What Is Pancreatitis, the Condition Travis Barker Reportedly Has?
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Travis Barker is reportedly struggling with pancreatitis after developing intense stomach cramps. Photos obtained by TMZ show the Blink-182 drummer being wheeled into a hospital, with his wife Kourtney Kardashian following behind.
“God save me,” Barker tweeted around the same time as his hospitalization. His 16-year-old daughter, Alabama Barker, thanked fans on Instagram Thursday “for all the prayers and love” after sharing and then deleting a photo of herself holding her father’s hand in what appeared to be a hospital bed.
According to TMZ, doctors believe the 46-year-old’s pancreatitis was triggered by a recent colonoscopy he had. Barker’s medical ordeal has raised a lot of questions about pancreatitis and how likely it is to develop the condition from a colonoscopy. Gastroenterologists break it down.
What is pancreatitis, exactly?
Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, an organ located just behind your stomach that makes enzymes that break down sugars, fats, and starches, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
You can have acute pancreatitis, which is a sudden, short-term illness, or chronic pancreatitis, which is longer lasting and may get worse with time.
What are symptoms of pancreatitis?
People with both acute and chronic pancreatitis typically have pain in the upper abdomen that may spread to the back, the NIDDK says.
Acute pancreatitis may also cause these symptoms:
Pain begins slowly or suddenly in your upper abdomen
Pain that sometimes spreads to your back
Pain that can be mild or severe
Pain that may last for several days
Fever
Nausea and vomiting
Fast heartbeat
Swollen or tender abdomen
Chronic pancreatitis may cause no symptoms or it could lead to the following signs, the NIDDK says:
Pain that spreads to your back
Pain that’s constant and severe
Pain that becomes worse after eating
Pain that goes away as your condition gets worse
Diarrhea
Nausea
Greasy, foul-smelling poop
Vomiting
Weight loss
What causes pancreatitis?
There are a range of things that can cause pancreatitis. According to the NIDDK, they include:
Gallstones
Heavy alcohol use
Genetic disorders
Certain medicines
Infections, like viruses or parasites
An injury to your abdomen
Pancreatic cancer
Undergoing a procedure called endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography to treat another condition
Pancreas divisum (a birth defect where parts of the pancreas don’t join together)
How likely are you to develop pancreatitis after a colonoscopy?
Not likely at all, experts say. There are a few case reports on this but even those are hard to find. One report, published in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology, details how a 60-year-old woman who underwent a gastroscopy (which looked at her upper GI tract) and colonoscopy developed pancreatitis afterward. Doctors noted in the report that the colonoscopy was “technically difficult” and she developed symptoms like abdominal pain, nausea, and constipation “almost immediately” after having the colonoscopy. She eventually recovered and was discharged.
“This is exceedingly rare, if it happens at all,” says Rudolph Bedford, M.D., gastroenterologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.
Kurtis Campbell, M.D., a surgeon at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center who treated pancreatic disease, agrees. He points out that pancreatitis can be a complication after an upper endoscopy (which looks at the upper GI tract), but a colonoscopy looks at the lower GI tract. “This is an incredibly uncommon cause of pancreatitis,” he says.
How is pancreatitis detected?
People with acute pancreatitis usually go to the ER with severe stomach pain, says Anton Bilchik, M.D., Ph.D., a surgical oncologist and division chair of general surgery at Providence Saint John’s Health Center and chief of medicine at Saint John’s Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, Calif.
“It’s the worst pain you’ve ever felt,” Dr. Bedford says. “That’s why people make their way to the emergency room.” People may also have nausea, vomiting, and a fever at this point, Dr. Campbell says, adding, “they can really be quite sick.”
Once they get to the hospital, patients are usually given testing that may include blood tests, abdominal ultrasound, and a CT scan to get a proper diagnosis, Dr. Bilchik says.
How is pancreatitis treated?
Pancreatitis is treated with clear liquids and bland foods, along with pain medications and IV fluids, the Mayo Clinic says.
Depending on the cause of the pancreatitis and how severe it is, a patient may need to undergo surgery to remove bile duct obstructions, gallbladder surgery (if gallstones were the cause of pancreatitis), an endoscopic procedure to drain fluid, and medication changes, the Mayo Clinic says.
What is recovery like for pancreatitis?
“It all depends on the severity,” Dr. Bilchik says. If someone had a mild case of pancreatitis, they should get better after “resting the bowel” and drinking clear liquids for a few days. “It usually subsides very quickly,” he says.
But, if it’s more severe, a person may need to have surgery and make dietary and lifestyle changes afterward, Dr. Bedford says. In most minor cases, though, Dr. Bedford says “you get better, you eat a low-fat diet and abstain from alcohol for a period of time, and you move on.”
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