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Spasms after Whipple

Posted by carfbuch @carfbuch, Feb 11 3:41pm

I had my Whipple in June of 2024 (about seven months ago).

Two months ago, I had what felt like an internal organ spasm which lasted about a minute. Since then, I have had these spasms once or twice a week. Some are light in intensity and others I need to breath through them. They all last about a minute or less.

Have any of you that have had the Whipple experienced these spasms? Is it a stomach spasm? Any idea what causes them?

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markymarkfl | @markymarkfl | Feb 14 3:32pm
In reply to @vector "My wife had Whipple surgery mid-December 2023. We're not sure they are spasms but we have..." + (show)
@vector

My wife had Whipple surgery mid-December 2023. We're not sure they are spasms but we have assumed they are. There is a pain as you describe that she gets. Sometimes she can breath through it, other times it provokes vomiting. There is no nausea involved. The palliative care folks have given her Hyoscyamine, which helps a bit. The frequency has diminished, but she still gets them occasionally.

Jump to this post

My spasms are also the kind that last 1-2 minutes, and are calmed somewhat by focused breathing. I joke with my wife that I'm having flashbacks from the LaMaze class we took when our first child was born. Also, there is no previous general nausea involved; sometimes just 10-15 seconds of my mouth watering followed by a cough-like vomiting spell.

I had hyoscyamine first because it was available as a sublingual dissolving tablet, but it got to where the dissolving residue sometimes trigger the gag reflex in my throat and led to more vomiting.

I (just me personally) have traded out the hyoscyamine for the Bentyl capsules. They've worked slightly better for me on the spasms, but a bigger advantage is that I don't wake up several times at night with extreme dry-mouth like I did on hyoscyamine.

REPLY
2 replies
vector | @vector | Feb 14 7:55pm
In reply to @markymarkfl "My spasms are also the kind that last 1-2 minutes, and are calmed somewhat by focused..." + (show)
@markymarkfl

My spasms are also the kind that last 1-2 minutes, and are calmed somewhat by focused breathing. I joke with my wife that I'm having flashbacks from the LaMaze class we took when our first child was born. Also, there is no previous general nausea involved; sometimes just 10-15 seconds of my mouth watering followed by a cough-like vomiting spell.

I had hyoscyamine first because it was available as a sublingual dissolving tablet, but it got to where the dissolving residue sometimes trigger the gag reflex in my throat and led to more vomiting.

I (just me personally) have traded out the hyoscyamine for the Bentyl capsules. They've worked slightly better for me on the spasms, but a bigger advantage is that I don't wake up several times at night with extreme dry-mouth like I did on hyoscyamine.

Jump to this post

Recently, the palliative care NP added Omeprazole to my wife's regimen. It seems to have helped.

REPLY
carfbuch | @carfbuch | Feb 15 8:20am
In reply to @vector "My wife had Whipple surgery mid-December 2023. We're not sure they are spasms but we have..." + (show)
@vector

My wife had Whipple surgery mid-December 2023. We're not sure they are spasms but we have assumed they are. There is a pain as you describe that she gets. Sometimes she can breath through it, other times it provokes vomiting. There is no nausea involved. The palliative care folks have given her Hyoscyamine, which helps a bit. The frequency has diminished, but she still gets them occasionally.

Jump to this post

Thank you for sharing. Good to know that these spasm will eventually diminish with time. I am surprise that thus far doctors don't seem to know the root cause of what causes these spasms. Wishing your wife the best!

REPLY
carfbuch | @carfbuch | Feb 15 8:38am
In reply to @markymarkfl "My spasms are also the kind that last 1-2 minutes, and are calmed somewhat by focused..." + (show)
@markymarkfl

My spasms are also the kind that last 1-2 minutes, and are calmed somewhat by focused breathing. I joke with my wife that I'm having flashbacks from the LaMaze class we took when our first child was born. Also, there is no previous general nausea involved; sometimes just 10-15 seconds of my mouth watering followed by a cough-like vomiting spell.

I had hyoscyamine first because it was available as a sublingual dissolving tablet, but it got to where the dissolving residue sometimes trigger the gag reflex in my throat and led to more vomiting.

I (just me personally) have traded out the hyoscyamine for the Bentyl capsules. They've worked slightly better for me on the spasms, but a bigger advantage is that I don't wake up several times at night with extreme dry-mouth like I did on hyoscyamine.

Jump to this post

Thank you for sharing your experiences with spasms post Whipple.

I totally get your flashbacks to La Maze class and breathing techniques. I have been taking Yoga and when I get the spasms, I too switch to my Yoga breathing and relaxation while the spasm take their course.

Based on the medication that you are taking for the spasms, it appears their are motility related. I so would like to know what causes these motility disruptions (food , activity, stressors) and what part of the digestive track is the one that has the spasms (stomach, colon) and learn how to prevent them.

Glad to hear your spasm are under control and not getting in the way of staying active.

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