KDB
New User
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 1:48 pm Post subject: Whipple Procedure pain |
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In September of 2002 my wife, age 40 at the time, was diagnosed with a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma primary to the Ampulla of Veter. Which is primarily in the duodenum. Her score was T2, N1, M0. Part of the pancreatic duct was affected as well. The tumor was fully resected using a gall bladder saving, non-pylorus preserving Whipple procedure, taking approximately 1/3 of the pancreas, ½ of the stomach and most of the duodenum. After 21 total days in the hospital, she started adjuvant therapy using 5FU and radiation. Accumulatively 50 days of chemo and 28 days of radiation. She lost about 23% of her already lean body weight...
Her recovery for the first 10 months was positive, until about 11 months out. She started to have excruciating abdominal and back pain. For a period of three out of six weeks she was hospitalized for pain control. There was no diagnosis of what was causing the pain. Since that time she hasn’t gone more than a few weeks at the longest without what we call a “spasm”. Generally now it’s every few days. The spasms last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. It’s starts usually with an intense burning in the abdominal area, and proceeds around the rib cage to the back, primarily in the thoracic region of the spin, primarily t1-t6 area.
She eats very lean. Tries to stay away from simple sugars. Fiber content is high. Very seldom do the spasms cause vomiting. There is seldom if ever diarrhea. There seems to be no correlation in types of foods eaten to the spasms. Time of day seems to be afternoon and evening. She has had PET scans, HIDA scans, CT, MRI, ERCP, etc. Her cancer check ups have been clean. She has been told she does not have GERD, or esophageal damage due to acid reflux. She has tried acupuncture, chiropractics, message therapy, etc. No one seems to have any advice. Wondering if anyone out there has had similar experiences? |
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