Simvastatin in Reducing Pancreatitis in Patients With Recurrent, Acute or Chronic Pancreatitis

Inclusion Criteria: * At least two episodes of acute pancreatitis in the past 12 months; acute pancreatitis is defined any 2 of the following: (1) typical upper abdominal pain; (2) elevation in serum amylase or lipase \>= 3 times upper limit of normal; (3) features of acute pancreatitis on cross-sectional imaging * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =\< 1 (Karnofsky \>= 70%) * Leukocytes \>= 2,500/microliter * Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/microliter * Platelets \>= 100,000/microliter * Hemoglobin \> 10 g/dL * Total bilirubin =\< 3.0 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 1.5 x institutional ULN; patients whose AST/ALT levels normalize by screen 2 after an abnormal test will be included in the trial * Creatinine \< 1.5 mg/dL * Women of child-bearing potential must have a confirmed negative pregnancy test result prior to enrollment * The effects of simvastatin on the developing human fetus at the recommended therapeutic dose are unknown; for this reason and because statins are known to be teratogenic, women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while partic…