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You had mentioned the use of pancreatic enzyme therapy for patients that have chronic pancreatitis i wonder if you could explain kind of what that is and how it’s used thank you so much dr forrestmark pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy is a very commonly used set of medications prescribed by pancreatic providers for patients with chronic pancreatitis and with
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency or with difficulty digesting food pancreatic enzyme replacements are a set of enzymes that include three major categories that are usually created by the pancreas these are amylase lipase and protease and these three enzymes digest fats proteins and complex carbohydrates thereby allowing the body to break down and then absorb the
Normal nutrients that patients take in when they eat food the pancreatic enzyme replacements are prescribed in several different doses and the most common way that the doses are measured are in the lipase units which may come in many thousands and be large numbers those numbers indicate the number of lipase units in each capsule the pancreatic enzyme replacements
They come in a powdered enzyme form that is and placed inside of a capsule patients are instructed to take these capsules with food pancreatic enzymes themselves have a very mild effect on the pancreas and so the intent is not for those to act on the pancreas directly but rather the intent of pancreatic enzyme replacements is specifically to accompany food as
It travels through the digestive system and so the instruction to patients when they are dosed with pancreatic enzymes is to take the first capsule with the first bite of food during a meal this ensures that the enzymes travel with the food and break it down at the appropriate location in the intestines in order for it to be absorbed thank you and that’s just
To reinforce an important point there which is that um for these enzymes to work they have to mix with the food and to be able to mix with the food they have to be taken during the meal and it’s a common i think uh issue with patients where the instructions they get from the prescription may not specify that and it might be a little bit unclear so that’s an important point you
Transcribed from video
What should I know about pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy for chronic pancreatitis? By Animated Pancreas Patient
