If someone has chronic pancreatitis, will their amylase and lipase levels always be elevated? or only during flare ups?

Not Necessarily: Serum amylase and lipase may or may not be elevated in cases of chronic pancreatitis, depending on the severity of inflammation and cell damage. Of the two, lipase is more likely to mildly elevated. While lipase is specific to the pancreas (amylase comes from other sources), both are commonly elevated in cases of acute pancreatitis.

Chronic pancreatitis: the amylase and lipase may be elevated in chronic pancreatitis but not always. Usually you see higher levels of these enzymes when you have acute pancreatitis.. your doctor can do a CT scan of your abdomen to help decide if you have chronic inflammation suggestive of chronic pancreatitis. A plain abdominal X-ray can also show pancreas calcifications suggestive of chronic inflammation