Mum of 42 recently diagnosed inoperable PC

[jay]

Fantastic news Ruth, wishing you a speedy recovery from your op, take it easy, glad the pain relief is good,
love Jayne
x

[Dandygal76]

That is great news, it is nice to hear some positives! I wish you a speedy recovery and safe journey back to the UK. x

[Sueoliver]

Wonderful wonderful news take care.
Love Sue xxx

[Proud Wife]

Absolutely thrilled to hear your news Ruth, amazing!! so, so pleased your brave decision paid off.

Wishing you a very speedy recovery and an early return to the UK. Please ask your husband to keep us updated on your progress!

Lots of love
PW xx

[Didge]

Don't forget to make sure they keep some tumour for testing at some stage! x

[PCUK Nurse Chris]

Great to hear your news Ruth and wishing you a speedy recovery

from all at Pancreatic Cancer UK

[RLF]

Congrats on your surgery, hope you are feeling better soon x

[Ruthus]

Thanks all for your well wishes. Well it's a week tomorrow since I had the operation. have to say recovery is tough. I am shocked at the difficulty with moving/walking/eating and having an illeostomy for 3 months. I generally just shuffle around for a short time then flop. Finding energy to move and do things is tough. I'd welcome any advice on recovery and experiences with stages of recovery.
My feet are in support stockings and not sure how long I will wear these for. I suppose I want some reassurance that what I'm experiencing is normal. I should be having side drain out today. Then that just leaves me with illeostomy and oral pain relief.

[jay]

You are doing really well. My husband had his feeding tube in for a week after his whipples.He was released from hospital 10 days after the op. It was a slow process as he was in a lot of pain. He did everything in small steps, had a nap every afternoon. He started gentle exercise ie walking to the end of the street and then round the block after about 3 weeks.
After about 4 months he was gardening, riding his bike decorating etc all while he was on chemo too. Take care,
Hugs Jayne
x

[Wife&Mum]

Hi Ruth

Sorry to hear that you are finding your recovery very hard at the moment. Your body has been through so much it's bound to take a while to get over the surgery and anaesthetic.

I can't offer anything useful to share on the recovery process as my hubby didn't have an illeostomy, also his Whipple was performed in 2 stages as he had a double GI bypass last summer then had half his pancreas removed in Feb. So his surgery was quite atypical.

One resource that we've found really useful is this FaceBook Group:

Whipple Surgery Survivor Group ("Whipple Warriors")
https://www.facebook.com/groups/250497878309541/

You join by invitation - a very quick and easy process - and then post any queries. They are very friendly and supportive and there may well be members who have gone through precisely the same surgery as you.

I hope that you feel better and stronger every day.

W&M xx

[sandraW]

Ruth,
I think the big thing to remember is listen to your body, you have had very major surgery, and it will take time to recover, perhaps a long time but as you were so fit and well before surgery hopefully it will be shorter. When you are tired just STOP, you will be able to do a little more each day as your body starts to heal. Remember all your body's resources are going to repair the damage done by surgery, it hasn't got time to worry about being able to get around just yet, that will come later. Just take it easy and make sure you rest properly, and slowly but surely you will feel better ,every one is different and will encounter different problems as they recover so just relax and give yourself time, you sound as though you are doing amazingly well already, love sandrax xx

[Proud Wife]

Smalls steps Ruth. You are doing amazingly well. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Get better soon xxx

[jay]

Hope you are ok Ruth, just popped into say im thinking of you, definitely small steps at a time,
love Jayne
x

[Ruthus]

Thanks all. I'm feeling more upbeat today after speaking to the doctor about a number of concerns I've had. I've had a few medication adjustments and this has helped. I'm off all pain killers now!!

[Dandygal76]

Stay strong Ruth... you will get there and you will do amazingly well. You were cursed to get this horrible disease but oh so blessed to be eligible for the op. I know you don't feel that right now being so poorly but come August, when the sun is shining you will have a smile on your face again. x