What's recovery after distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy like?

I will keep your experience in mind if I wind up being told that my tumor shrunk enough to have surgery. Better to hear about the possible complications than be blind sighted by them. Thanks for sharing your story.

I had a open distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy on March 10. First day after surgery was pretty brutal . They were pumping me with tramadol gabapentin, fentanyl, Thea and epidural, but the pain was still there, and I was so sick to my stomach that I couldn’t barely get up without feeling that I was gonna fall flat on my face. They two anesthesiologist came by and I told them to replace my Fentanyl with some thing else because it was making me to sick to be able to get up. They remove the fentanyl and replace it with numbing medication. My my surgeon asked me if I wanted to try Toradol for the pain because I was so sensitive to all narcotics. At the moment I asked her to remove the gabapentin and tramadol since it wasn’t working. Just with the numbing medication and the toradol was enough to control my pain. Foley was removed on the second day, and I was advanced to ice chips, which I wasn’t very happy because I was so thirsty I would have thought I would have I have been through the desert for 10 days without having a sip of water Day three of us moving better less pain. On day three I started having some chills and I told the nurse to take my temperature when she did invite a low-grade fever of 99.9 they immediately got an order for an x-ray of my chest and it showed that I had a pneumonia that had developed overnight, they immediately got orders to put me on three different antibiotics while they try to figure out what ham type of pneumonia or if I had other infection in the body that they did not know about.my white blood cell count was really high and my red blood cell count was really low . This routine continue for the next four days. I had blood from every day and x-ray done every day to check. The pneumonia was improving and my blood counts were improving. On the six my surgeon decided to get a consult from a pulmonologist to see if it was OK to get aspiration of the fluid in my lungs to see if it was infected. When it was finally scheduled, and then ultrasound was done to see how much liquid they noticed that it was beginning to be reabsorbed in my body and it was not worth it take any risk of inserting a needle into my lung space and puncturing a lung , and they said that it was better to just watch it and let it resolve on Its own. And on the morning before I was his charge, an x-ray was performed with my chest and it showed that the fluid in my lung was almost reabsorbed into my body. Results of the masses removed were like clean clean margins around him low grade one tumor contained within its base. No further treatment will be needed.

Good News indeed! I hope your wife is feeling better soon and that she is not in too much discomfort. I am not familiar with chemo Cap/Temp. Can you explain? How is she feeling? Keeping you and your spouse in my thoughts.

Best Wishes for a Speedy and Uncomplicated Recovery,
Sherry

@skkirby
Surgery came out good, lower tail of pancreas removed, swollen removed, gall bladder removed, removed about 13 tumors on liver. Surgeon says she didn’t get them all since done are micro small. Although the remaining ones are only on the right lobe, she is considering removing the right lobe after restarting chemo Cap/Temp, to reduce further then remove the right lobe. Hopefully becomes a mtn. Issue only going forward after that. What questions do you have that I could help you?

Pancreatic enzymes changed everything. My appetite got better, weight has stabilized, I could enjoy eating again. My intestinal symptoms had been disrupting my life. Things are not completely normal, but I feel I got my life back. This isn't everyone's experience, I clearly had pancreatic enzyme deficiency. The gastroenterologist did not recognize it but my oncologist right away recommended the enzymes.

Hi there-

Did you get relief from the pancreatic enzymes?

Thanks,
Sherry

Hi Cheryl,
I am so sorry to hear you are having such troubles. My adhesions were painful, but not as bad as what you are having. I think you should push your GP look deeper into the issue. As trite as it may sound, try to stay encouraged. In time, you will feel normal. It's been almost 2 years and there are some days that I feel like my age (56) but then I have days where I have a ton of energy and feel as if I can conquer the world. Please don't let this get you down. You have survived cancer and are tougher than you think. I still work (but can retire next month). 🙂 I haven't quite decided what I will do but it's nice to know I can retire if I choose to. You should consider yourself lucky to be retired! (I envy you!!!!!) In the U.S healthcare is so expensive, that even though I can retire, I would still need to pay my own health insurance until I hit 65. I also have the laparoscopic scars and the 5-6 inch scar. If you feel your pain is from adhesions, I would see a surgeon as I think that would definitely alleviate some of the pain you are experiencing. Wishing you all the best. Here if I can help or if you just need someone to chat with.

Special Blessings,
Sherry

Thank you for sharing your difficult story. Not easy to not be apart from life in the mainstream. Takes an emotional toll. You are not alone in your struggle to find the best treatment. Hope your symptoms can be relieved.

Hi
Thats very helpful i had same op oct 27 2022 and am now experiencing more issues than in 1st 3 months.
My gp thinks i may have adhesions as Every few weeks i get horrific pains on waking & all day which last 7-10 days and wake me from sleep when painkillers wear off--4 hours is max sleep
Having temp & extremely swollen arm after the " splenic" injections as well.
Exhausting & a bit depressing and my friends are all younger & still at work.
Any advice please ?
How did your Dr or surgeon confirm scar tissue ??
Incision is huge isnt it ? i was shocked as expected laparoscopy but now have scars from both
Any advice will be helpful & appreciated
Cheryl
( im in Australia so drug brand names are different i think ?)

Hi, Sherry,
Thanks so much for your response! I was thinking I might ask about enzymes. The GI stuff isn't terrible but it I'm definitely not the same as I was before surgery! They took the tail of my pancreas, the spleen, and 8 lymph nodes. I still have a gall bladder for what that is worth! I am in Richmond, Virginia. I have a holistic practice in mind that I might try if my GI stuff gives me a lot of trouble going forward. Loss of taste, at least loss of enjoying food, seems to be getting a little better. I heard that is a common thing, though my surgeon denied it! Anyway, thanks and I hope you are doing well! Let me know how you are doing.