Spasms after Whipple

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.

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

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!

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.

Hi Fellow Whipple Spasm-ists! I had my Whipple 15 years ago, in January 2010. Yeah, those spasms haven't gone away, and if anything, have increased. I recommend that your physician prescribe Sucralfate. I take a 'swig' at the first twinge, and if the pain doesn't decrease within 10 minutes, I take another 'swig'. A home remedy is dill pickle juice. YES, dill pickle juice. My spasm(s) resemble a severe heart attack. It starts in my abdomen, up my chest, down my arm(mostly left side), up my neck, into my jaw, and ears, and with difficulty in breathing. Before knowing of the medication, I had spent hours in the ER, multiple times, fighting the pain with everything they could throw at me. Finally, the pain would subside. There are a couple of pages on Facebook dedicated to these spasms and us! BTW, I have been tested numerous times for a heart attack, and there were no findings, ever.

Thank you for the feedback on your experiences with the post-Whipple spasms and the Sucralfate. I will follow up with my Dr. on this. The first time I experienced a post-Whipple spasm I thought I was having a heart attack, but then it subsided within a couple of minutes. I wish I knew what triggers these spasms! Many days / weeks can go by without having one or there are times when I can feel "milder" ones during the day, or some that last for a couple of minutes and are some painful that I have to lean back on my bed, relax my breathing and wait them out (mind over matter on these). Have our spasms increased in duration and or severity and frequency during the course of the 10 years? Thank you for sharing!

Yes, they have increased in number. I have the start of one at least 4 times a month. However, I can't comment on duration because I take sucrafate as soon a I feel the first twinge.

I had this, it was like being pregnant and the baby was moving around, I had 2 hernias 1which was quite large, I had the surgery to repair and pig skin mesh was sewn in then all stitched back up. 6 years on I still get really weird sensation and have a few small hernias returning, but they are not big enough to operate on, they are both showing on ct scan above my belly button.

Do you have spasms that last longer than a minute?When did you have your surgery? Mine was in 2013 and I have had some spasms lasting 20-30 minutes. Good luck with your recovery ❤️‍🩹

Hi! I had my Whipple back in June, 2024. All my spasms thus far have been of short (2 - 3 minutes) duration. A 30 minute spasm seems quite long. I have not asked my doctor about these yet, as they come and go, and for the most part they have not stopped me in my tracks with the exception of a couple that were quite painful. Sometimes I have several spasm during the day that do not give me any pain but I feel them happening. Have you noticed your spasms getting worse with time? Any correlation with any type of food? Thank you for the sharing!