Dad had Whipple procedure 19 days ago

debs38uk

Well it is now day 19 since dad's Whipple operation and he still has all the drips and drains in-situ. He is also nil by mouth still (apart from a few sips of water) and is being fed by TPN direct into a central line. Apparently some of the stitching inside him has not quite healed yet and this is why he can't drink very much - it just comes out through the drains!

He is walking with the Physio and nurses, but not on his own. He has no pain at the op site, which is good.

We still have no results from what they removed in the op - his Consultant has been on leave this week (!!!) and so hopefully we'll have some news soon. Anyway I have requested to speak with him about things.

I just wondered if it anyone knows if its quite normal not to be eating solids almost 3 weeks post-Whipple surgery? As I have read that its possible to be back home 2-3 weeks after surgery,it does concern me that dad is still not eating and has 3 drains, NG tube, PIC feeding line, fluid drip, insulin pump and catheter still attached to him!

Hope you are all doing ok.

Debs xxx

Vismund · Regular Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 12

It's perfectly normal to not be able to eat regular food after only four weeks. My mother (49) went through a whipple in sept 06, and is still suffering from pain and digestive related problem.

KRay

I can certainly remember not wanting to eat after four weeks. I tried but nothing tasted good. Foods that I really liked just did not agree with me. After the feeding tube was removed (7 weeks) my appetite really returned and I could not get enough to eat.

freeio · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:04 am Post subject: My case was a bit different

In my case they were trying me on solid food by about day six, while I was still in the hospital. Since they were still feeding me with the feeding tube, I did not feel hungry at all.

My problem was that motility was near zero, and it took several weeks for my digestive tract to even approach behaving normally. Until the regular flow returned, there was not any place to put the new food inside, so there was no chance of hunger. That was, in turn, caused partially by the pain medication (opiates severely slow smooth muscle function - including the intestines).

Once the feeding tube was removed, and once the pain medication ceased, then there was hope that I could eat somewhat normally.

Marty
_________________
-------------------------------------------------
whipple procedure, Oct. 21, 2004
28 days of radiation
56 days of Chemo using Xeloda
diagnosed as progressive recurrent pancreatic adenocarcinoma (Stage IV) Jun. 20, 2006
was treated with gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, and tarceva, which all failed.
Cancer blog: http://diehlmartin.com/cancer.html

debs38uk · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:06 pm Post subject: Dad.....

Hi and thank you to everyone who has replied to me.

I spoke to dad's consultant today and he agreed that if things had gone according to plan (dad had to go back to theatre on day 7 cos fluid had built up inside that couldn't be just drained away) he would be home by now. Yet he still seems so far from that!! He hopes to be removing the NG tube tomorrow although everything else remains in place.
Dad says he does not feel anything like full, in fact he says he is hungry and wants to eat something.
I am meeting with dad and his consultant tomorrow because he will have the lab results and then we might know a bit more about the tumour and maybe what the future holds for us.

Take care
Debs xx

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> Pancreatic Cancer Forum	All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others