Pancreatic cancer can affect your digestion and cause symptoms such as weight loss, losing your appetite and changes to your bowel habits. Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) can help manage these symptoms and make a big difference to how you feel.
Taking pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy my name is jenny i’m one of the specialist nurses working on the support line at pancreatic cancer uk the pancreas plays an important role in digestion it makes enzymes which help us to break down our food so that the nutrients can be used by the body if a person has a pancreatic cancer this can affect how many enzymes
Are made it can also stop them from getting to where they need to be in the body if your pancreas is not producing enough enzymes you may have the following symptoms losing weight even though you’re eating losing your appetite feeling full up even after a few spoonfuls of food diarrhea or constipation cramps or bloating in your tummy you may also have pale oily
Who which smells horrible and doesn’t flush very well the main way that these are managed is by providing pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy these are capsules which are taken which replace the enzymes produced by the pancreas they can make a big difference to how you feel and can help to control some of the symptoms some of the main types are creon nutrition
Pancreas and pancreas when i was first described to the enzymes i thought this is epic it’s got something i’ve got to take every time i eat for the rest of my life but being an asthmatic as well i thought we i have to take my pump every day just something i’ve got to do something i’ve got it it korean really has changed my life the one thing that’s changed my life
Unfortunately they’re kind of ungainly pills to swallow and i have to take six or seven or a every meal but that’s a small price to pay for have virtually a symptom-free life now some types of pancreatic enzymes have a number after the name this relates to the amount of enzymes in the capsule for example creon 25000 means there are 25,000 units in this calcium or
Neutral sign 22 means 22,000 units the dose of enzymes which you need will depend on your symptoms and what you are eating he might start with the dose of at least 50 to 75,000 units per meal and 25 to 50,000 units for a snack this may sound like a lot of enzymes but it isn’t as many as your pancreas would normally make don’t worry about taking too many enzymes
Most people will need to increase their dose of enzymes your doctor nurse or dietician will be able to help you manage this if you’re still having symptoms and are taking good doses of pancreatic enzymes then speak to your doctor or nurse who may be able to help you manage this you may need to increase the dose of your pancreatic enzymes there may be other causes
Of your symptoms which your doctor ernest can also discuss with you first of all it had no effect at all i was still getting the symptoms my doctor told me take one pill with every meal turns out this was way way inadequate not enough at all one of the team said that i should up it to four or five pills per meal that’s 60,000 or 80,000 unit again this proved to
Be too little and i was almost gonna give up because it was having no effect at all the symptoms are still there the bloating the diarrhea the vomiting the nausea sness and then one of the nurses said no no no you can’t take too much just keep on taking it until i have it has an effect it’s different for every person and i took her advice and now i have six to
Eight with a meal i have maybe one or two with a snack i have one when i have a cappuccino because that’s got calories milk in it than needs digesting and so i take them throughout the day and that’s had the effect of just making me feel relatively normal and my diets not to tolna because i take the enzymes how do i take pancreatic enzymes pancreatic enzymes should
Be taken with all meals all snacks and any milky drinks that are more than 50% milk if you’re having a meal which is lasting for a long period of time or you’re having food that is more fatty than normal do remember to increase the amount of enzymes you take pancreatic enzymes should be taken with cold water and not with hot drinks if you struggle to swallow the
Capsules do speak to your dietitian onerous and they may be able to help you to find other ways to take them are taking the enzymes and the nutrition shakes that i have is helping me to maintain a steady body weight it’s been our to maintain my physical abilities i’ve still got a long road to go but i’m getting fitter and stronger every day and it’s thanks to the
Availability and taking these things did i am where i am it’s really important to speak to your doctor nurse or dietitian about pancreatic cancer and how it is affecting your digestion they can help you to take pancreatic enzyme replacement capsules and give you advice on diet and nutrition for more information about pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy please
Visit pancreatic cancer org uk you can call us on oh sh 801 oh seven oh seven you can also email us on nurse at pancreatic cancer org uk
Transcribed from video
Taking pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy By Pancreatic Cancer UK
