I've come across multiple suspicious comments relating to ME/CFS and the pancreas.
On this forum here I saw this:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/pancreas-gallbladder-and-cfs.611/
"According to Dr. Byron Hyde's CFS study, pancreatic failure is the #3 cause of death in CFS"
After almost ten years on OTC enzymes, plus being told I had gastroenteritis over and over in the ER when tests came back normal, my doctor ran a special test to prove I had gallstones called an EGD with biliary microscopy. It cost as much as the gallbladder surgery that I had immediately, when the test proved I was full of tiny stones. These stones had been backing up in the ducts for years, and when I ate and my pancreas made enzymes, the enzymes could not get out and ate my pancreas instead. Since the enzymes could not get out, I took more and more OTC enzymes. After the gallbladder was removed, my symptoms improved for awhile, but then came back full force, which is when I was diagnosed with severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency,a condition that takes an average of 20% off your lifespan, even when properly treated. The symptoms of the condition are pretty gross, so I won't list them here. If anyone has a similar history to what I just described and a strong stomach, PM me and I will describe what would be happening if you had this problem.
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency also causes symptoms similar to ME/CFS. Additionally, if the gallbladder is not working properly it can damage the pancreas as it gets backed up. There is also an autoimmune disease called primary biliary cholangitis which is said to be very similar to ME/CFS:
I've thought of getting a GI doctor to do some exocrine pancreatic stool function test or something, but it is so much work to get countless tests while working full time and the doctors are not cooperative and I have to find a doctor to do the testing I want.
https://www.prohealth.com/library/d...-cirrhosis-and-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-21239
Additionally, with PBC the autoimmune disease blocks the enzyme which allows pyruvate to be converted into energy in the mitochondria. So, I certainly thought that PBC varients could be a subset of ME/CFS.
Also, as Dr. Sara Myhill says that the pancreas is simply not working right that you can heal it by going on the diet, but may not be able to absorb the food without the pancreas working right, so that is why you need to take the pancreatic enzymes (and probably the bile too which comes with some).
So, I can't say exactly how or why the pancreas might be related to ME/CFS, just that there are a lot of suspicious intersections around that organ and the gallbladder and the liver. So, I would keep that in mind when testing and doing treatments.
Additionally, when my condition started I began to have a stinging sensation in my upper right abdomen and I've had a constant stinging sensation there ever since. Sometimes I feel it on the left too. I don't know if that could be my liver/gallbladder/pancreas hurting. All testing has been negative, but I'm sure I haven't had every possible test there is related to those organs and probably never will.
Also keep in mind if the pancreas isn't able to digest proteins and carbohydrates correctly that you won't get the right amino acids you need and also you can have intestinal problems.
Dr. Sara Myhill's page on this:
http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Pancreatic_exocrine_function