Idiopathic/Acute/Athlete
New here! 40F, sober, no smoking, athlete, generally healthy diet, great blood work and 24% body fat. I take Lexapro 10mg/day since 2020. No other supplements, no pre workout, only coffee in the morning. Symptoms started with what I thought was a strained muscle in upper abdomen/beneath sternum, which progressed to stabbing, unrelenting upper abdominal pain a few days later after a heavy meal. Checked myself into ER and was diagnosed with acute, idiopathic pancreatitis. Stayed on an IV drip, and blood work indicated I was ok to be discharged after about 72 hours. Pain was a 7/10 at its worst, but Tylenol managed it enough for me to get some rest.
I'm almost 2 weeks into recovery now and have some questions. Considering there was "no cause" determined, how do I manage going forward to hopefully prevent a recurrence? I had a CT scan, two full abdomen ultrasounds, and extensive blood work. I had 6 different doctors see me throughout my stay, and each said I was exceptionally healthy....except for this inflammation. They mentioned my gallbladder was also inflamed but there were no stones. I'm continuing to eat a low fat diet and eat several smaller meals, and stay very hydrated. I've returned to about 60% intensity on my exercise regimen. I don't notice any symptoms of pain or nausea, but I generally feel a tightness in my upper abdomen after cardio exercise (low impact - elliptical or cycling).
Is food and exercise just trial and error for a while? Is tightness without pain, bloating, or nausea after exercise a concern or not? Do you think I should follow up with my primary doctor to get more tests done? I feel like there *must* be a cause for this.
Regarding cause, the only thing I can think of is a challenging core workout I performed the night before onset of symptoms. I can do these kind of L-sits using gymnastics rings which involves a lot of core compression. But like - I also deadlift and squat heavy (3-5 rep max range) with a belt and have never had an issue.
Thank you for any insight you may have! I appreciate it.