I noticed that you hadn't had a reply yet so thought I'd pop along to say Hello!
I'm really sorry to hear that you're still struggling with health problems this long after your operation. You don't mention if you're taking any medication to try and manage things. Have you spoken to your GP recently? If not then it's certainly worth making an appointment for a review.
Alternatively if you'd like to chat things through with one of our team of nurses then do give them a call. they may be able to offer some advice and support. They are available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm on 0808 800 4040.
i had Whipple surgery in April 2019. For around 5 years I had suffered frequent bouts of acute recurring pancreatitis. I had a cyst on the head of my pancreas (IPMN) and a progressively dialating main duct in the pancreas (about 11mm). I was told that this condition was a good indicator that I could develop pancreatic cancer and so I was offered a classic Whipples procedure.
Following my op I spent 10-12 days in hospital. I was
given a prescription of creon and told to take 2 with a meal and 3 with a fatty meal but to eat all foods.
Over. 4 week period I lost just over 2st in weight. I had lost all of my taste and had no interest in food. When I ate I felt bloated and the only relief from this was but not eating or by experiencing dumping syndrome (or as I call it, a clear out).
In order to stop my free fall in weight I started taking a protein shake made with full fat milk which I found much easier on my stomach. Bread was fast becoming a problem food, filling me up and leaving me feeling bloated.
I wasoff work for 6 months. I’m a front line police officer and so this has brought its own challenges. I am physically fit however I have a tightness across my stomach when I run which affects my breathing and the full rotating shifts can be very tiring. I find nightshifts especially difficult with my sleep and eating patterns all messed up and so find that it can take up to a week to recover.
Its been over a year from my surgery and for me I had to have it, there was no other decision for me and I couldn’t risk developing pancreatic cancer. It’s been a long road of recovery and discovery. I struggle with small frequent meals as I feel like I’m just eating all of the time ans so I tend to have my three meals with cereal in the morning fruit at lunch and an evening meal. I’ve still experienced the bloating which I had put down to over eating however I gave recently changed to lactose free milk and I’m experimenting with gluten free foods. Don’t get me wrong I’m no chef and it is hard changing a lifetime of bad habits and although I’d say I feel less bloated when I steer clear of wheat and milk but it’s still early days and I’ d say I not completely converted. I think that I now struggle to digest the wheat and lactose even if I increase my creon tablets during a meal and so by watching my intake I find I can have the occasional treat of nice bread or a pasta if out for a meal without experiencing too many I’ll affects.
But when it goes wrong, boy does it go wrong. The worst symptoms I get after eating something that hasn’t agreed with me is discomfort in my stomach and gurgling. Feeling out of sorts and a drop in energy. This can be followes by chronic fatigue where I can fall asleep for 20min easily and then it’s a dash to the loo for a clearout. My worst bout saw me lose 3lbs in weight.
I don’t worry about my weight but I do keep an eye on it. So I’m not the standard Whipple patient who is also dealing with cancer but I have some of the same issues and I’d be interested to hear if anyone else has had similar experiences changes of lifestyle etc.
