What are symptoms of pancreatitis from high triglycerides

High triglycerides can trigger pancreatitis, seen as severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Seek emergency help if symptoms arise and levels are elevated.

Pancreatitis from high triglycerides usually presents like any other acute pancreatitis: sudden, often severe upper‑abdominal pain plus nausea and vomiting, sometimes with fever and feeling very unwell. It is a medical emergency—if you have this kind of pain and know your triglycerides are very high, you should go to an emergency department immediately.

Typical symptoms of hypertriglyceridemic pancreatitis

The core symptom cluster is:

• Abdominal pain
  • Constant, moderate to severe.
  • Usually in the upper abdomen/epigastric area, may spread like a band around the upper belly or radiate to the back.
  • Often worse after eating (especially fatty food) and when lying flat; may improve a bit when sitting up or leaning forward.​
• Nausea and vomiting
  • Very common and can be persistent.
• General “acutely sick” feeling
  • Fever or chills.
  • Fast heart rate, sometimes low blood pressure.
  • Weakness, inability to eat or drink.

On examination in hospital, doctors usually find tenderness in the upper abdomen and reduced bowel sounds.

Severe or late signs (need urgent care)

In more severe cases, you may also see:

• Abdominal distension and severe, unrelenting pain.
• Breathlessness (due to pain, fluid shifts or lung involvement).
• Grey‑blue bruising around the belly button (Cullen sign) or flanks (Grey Turner sign) in hemorrhagic pancreatitis—these are rare but indicate high severity.
• Signs of sepsis or organ failure (confusion, very low blood pressure, decreased urine output).

These situations always require hospitalization, often in a high‑dependency or ICU setting.

How this links to high triglycerides

• Hypertriglyceridemia is the third most common cause of acute pancreatitis after gallstones and alcohol.
• Pancreatitis is typically seen when triglycerides are very high, often >1,000–2,000 mg/dL, though the threshold varies between people.
• Most people with high triglycerides have no symptoms at all until they reach this severe range and develop pancreatitis.

So the danger pattern is: very high triglycerides + new severe upper‑abdominal pain + vomiting = go to emergency.

When you should seek urgent help

Go to an emergency department immediately if:

• You know or suspect your triglycerides are very high (especially ≥1,000 mg/dL), and
• You develop:
  • Sudden or rapidly worsening upper‑abdominal pain (with or without back pain).
  • Pain plus vomiting that doesn’t settle.
  • Pain plus fever, fast heartbeat, feeling faint or breathless.

Even if you are not sure it is pancreatitis, this pattern needs urgent assessment—blood tests (lipase), imaging and rapid treatment if pancreatitis is confirmed.