March 5, 2004 
HEALTH LIBRARY
Mayo Clinic
• Gallstone Pancreatitis 
• Health Library 
WHAT IS PANCREATITIS?
•Pancreatitis often is caused by gallstones leaving the gallbladder and lodging near the pancreatic duct, obstructing the duct.
•Pancreatitis is likely to cause an intense, constant pain in the upper abdomen that may radiate to your back or chest.
•Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, high fever, difficulty breathing and abdominal bruises from internal bleeding.

Source: MayoClinic.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is in the intensive care unit of a Washington hospital after being admitted Thursday night for gallstone pancreatitis, the Justice Department said Friday.

The nation's top legal officer was brought to George Washington University Hospital's emergency room for evaluation of stomach complaints, Justice Department spokesman Mark Corrallo said in a statement.

Emergency room doctors determined Ashcroft was suffering from a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis, and he was admitted to intensive care for monitoring and treatment with antibiotics, the department said.

The condition occurs when a gallstone migrates from the gallbladder to the pancreas, causing a blockage.

It can be extremely painful and sometimes dangerous but usually isn't life-threatening, said CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Among the main symptoms is mild to severe pain in the upper abdomen that often moves to the back, according to the Mayo Clinic. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, high fever, difficulty breathing and abdominal bruises from internal bleeding.

Ashcroft, 61, believing he had stomach flu, canceled a Thursday appearance in Alexandria, Virginia, to announce verdicts in a terrorism case, the department said.

He went home, and when the conditioned worsened, White House physician Daniel Park visited him and concluded he should be hospitalized.

The department said doctors expect to know more about Ashcroft's condition within 48 hours.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/05/ashcroft.hospitalized/

Fair use

Probably part of some autoimmune metabolic dysfunction such as 2-butoxyethanol causes.  What was he doing when 'the flu' symptoms started up?

What is the Gall Bladder Anyway?  

What does it do?

 

Related Category: Anatomy And Physiology

 

gall bladder, small pear-shaped sac that stores and concentrates bile. It is connected to the liver (which produces the bile) by the hepatic duct. When food containing fat reaches the small intestine, the hormone cholecystokinin is produced by cells in the intestinal wall and carried to the gall bladder via the bloodstream. The hormone causes the gall bladder to contract, forcing bile into the common bile duct. A valve, which opens only when food is present in the intestine, allows bile to flow from the common bile duct into the duodenum where it functions in the process of fat digestion. Sometimes the substances contained in bile crystallize in the gall bladder, forming gallstones. These small, hard concretions are more common in persons over 40, especially in women and the obese. They can cause inflammation of the gall bladder, a disorder that produces symptoms similar to those of indigestion, especially after a fatty meal is consumed. If a stone becomes lodged in the bile duct, it produces severe pain. Gallstones may pass out of the body spontaneously; however, serious blockage is treated by removing the gall bladder surgically.

Source

Many times there seem to be gall bladder ailments with the harm of 2-butoxyethanol.  Why?  I don't know - but it is a common thread

"We are fearfully and wonderfully made!"

In addition, any of these things going on?