About Chronic Pancreatitis Chronic pancreatitis results when recurrent bouts of inflammation cause permanent damage to the pancreas. The two most common causes of chronic pancreatitis are excessive alcohol use and gallstones. Sudden attacks of severe upper abdominal pain, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting and sometimes lasting as long as several days, are the most common symptoms of chronic pancreatitis. However, in some cases there may be no pain and the principal signs may be malabsorption (due to lack of pancreatic enzymes) or diabetes mellitus (due to insufficient insulin production).