Hi everyone,

I posted in a previous thread here about GI issues I've had for many years.

I have a history of drinking for around 5 years straight every day, have since completely quit for a long time now., but during that time I had a noticeable change in bowel habits occur.

it's really hard to say based on the pictures on the internet, but I think I'm having symptoms of steatorrhea sometimes. it's not every day, and sometimes it goes awhile without happening, but it's happening.

I've never had any significant bouts of pain, I haven't thrown up or vomited in many years, haven't been admitted to the hospital for this etc. I eat terribly most of the time, I'm talking an entire Pizza during the day followed by a entire bag of chips before I go to bed. it's not uncommon for me to drink half a gallon or more of milk per day, but it's the low-fat milk it has never caused me any discomfort to eat like this.

I've been checking my blood sugar levels to see if my pancreas is functioning, I know that's not a great test, but I don't know what else to do. these levels look great, as does my A1C. my liver looks good on blood tests as well. I've had almost every blood test run you can run on a liver.

the problem is I'm in a rural area and things are taking forever. it took me well over 2 months to get a colonoscopy from him which I've already had, and of course it came up negative.

he now wants to do a MRI of my pancreas and a stool sample for fat. I can see this process taking absolutely forever, and quite frankly this has been going on for 4 years and I'm tired of waiting.

I've already had a stool sample for epi which came back normal, and I'm trying to get the actual numbers that came back on that test to no avail so far. many years ago I also had an abdominal CT when all of this was at its worst, and nothing showed.

my question is: what can I say when I walk into an ER to have them do a abdominal CT scan again to look at my pancreas and other biliary system organs?

I'm not above lying at this point to get an image faster. about 3 to 4 years ago I went to the ER complaining of diarrhea and they did an abdominal CT. can I say this again? is there anything I can add to this that will make them do a scan?

I have good insurance and the funds to visit the ER, but I don't want to be blown off or referred to my GP / GI. I'd rather get some answers this weekend. if I have CP I want to know so I can start managing it, and if I don't have an issue with my biliary system, I also like to know. thanks in advance

alternatively, is there any type of over-the-counter enzyme or medicine I can take and deduce pancreas issues by the result? I really don't want to have to fly to another part of the country to get timely answers on this, and I've been going through this crap quite literally for years now. thank you