Still cancer free but so many health problems.... Need some support here.

I had a Whipple on July 10, 2008 and an incisional hernia repair on February 26, 2009. Since then I've deteriorated down to nothing. I have all kinds of orthopedic problems in addition to uncontrolled high blood pressure and now bouts with pancreatitis (with what little pancreas I have left). I also have bipolar disorder. I have difficulty sitting, standing, and walking, and I am in pain all of the time.

I have been abandoned by the medical community where I live, as my husband and I have spent the past year trying to get help for me. I have an HMO, so I've changed primaries several times trying to find someone who would really take an interest in me. What's happened instead is that I am on some unofficial "here comes trouble" list.

We are now having to rely on my oncologist in the city where I had the Whipple to make referrals to specialists. This city is 167 miles away. I am so lost and scared. I would appreciate any input and support you can provide.

I'm really happy you are cancer free.  I'm sorry you are facing these additional problems.  Hearing about them is one reason that I have hesitated having a whipple procedure.  I hope and pray that you will get the referrals you need.  I also have to go to another city to get help for this ampullary and possible pancreatic malignancies that I am dealing with.  I know it's hard to keep trying and to even believe there is light at the end of the tunnel.  All I can do is pray and keep trying even when I feel there is no use or no hope.  Know that you will be in my prayers.  I'm hoping that your situation will turn around and that this is the darkness before the dawn of some kind of resolution.

If you can take supplements, I've gotten a lot of help for pain issues by taking omega 3, 6, and 9 essential fatty acid capsules and by using a sublingual b-12 supplement.  My husband has gotten a lot of help with pain by taking MSM supplements.  I also use menopausal herbs and creams I can get at the health food store that have helped my emotional balance and physical symptoms.  I also use dandelion root extract drops to help my pancreas.  I dont' know if it helps.  I had to stop taking the dandelion as a pre-surgical removal of all my supplements and my back is hurting where the stent they put in is.  So maybe the dandelion root drops were helping.  If you have a reputable health food store in your area, they might have recommendations.  I never believed in that kind of stuff but I've found it genuinely did help me.

I wish I had better input.  I hope that things will turn around soon for you.  I hope that you will soon have some quality of life and enjoyment and peace in your life now that you are cancer free. 

Thank you.