I am beginning to suspect that Claire has had this pancreas problem for years, and that without the more extensive testing of late, it was just always assumed to be a hairball problem whenever she would have a flare-up. The symptoms are exactly the same...it was just the longer duration of her cycling through good, and bad days this time around that finally led to the real problem being uncovered. Can't say this with 100% certainty, but I'm pretty sure this is the case.