If you have this condition, you can take pancreatic enzyme tablets at mealtime. Your pancreas may become suddenly inflamed, a condition known as acute pancreatitis. You will have deep, severe pain in the upper abdomen that often moves to the back, and nausea and vomiting. It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish the abdominal pain of gastroparesis, diabetic ketoacidosis, and acute pancreatitis in a patient with diabetes. Usually blood tests and X-rays can distinguish among these conditions.
Diabetes can indirectly lead to pancreatitis.
There has been some controversy about the risk of pancreatic cancer in people with diabetes. Confusion exists because, on occasion, the onset of diabetes in an elderly adult may be the first sign of a small pancreatic cancer. Present evidence suggests that the risk of pancreatic cancer in people with diabetes is the same or only slightly higher than in the general population. Jeffrey L. Barnett, MD, is associate professor of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology Division, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor.