Whipple Operation, Now Diarrhea

my mom had a successful whipple operation 5 months ago - thank God. now she has another problem - diarrhea. We believe that that is due to the lack of organs. she had her gall bladder removed, 2/3 of her common bile duct, 1/3 of her pancreas and 8 inches of her duodenum. she has successfully been through chemo and radiation. she has had the diarrhea constantly for 5 months. She is taking Sandostatin,Panges, Klor-con (Potassium,Cholestyram Magnexium Oxide. what we would really like to find is what foods are good for her to eat? she is down to 112 pounds. We hope that she may be able to control the diarrhea though her diet. we welcome all suggestions.

Hi,
We just went through surgery. He had diahrea for almost 5 months. someone said that because of the antibiotics in surgery one is deficient in good bacteria.
So we started yoghurt, and accidoplhlis tablets. In major amounts. It took us a week and he is so much better.
However, we didnt have surgery on the disgestive system as you mom did.
Rose

My husband had the same surgery almost 2 years ago. He still has diarrhea or very soft or loose stools. His pancreatic enzime levels are still good so he does not take supplemental enzimes. They gave him some but they made him sick and did not do anything for the diarrhea. It comes from taking so much of the duodenum and stomach. His food does not have time to fully digest before passing thru. He takes imodium all the time to try to slow down his digestion to give it time for his body to try to absorbe nutrients. Nothing seems to work and the Drs. don't have any answers. My husband is dying from starvation and he eats very good all day long. It's like an anorexic person. His organs will fail before the cancer gets him. This is a problem for anyone who has a whipple procedure for pancreatic cancer. There really needs to be more studies done on this problem so pancreatic cancer patients can have a better chance of survival.

Rose,
I am so pleased things have worked out so well for you! I will remind my mom to try yogurt and acidophilus tablets in major amounts. We have tried so many things. Will try this again. Thanks!

Hi,
I have read that this is more of a problem than yours.
Have you tired some of the nurtition drinks? Does fiber help???
I think a place like cancer treatement center would have delt with this before. Please call them and ask question. There should be something that could slow this down.
Rose

The hardest part is that not many people survive as long as your husband and my mom, so the doctors just don't know how to take care of them. In the beginning, we tried limiting sugar, fat, etc., because they thought it could be contributing to her diarrhea. But she was never going to stop loosing weight that way. Now, she eats pretty much what she wants. One thing that makes me feel good after rereading the message that i posted,is that she must have gone from 167 to 112 in 5 months. That's 55 pounds. Her weight loss is definitely slowing down. She has lost 12 pounds in the past 7 months.

I am very proud of her wonderful attitude and she is fairly good, all things considered. Although, we do feel as you do, that she will die from starvation before the cancer gets her. We try to appreciate every day. We thought her cancer was gone, but were told 2 months ago it is back. She is undergoing chemo again. And occasionally needs to have fluids due to dehydration. It is very hard when my mom has bad days. But for being 81, she is amazing.

My mother in law just had the Whipple procedure done one week ago.  She is in her early 80's and was not sick before the operation.  Her skin was yellow and that was what sent her to her doctor...  The operation took 8 hours, she did very well and is now out of the icu.  What can we expect her recovery time to be?  Her husband depends on her to cook for him.  The live alone in a condo in Florida.  The husband is recovering from a stroke and is not dealing with a full deck. We are in Pennsylvania.

To all of you that have had Whipple Operation.  I too had the Whipple Operation in July 2006,was in hospital for 7 days and all kinds of tubes but did very well so out sooner then expected.  I used to find that my stomach in the evening felt like I was carrying a cannon ball around in it, on the right side especially and lots of gas.  Finally feels a lot better, never be the same as before but at least mending.  I had my Pet Scan in January and was diagnosed cancer free now but have to go back every 4 to 6 mlonths for Cat Scan and then take the CD to the surgeon and he lets me know if all is okay for the first few years.  I have to get this done in May.  I hope I am as lucky as my sister.  She was 77 when she had the same thing and is now 85 and cancer never came back.  I am on enzymes, take 3 capsules 15 minutes before my meals and if I want a snack at night, take 1 capsule 15 mins. before eating and they help retain the food longer.  I have good days and bad, where the bowel for some reason goes a little more often that day, perhaps 5 times or more and then other days maybe once or twice and the odd day where it does not go at all.  I watch what I eat, mostly regular food but found when I eat salad with lettuce the next day run more often to the toilet, so think I will have to stay clear of this and stick with the potatoes, veggies and meat thing.  I always have a yogart every night and sometimes a couple of pieces of toast and glass of Ovaltine, to try and gain some of my weight back, but don,t think I ever will.  I was 172 lbs. before my operation and went down to 142 lbs. and this seems to be where I am staying now.  I find the best my stomach feels is in early morning and during the day but sometimes in evening a lot of gas buildup.  Anyway life is still beautiful and I am lucky I am alive.  My daughter paid for a cruise for my husband and I just after Christmas, and all my family went as well and I was able to get off at the beaches and enjoy the days, so have to be thankful for that and now look forward to flying to Europe and doing a 12 day Medeterrian cruise, so there is light at the end of the tunnel and we have to make the most of our days.  Get tired a little faster now, guess due to sometimes running to the toilet more often but if that is all that I have to contend with I am lucky.  I wish you all good health from now on and take heed, it does get better as time goes by.  This all happened to me starting last April while I was on a cruise, turned yellow and urinating very yellow and so came off the cruise home, mid way and it took until mid July before I could get the opearation.  In May they put a stent in my bile duc to relieve the pressure and terrible itching that is caused by jaundice and that was only good for 2 months, while I had to undergo Scans, MRI,s and the light in my stomach through the naval to see if any other organs were affected before he would operation.  Surgeon really thought it was in my bile duc and had gone towards the liver but when he went inside found it had gone into the head of the pancreas and I am lucky none of the other organs were affected, so keep your chin up and just keep thinking days will get better as you go along.