I experienced my first symptoms when I was three months old. I was taken to the hospital because I was incessantly crying, had a rigid body and refused to eat –it was probably my first pancreatitis episode. The doctors were shocked at the high-fat content in my blood, but I did not receive a specific diagnosis. My parents were told to not have any more children and I would not live long.
The recurrent severe abdominal pain started at 10-years old and continued on and off. I received my first diagnosis of pancreatitis in college, but they did not take blood tests to confirm triglycerides as the cause. I experienced more serious and frequent recurrent pancreatitis that prohibited me from finishing my doctoral degree.