What Does It Mean When Your Lipase Is High?

Early warning signs of pancreatitis may include:

• Sudden, severe, continuous pain in the upper part of the abdomen
• Pain may wrap around the upper body and in a band-like pattern toward the back, or may radiate directly to the back
• Pain typically lasts for days and can often be relieved by leaning forward

People with gallstone pancreatitis may experience gallbladder pain before pancreatic pain occurs. Gallbladder pain (also called biliary colic):

• Often follows a meal 
• Is felt in the right upper abdomen, extending to the back and right shoulder
• Increases in intensity 
• Is constant
• Nausea and vomiting may also occur

People with alcoholic pancreatitis may also experience acute pancreatitis: 

• Symptoms often happen one to three days after an alcohol binge or after stopping drinking
• Nausea and vomiting usually accompany the pain
• Shock or coma (in severe cases)

Causes of pancreatitis include: 

• Gallstones (gallstone pancreatitis)
• Alcohol abuse (alcoholic pancreatitis)
• Drug-induced pancreatitis
• Post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) 
  • A procedure performed to evaluate the gallbladder or pancreas
  • Up to five percent of people who have ERCP will experience ERCP-induced pancreatitis, which is usually mild
• Hereditary conditions 
  • Familial hypertriglyceridemia (high blood triglyceride levels) 
  • Hereditary pancreatitis

Idiopathic pancreatitis, in which there is no underlying identifiable cause, occurs in about 20% of patients. 

Hospitalization is usually needed to treat pancreatitis. 

Treatment for mild pancreatitis involves simple supportive care, including: 

• Monitoring of vital signs
• Intravenous (IV) fluids
• Pain medicines
• Patients may be prohibited from eating during the first few days if significant nausea with vomiting is present

Treatment for moderately severe and severe acute pancreatitis requires more extensive monitoring and supportive care, such as:

• IV fluids to prevent dehydration
• Antibiotics to prevent infections and control existing infections 
• Feeding tube or nutrition through an intravenous line placed in the upper chest
• Damaged and/or infected pancreatic tissue may be drained into the stomach or duodenum or removed (necrosectomy) in severe cases

Treatment for gallstone pancreatitis includes treatment of gallstones, which may include: 

• A procedure to relieve the blockage caused by the gallstone(s)
• Surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) 

Patients who have alcoholic pancreatitis must avoid drinking alcohol to prevent pancreatitis from recurring.