You or your loved one may decide to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration. If you do, think about this.
You or your loved one may need a disability lawyer like the one you will find at Disability Case Review to assist you in the appeals process. This is true because people represented by a disability attorney are approved more often than those people without a lawyer.
