Free guide · Scarlet Beast En español →
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI): the symptoms, the tests, enzyme pills (PERT), and eating
For anyone with loose, greasy, bad-smelling stools, bloating, gas or weight loss; anyone with pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, or surgery on the pancreas; and anyone just told they have exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what EPI is and who gets it; the symptoms, the causes, and the complications; the tests; treatment with enzyme pills (PERT) and everyday changes; and eating. It builds the words to say to your doctor, so you do not have to find them, and prints a card.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Does something feel like an emergency? NIDDK’s page on EPI lists no emergency signs and does not name 911. Ours: if you believe it is an emergency, call 911. For severe pain in the upper belly, see Pancreatitis.
- Is it all too much, or are you thinking of ending your life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- On this site: Belly and stomach: find the right page · Pancreatitis · Celiac disease · Crohn’s disease · Ulcerative colitis.
- Related: Osteoporosis · When you want to quit smoking · When drinking or drugs have become a problem.
- Getting ready: An upper GI endoscopy · Symptom diary · Get ready for your appointment · My medicines · When you need a doctor and can’t pay · When you need food.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
An upset stomach, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for throwing up, diarrhea, heartburn and constipation, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- Getting ready for ERCP: why, getting ready, the day of, and after: getting ready for ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography): why, getting ready, the day of, and after.
- When you can’t afford your medicine: what to ask, the programs that help, and buying online safely: when you can’t afford your medicine: what to ask, generics, assistance programs, Medicare’s Extra Help, a plan that says no, and safe online pharmacies.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 19, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) (last reviewed January 2023) and its Spanish page Insuficiencia pancreática exocrina (last reviewed January 2023), which say the same. The numbers (enzyme problems in 30% to 90% of people with chronic pancreatitis and 80% to 90% with cystic fibrosis, from a study NIDDK cites, which says results vary; vitamins A, D, E and K) are NIDDK’s. Ours: when to call 911 (NIDDK’s page does not name it); 988; the questions to ask; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the drawings, the section on clinical trials, the reference NIDDK cites, and NIDDK’s links to other sites. We name no enzyme brand and give no doses or food lists, because NIDDK gives none. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.