Post Whipple Question

My dad had the whipple in june 05 and was in the hospital for 36 days. he was released from the hospital and has had 25 sessions of radiation. he will be starting chemotherapy pretty soon at UCSF once his white cells and liver values get back to normal. He is experiencing alot of pain in his stomach and lost 40 pounds. The pain worsens after he eats so sometimes he skips a meal causing him to lose more weight. He had a ct scan and endoscopy and things look ok in there.

Is this pain normal eight months post whipple?
If so what did your doctors say is causing this pain. Did they come to any conclusions?

I'm no doctor but from what I understand the whipple is the "granddaddy" of all surgeries so I assume this is going to take some time. It really helps hearing from people who have experienced this and have lived it. I appreciate any feedback and hope things are getting better for all of you out there. Thanks!

Hi Tia,
My mom had the whipple Sept.05, and is still recovering. She was in the hospital 10 days, had 29 radiation treatments, and had chemo at the same time, 2 weeks on, 1 off, 5 treatments total for the chemo. She lost 64 lbs. from the time she was diagnosed til now. She has just started eating again. She had stomach pain also. The esophogus was fine, and we {including her} decided that a feeding tube was necessary, as she was losing weight so rapidly, 18lbs. in two weeks was the final decision. And yes, the pain would worsen after she ate. They were attributing some of it to the radiation. Could find no real medical reason for it. She would also skip meals, and that was what got her into big trouble, losing more weight, and being sick from the treatments, just about did her in. The dr. admitted her to the hospital for a week in January to try and get her nutrition better, and the naseua untrol control. To make mom feel better, I gave her little goals to achieve. Two weeks at a time. It would make her smile, and it was something that was "ours" during all this. Mom still has her PEG tube, and she is starting to eat, hasn't vomited in quite awhile now, and just wednesday her dr. cut the nightly feedings down to 2 cans a night/8 hours, again, 2 weeks goals, she went from a 24hr feeding, and then to 12hrs, now down to 8 hours. She is starting to taste food again, starting to feel better. I won't say she is 100%, and she will never eat what she used to I'm sure. It's just good to see her improving. She actually sent me an email the other day, 1st time since August she's been on the computer. It made my day. Baby steps as I call it. And you are right, the whipple is the GRANDADDY of all surgeries, and I've been told it takes up to a year to fully recover from it. But it was her only chance.
Best of luck to you & your family.
Keep in touch, it's good to talk with others who are going thru the same ordeal, patients or care takers.

lynne

My dad had the surgery and has the same symptoms that you are both (Telan) are describing. It is very frustrating to hear the Dr. say that nothing is wrong. After my dad ate, he would have severe pain. It would make him so cold we would cover him with several blankets and I would even lay on him to try to warm him. We were in the hospital they ran every test they could and said that nothing was wrong. Shaking and pain like that after you eat would tell me that something must be wrong. Finally they did exploratory surgery and found that scar tissue had caused a kink in his intestine. Gladly that pain has stopped! We are now experiencing a fistula that is leaking from his stomach. He has good days and bad days. It seems that his bad days are becoming more frequent again so we went back to his gastro. They have found a enlarged prostate. We'll see where that leads to. As far as the depression my dad suffers from that also. He was extremely active and stays frustrated because he can't do the things he used to do. He is taking a depression medication. I try to spend a lot of time with him and on good days I stick close trying to keep him from overdoing. He still has pain after eating, I think I will encourage him to play with his diet. If anyone has diet suggestions please share them.

Dana

Hi, I've been going through the board and saw this posting. My dad had the Whipple on Feb. 1st, 2006 in Sac. CA. He was out of the hospital 15 days later. The first week was the worst. He had more problems with the nurses stripping his drainage tubes more than anything else. He is not one to complain much, but I know he did have the feeling of being "Full" after eating. He felt like his food was just going to come right back up. Over the past two months he has overcome this feeling. He is just finishing his 5th week of chemo and radiation. So far, he hasn't had very many bad side effects. A little nausea, diarreah. My dad was 280 when diagnosed, he has lost 40lbs, and has kept his weight at 238 or 240. He is a big guy, which I think has saved him. One of his doctors said he should lookse 40 more pounds. We don't want him to lose too much more, becuase he is 6ft tall and he'll look to thin. One thing he is doing to help digest his food is to walk shortly after eating. It seems to really help him. Also sit upright after eating. His stomach is still tender, but healing nicely. Good luck to all of you. God Bless.

Veronica in CA.