my husband has just had pancreatic surgery to remove the cancer. I wondered how long it takes to eat any type of normal meal again.

[mrs2dogs]

The operation took 12 hours to remove the pancriatic cancer and a different primary liver cancer.

[PCA_AliStunt Pancreatic Cancer Action]

Hello,

It is great your husband has had surgery for pancreatic cancer and i hope he's recovering well. Usually for the first few days following surgery patients are nil by mouth and often they are fed by tube for a few days. After that there is usually a gradual introduction of regular liquids and solids which are usually softer and lighter than normal. Depending on how he gets on with this then more of his usual foods will be introduced. Depending on the type of surgical procedure he has had, he may find that he gets fuller than normal.

Also, having part or all of the pancreas removed can cause problems with the digestion of food. If this is the case he will be prescribed pancreatic enzyme supplements to help with the absorption of nutrients.

We wish him well

Best wishes,

Ali

[mrs2dogs in reply to PCA_AliStunt]

Thank you so much for your reply. After such major surgery any information is so welcome. All the very best of heatlh to you.

Thanks

Gaynor

[sausagehead in reply to mrs2dogs]

Hi Gaynor, I hope your husband is doing well I had 9 hours of surgery in 2009 for a tumour in the pancreas and ampillary and it is a major operation and upheaval so i wish your Husband well,

I wasn't eating for a few days after the op as i was in HDU, when i went back on the ward i wanted to eat but to be honest wasn't attracted to the hospital menu and i was experiencing alot of Acid reflux and without wanting to sound crude was bringing up what could only be described as lumps of spinach but thats normal, I left Hospital after 8 days and thats when my routine for food started to get back to normal, If i watched a program on the tele about food then i wanted it, I would eat about every 3-4 hours at the start starting with cereal, fish, and soft stuff, I would walk around the living room and kitchen about 10 times and then sit and eat, this went on for about 2 weeks and my appitite progressed to improve and within about a month i was eating like i used to and plenty of it plus my weight started to go on, so persevere with your Husband all i can really say is let him eat little and often to start and slowly but nbo junk food increase his portions I am sure he will tell you if it is too much or not enough, i may not of helped you but hopefully i have, email me if you want to chat, Your husband has done well, Due to the pancreas and the digestive system breaking down the fats or not i was prescribed Creon Tablets which i have to say don't take anymore

Regards

Graham

[mrs2dogs in reply to sausagehead]

Thank you so much for getting back to me. His operation was only 2 days ago and he had another primary on the liver so the brilliant surgeon cleared the cancer from the pancreas and the liver after 12 hours. This evng he did eat half a sandwich which amazed me; just full of the drugs at present and rather low in himself but he should be singing from the rooftops. I'll make sure he does! How wonderful that you re-gained your appetite after such a short time. I think you have done fantastic. My cousin is a gastro and I know bits but I thought no-one could eat for months after the operation.

Thank you so much for your advice and you yourself keep well.

Gaynor

[sausagehead in reply to mrs2dogs]

Hi Gaynor, obviously the hospital food is more appetizing than i was offered, Please don't be alarmed if your husband loses weight i lost 3 stone from just before the op to about a few weeks after mainly due to muscle wastage not moving or very little, but once i got into a routine then i regained my weight I was dertermined this wasn't going to beat me so ensure your husband remains positive, he will have his low points so bear with it, not sure what your thoughts are on healthy eating but it has never bothered me so i now eat what i want, Will your husband be having Chemo? About12 months after my op etc i wrote my Journey and sent it to Ali on this site, see if you can look it up (proberly under sausagehead), it will make you smile and certainly your husband as it is all about what i endured, I am walking 180 miles starting Saturday from Prestatyn to Chepstow (down the offa's Dyke) so tell your husband he can beat this speak soon and take care

Graham

[mrs2dogs in reply to sausagehead]

Yes I certainly will be showing him these replies because it helps so much when you know you're not on your own. I have yet to see the surgeon and discuss properly what he did but I know it's the Whipple procedure and everything else seems to all be in tact.

Thank you.

[sausagehead in reply to mrs2dogs]

Hi Gaynor have a read of my blog i posted about 12 months after surgery i know it was ampullary of vater (duodenum) the operation is the same a pppd/whipples, I wish your husband well i am about to travel to prestatyn to walk 180 miles in this weather, must be cuckoo pancreaticcanceraction.org/...

[mrs2dogs in reply to sausagehead]

Hi,

Thank you for your advice. Tony is very very tired and could drop off to sleep at any time. Were you like this for a while after the op? he has to have some chemo because even though all the tumour is cleared off the pancreas, it had spread a lymph node. I just wondered if it's because of this that he's so weak or is it the surgery. If you can cast you mind back, it would be interesting to know.

Many thanks and I hope you are well - it's amazing how you were gaining weight quite quickly. My partner has lost 3 stone from before the op to now but he is eating considerably more now and his taste buds are nothing like they were even up to 2 weeks back.

Best wishes

Gaynor

[sausagehead in reply to mrs2dogs]

Hi Gaynor.

I also had one node that had been invaded they took 16 out and one showed signs of being attacked the biopsy came back non malignant but even so it was still a concern, i had 6 months of chemo as a mop up precaution so maybe thats what your partner is having, I used to do alot of napping, probrly due to the fact that due to the operation i couldn't get comfy in bed so wasn't sleeping when i should of been so i guess that could of been factor mind i still get tired even now 3 years on.

Graham

[Wildleigh1434 in reply to sausagehead]

hi graham

had the whipple in october 2011... are you saying you have stopped taking creon? has your body started to manage the fats. o9r have you just cut them out?

dane

[mrs2dogs]

Sounds very similar to Tony - I didn't go into a lot of detail with the surgeon re the lymph node as Tony just tries to blank it all out. He had another primary on the liver which was not too bad and easy to remove but the surgeon does wonder where the primary came from i.e. some type of lump in his chest frame somewhere. It just shows that this operation though tires you out period. Here you are 3 years on and still feeling tired although you did do that massive run? you obviously just try to get on with life like you did before and it's the only way. Let's hope my partner can be as positive as you. Brilliant and thank you for your reply.

Gaynor

[nee66]

Hi guys just wondering i had whipples 5 weeks ago and i still feel nausea, how long does this usually last

Thanks