Pancreatitis Supporters Newsletter Nine

November/December 1995

 

As promised in earlier Newsletters we now have copies of the booklets produced by Duphar/Mr Bruce Faulkner-Dunkley and written by Professor John Neoptolemos. 

        I am sorry there has been such a long wait for them but as they say better late than never!

        In order to offset the cost of distribution I am going to have to ask that you send in an order form and cheque or coins taped to the order form for however many of the booklets you want. 

        There are three booklets and these are entitled:

 

        Chronic Pancreatitis

        Acute Pancreatitis and

        Cancer of the Pancreas.

 

        If you want copies send in a total of 1.00 towards the cost of postage, packaging and distribution.   To date over half of you have responded and thank you to those who have enclosed messages of support.

        I am sorry to make this charge but we only have at present about 85 to last us until next April.  More members have rejoined, others joining for the first time and our membership is up to over 55 from the last newsletter.       Sadly, people who have a one off attack get the same amount of information and support that anyone gets when they first ring and often after this they do not join despite getting a newsletter and follow up letter which I hope you have all received when you first contacted the Network.

 

 

 

The Lottery

        On a more positive note I have applied for Lottery funding and will let you all know the outcome of this.  At present we have been told we will not hear of the outcome of our bid until December.  I have applied for a total of 3,000 over three years to fund an independent telephone support line for

members.

The Pancreatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland

 

        We also have to thank the Pancreatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland for their most generous donation of 250 to be spent on Office Equipment and this has enabled us to purchase a decent hard drive in anticipation of our membership drive!  My problem has been the inability to get all the software on at the same time due to lack of space!  Indeed if I did not have access to this type of equipment I could not produce the Newsletters or more importantly the requests for money and support from other Companies.

 

Fundraising

 

        In addition I have a contact in another charity helping me sort targets for fundraising letters and I will let you all know how this develops.  It is my ambition that the charity will become self supporting some time in the distant future and that we can help everyone without having to worry all the time about costs.

 

 

Car Boot Salee

 

                I have asked the membership in the past for assistance and have heard nothing and matters, to be honest were getting worrying!  Imagine my delight at the member - who wishes to remain anonymous - who completed a car boot for the Network and brought in 52!  This gave me the resource to be able to write to Companies for support.

 

 

 

All I can say is Joan really started something with her letter questioning members on diet and due to the number of responses I have had I am devoting this next page or so to responses from members over the whole area of diet and foods.

 

In order to save having to get each article verified by the author before printing I have left peoples' names off.

 

 

Here we go extracts from members letters:

 

...Except being told to eat no fat where possible or keep it down to 2.0g in any product (or below) and no alcohol of any sort and dairy stuff to be skimmed or non-fat or none at all, I was not given any more advice.

 

I have found out for myself, just recently, and often after such a lot of acute pain, that the following foods were obviously not helping me one bit and causing years of pain.

 

This may be helpful news to other members if included in the Newsletter to come - I leave you to decide how to present it.

 

1) I cannot digest any salad food and have not eaten any this Summer (a few tomatoes if boiled and de-skinned)

2) I cannot digest any citrus fruits or had any fruits - apples etc and just occasionally raspberries, strawberries etc.

 

3) All vegs are OK so long as they are cooked (never raw) and I eat a lot of every kind.

 

4) I buy tinned soft fruit (mangos are super) and find this I can cope with - supermarkets selections are not too expensive and it is all fruit and no peel, skin and pips - which are no good to me!

 

...I am OK with all meats, fowl and fish cooked any way and even bacon grilled and the odd oven chip!

 

I am taking in a bit more fat like biscuits, cake, chocs, semi-skimmed milk and yogurt etc (but only once a week). 

 

I think Sanatogen powder, Glucose powder and Luctulose are doing me a lot of good!

 

__________________________

Yes, I cannot eat any Dairy food only perhaps once a month, very little, check when weekly shopping you do not buy any food containing cheese sauce, or sauces of any kind (very fat). I always read labels on the back of packets etc, if it contains more than 4g fat put it back.  Make your own soups, hot or cold with lots of Pasta, Veg, sometimes fruit.  No cakes or goodies from sweet shelf, but in-between have a go at different cakes as a filler.

______________________

 

Mrs A P Paddock - Yes!  This is me also!  Have for 7 years been on non-fat or low-fat food:

 

Skimmed milk

Low-fat yogurt

No cheese, biscuits, cakes, chocolate, fat meat, suet etc.

 

Had to be brain washed to read every label on everything and if it was above 2.0g fat content, don't buy it or eat it!

___________________

 

I thought the enclosed might be of interest to your members who, like me, have to limit their fat intake from all sources. to no more than 50g per week (see next section - Editor).  I tried them and found they enlivened a salad and they contain 1g per 100g instead of the normal 24-30g.  I wrote to the manufacturers to get to know more about other items in their low fat range, also supplies.

 

(Response to above letter below - Editor)

_____________________

 

THE LOW FAT SNACK CO

1A Standard Road

London

NW10 6EX

 

Tel 0181 965 8687

 

Thank you for your recent letter regarding our low fat snacks.

 

.......The 99% Low Fat Potato Waffles were launched by SAFEWAY.  .....The BOOTS stores will be launching two new products in the middle of October which are called 'Shapers Very Low Fat Pizza Pieces' and 'Shapers Very Low Fat American Waffles'.

 

......Another product is called 'Pasta Snacks' (which is 50% lower in fat than normal crisps) and we currently supply to some of the SAINSBURY'S stores.  .....WAITROSE have a similar product called 'Spicy Tomato Pasta Crisps' and 'Garlic and Herb Pasta Crisps' and ASDA also have a similar product called:

 

'Italian Style Snacks' - which are under their own respective labels.

 

...Unfortunately we cannot supply direct to the public.

 

___________________________

 

 

How  can  I  modify  my  diet  and  daily activities  to  help treat pancreatitis?

                The single most important change that any sufferer from chronic  pancreatitis can make is to stop drinking alcohol.  Even if your pancreatitis is not directly caused by alcohol, it is likely that drinking alcohol will harm the  pancreas  because it stimulates the production of a thick, sticky pancreatic juice which tends to clog the pancreatic ducts.  This adds to the drainage already taking place in the pancreas.

                It  is  probably  also  helpful to stop  smoking, because  smoking stresses   the   body's   natural   defense   mechanisms  against inflammation and may contribute to the damage occurring

in the pancreas.

                A well balanced diet is probably helpful.  You need not restrict fatty food  and  in fact  an  adequate intake of fat may  help  to prevent weight  loss.  If you have access to a  dietitian, you should ask for advice on how to maintain an intake of 100 grams of fat and 100 grams of protein each day.  If this diet causes symptoms such as diarrhoea or looseness of stools  it is better to begin or increase the dose of pancreatic enzyme supplements rather than to cut down the amount you are eating.

Can vitamin supplements help?

                There is some evidence that antioxidants help to protect against inflammation  in  a  wide  variety  of  diseases    There  are many vitamin  preparations  with  added  antioxidants  available  from chemists  and  Health  Food  shops.    These  preparations  will certainly do no harm, and some patients find their pain is less severe or less frequent when they are taking them.   Look out for formulations which contain vitamin C, vitamin E  and Selenium .

 

(Reprinted article from the Pancreatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland - Editor) 

 

 

 

Firstly a big thank you to:

 

Andy Whyment of the

Mobility Advice Line.

 

I mentioned in previous letters about my getting help with Fundraising for the Network and sending out letters to Companies and Charities with requests for support.  Well Andy has been my information source and assistance in drafting an appropriate letter to the same.

 

I will report back to you all on how well we are doing in the next Newsletter, due March/April 1996.

___________________

 

Causes of Pancreatitis?

 

            I have had a couple of interesting calls about what people have been told caused their pancreatitis from:

Mumps, Severe blow to the pancreas, Scorpion sting, heredity etc.  What about you?         Write in and tell us.

______________________

 

Remember we advise you always to consult with your GP over any medical problem.

 

Many thanks to Mr Bruce Faulkner-Dunkley of Duphar and Professor John Neoptolemos of the Pancreatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland for their work and support in  the production of the  booklets. Also the PSGBI for their generous donation of 250 for Office Equipment.

Benefits Information

 

I have access to a computer package that will enable me to tell you what benefits you may be able to apply for.  If you want a consultation on this please give me a ring for a consultation  in COMPLETE CONFIDENCE!

 

NOTE:  You need to supply information on what income and outgoings you have, rate of mortgage interest (if you have one) and amount of mortgage, also Council tax information and what benefits you are getting at present. 

 

At the end the program will generate a report which you can use to assist getting benefits.  If you are interested give me a call for further information

_________________________

Drug information

Zydol Capsules.  I was asked about the following and had to wait until our latest copy of MIMS to get this information:  Opiate analogue.  Tramadol hydrochlor. 50mg green/yellow capsule.  Used for moderate to severe pain. Not recommended for CHILDREN.

DLA &

AA

Have you been turned down for DLA (DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE) , or AA (Attendance Allowance? 

 

If yes, can we help at all?  

 

Remember you have the right to Appeal and this you should do straight away asking for a copy of the notes used to make the decision.  DO THIS IN WRITING.  Then ring us up to discuss how you should fill in the Appeal for DLA or AA.  We cannot guarantee success but we may help you to have a better chance.  While you are waiting for the papers from the disability section you should ask your Consultant or GP for a DS1500 report to send with your Appeal.  RING for further information.

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