Active Low-Carber Forums - View Single Post - UGH! Words from a nurse who works in the hospital

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zimms

Where I work our critical care unit is called "CCU" we take care of any type of critical care patient which could include pancreatitis. However, I have never seen a patient that has had health problems related to a low carb diet. Even if a patient says that they were on low carb, how would you know that it was the cause of the health problems? To link pancreatitis to low carb eating, your Mom's friend would have to know exactly what they were eating, how long they were on the diet, any pre-existing conditions etc... I doubt that she has enough information to link Atkins to their medical condition.

Zimms...

True, I didn't think about that. I forget that not all hospitals use the same abbreviations.

We have a CCU, ICU, and InCU (intermediate care unit).

However, I've yet to see a patient in there for pancreatitis from low carb diets.

One issue that I have seen and it was with my own Dad is diverticulosis. He has been doing Atkins for a year and lost 80 pounds. I have been harping and nagging for him to increase his fiber but of couse, he's an engineer so he knows everything. He refused to listen to me. First he developed diverticulosis and then diverticulitis and then he ended up with a bowel obstruction. In December he was in the hospital for emergency surgery.

The upside to this is that they went ahead and sent a bx to pathology even though they saw nothing to indicate anything but the infection and on xmas day he was told he has colon cancer. It is in the very earliest stages so he is getting 5FU just in case but I'm sure he's going to do well.

In a way it is a good thing he ignored me, he might not have known about the colon CA until it was too late.

However, my point is that fiber is necessary too. For a couple of weeks it certainly isn't a big deal. Eight months with little to no fiber is a problem.

But pancreatitis? Bah!