Symptoms

The most common symptom is upper abdominal pain, which often radiates to the back and may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. The pain can occur daily or off and on, and can be mild or intense. As the disease gets worse and more of the pancreas is destroyed, pain may actually become less severe. During an attack, the pain often is made worse by drinking alcohol or eating a large meal high in fats.

Because a damaged pancreas can't produce important digestive enzymes, people with chronic pancreatitis may develop problems with digesting and absorbing food and nutrients. This can lead to weight loss, vitamin deficiencies, diarrhea and greasy, foul-smelling stools. Over time, a damaged pancreas also can fail to produce enough insulin, which results in diabetes.