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Looking for information on substance induced pancreatic damage

GRNBTTSTY

GRNBTTSTY

Bluelighter
Joined
May 29, 2009
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I've been on a bit of a science fiction kick for the past couple of years. I've been slowly working my way through this wonderful torrent I found containing "the top 100 sci-fi books of all time" in audiobook format. It's fantastic. But now in relation to two completely separate books I have seen reference to pancreatic damage and/or injury caused by drug abuse. Being a drug user and type 1 diabetic this makes me a little concerned. My problem is that I can't seem to find any solid facts about this subject. Just vague mentions. I wish to know more. I'm well aware of the ability of several substances to have an effect on my blood glucose levels (Opioids can make it erratic, mostly lowering it, and LSD can spike it) and whenever I'm doing any of those I just make sure to monitor my blood sugar carefully and all is well. But I've been looking, on and off, for any solid facts about pancreatic damage caused by drug use for a couple of months and I really can't find anything. At all. Can you folxs help me out?

tl;dr Does anyone have a source for information about substance induced damage to the pancreas?

I should add that I'm mostly looking for information about Opioids/Opiates & Hallucinogens (Phenethylamines, Lysergamides, and Tryptamines) as well as Stimulants and Empathogens/Entactogens. But really anything is appreciated.
 
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Just wanted to let you know that I fully read your post, but I'm afraid when it comes to this particular subject I'm completely in the dark.

I hope someone else comes along who can help you, and who can educate me!
 
OP have you visited a doctor yet? I believe for questions like these going to a health care professional would be the best option for you so you can be assessed by the doctor and be sent to go to tests if needed.
 
Jonnavi said:
OP have you visited a doctor yet? I believe for questions like these going to a health care professional would be the best option for you so you can be assessed by the doctor and be sent to go to tests if needed.
Click to expand...

I should be seeing a doctor in a couple of weeks, but honestly I do not trust the doctors office I currently visit to have honest and consequence free talks about substance use. Also, I may not have made it clear enough in my first post, but though I do have Juvenile Diabetes I'm fairly confident that I have not damaged my organs yet. I would not say that I am a heavy user nor am I an addict and I have, as yet, found myself with any damage from my favourite past time. I'm just really interested in this sort of thing and tend to be a slight hypocondriac, so while I do get worried about the possibilities, I'm fairly confident that I've not screwed myself yet.

Thanks for reading the whole thing Foreigner! Much obliged.

To Bearlove, that's kind of what I'm looking for. I read a bit of the second one and it kept going on about causal evidence linking alcohol to GI infection and infilmation, and while informative I was more looking for the how. As in how do drugs cause damage, ie by what biochemical mechanism or process. Or really even just something a little more in depth then "it just does".

Also in anything like this that I find it is always usually implied that the affected population or people are long term addicts. But in a lot of them it's never stated explicitly and so this leaves me even more clueless as to possible negative effects or damage asociated with occasional or social usage. For instance; before this current quest for knowledge I had been using some Black Tar Heroin (which was very nice) and in reading up on it found that users can experience vein shrinking and hardening as well as deep vein thrombosis. This got me worried for a minute but again all the studies that I could find would say "...... and the 20 year addicts, since all their veins had collapsed would just stab themselves in the leg willy-nilly, without first removing their trousers", which while saddening, in no way helped me.

Either way thank you bearlove. That's a start.
 
Substance 'abuse' (alcohol, opiates etc) have the same effect - it stops the pancreas from 'working' properly. If your looking to find out how using 'x' substance would have an effect which would lead to problems start off at the function of the organ - what does it produce, then see how the drug of choice effects/disprupts production and then what happens on long term. (if you want to go further then check what the organ is made of [exocrine and endocrine cells] - how the drug of choice effects them etc.

Pancreas releases a few things into your system (mainly digestive) - 'x' drug will interupt this process meaning the digestive enzymes are stuck in the pancrease and will slowly disolve the pancrease causing scarring, tissue damage and ultimately death of the organ.
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/pancreas/exocrine.html

If you find a simple answer post it :D = good luck and if your really worried/concerned ask your doctor etc
 
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