Life after removal of pancreas, gall bladder, spleen? Anyone out there please?

Hi Nayes, Glad to healp. For the severe diahrrhea, my gastrointerologist prescribed Diphenoxylate. I take two pills 3 times per day (they are very small pills). That helps a lot. Another important factor that causes a lot of diahrrhea is not taking the enzymes. When I forget to take them (or purposely not take them as I don't enjoy them either), I have a lot more diahrrhea issues. Tell him to hang in there. Life does get better. Eventually. By the way, I was 53 when I had the surgery, and I am now 55.

Steve, so happy to hear you made it through and it does sound like you dodged a bullet. Pancreatic cancer scares me, so happy they caught yours quick! Good luck to you. You're still healing, I bet you'll be even better in a year. And wear that scar with pride, I do! The alternative woulda sucked! :-)

Please go to a specialty hospital. Thats the most important thing. I didn't and I suffered greatly. The pancreas is a very delicate organ.

Thanks for this information.I can bring peace into my friends life who has just undergone this operation and remain in confused condition.

i had my spleen removed in 1966 and also my gallbladder in 2011 after having my spleen removed ihave prescribed penicillin 250 mg tablets 2 twice daily and have had no problems just the very occasional cold good luck

I just wanna know if i can drink after having my pancreas, spleen, and galbladder removed

I had an 11cm mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) removed from the tail of my pancreas on 11/30/12. I spent 8 days in the hospital. I also had my spleen and some lymph nodes removed. It was an open surgery, since the tumor was so large, and I now have a large scar on my stomach. I wear it with pride for what I've gone through.

The reason I write, however, is because I have been having some pains since the surgery. I was constantly tired and in some pain for at least 4 weeks after the surgery. I am almost 9 weeks post-op now and thought I would be feeling "normal" by this time. Some days, my "good" days, feel just like I'm healed and can return to my pre-surgery life. My internal stitches will not heal until 6 months, so I still feel them inside, but it doesn't ruin my "good" days. My "bad" days, however, involve lots of pain. I have no energy those days, so I lay in bed hoping to fall asleep and sleep through the pain.

The pain seems to be coming from my intestinal system. On "bad" days I do not feel like eating and generally my body passes no waste either. It feels like my stomach is a hard rock and that anytime another organ touches it that organ starts to hurt too. Breathing can be painful sometimes. Then emotionally I get frustrated with myself because I feel like a big baby who can't handle a little intestinal discomfort. But I never felt anything like this before the surgery. 

My doctor said that I can return to a normal diet after surgery, but I find that bread products seem to block me up and cause "bad" days. I'm almost 9 weeks post-op and thought I would be "normal" by now. When does "normal" come back?

I was sick for 5yrs before the doctors all over the state of Michigan found a 7.5cm tumor on my Pancreas which was over lapping the Spleen, So Gallbladder surgery June 1994 then 1/2 Pancreas(tail)/whole Spleen surgical removal of all in October 1994. The tumor was benign and not cancer and it is 2013 and no problems with any of it until Just in January I feel bad again, I have been blessed with No Diabetis.  I was in the hosptial for Thursday 7am-Tuesday 10am it was a miracle and yes I wear my SCARR with pride too and am thankful I have made it this far. As of 2006 I have not taken any pills except for Blood Pressure Meds and use heat to help with the pain. My pain makes me un-movable I can barely walk my muscles start swelling.

 

In 1994 I had 1/2 of Pancreas/full Spleen and Gallbladder out due to a 7.5cm benign tumor. In very very bad pain and couldnt find a doc or hospital that could diagnose what it was until 5yrs later. Im very proud of the doc that did save me with my surgery which he had passed away now and I hope I dont have to choose another to do the job he did. I can say I was a miracle because I am not diabetic and not on only bp medicine. Just keep your weieght down and eat veggies and canalope. That doc said I should have had cancer with such a BIG Tumor. I have a high diabetic stream through my family too. My mom passed at 64yrs with diabeties.

hello.. my husband is in the hospital with pancreatitis and they are doing a biopsy on him today. is it possible to live with out a pancreas? so many people told me no but you are still alive so i have some kind of hope. please respond

Hi Mamasitachula, Yes it is possible to live without a pancreas. Depending on the severity of the pancreas, surgeons can remove the entire pancreas which is known as total pancreatomy or they can remove part of the pancreas. However, a lot of people do not mention the lifestyle changes that this procedure entails and you should think about these things before your husband agrees to undergo this operation if needed. This operation is major and surgeons often give patients a 50% chance of surviving. The recovery process is very long, and your husband will become diabetic. Also, with everything he eats he will have to take enzyme tablets which can be very off-putting before a meal. Here's my fathers story. My father also had pancreatitis which he under went a total pancreatomy last May. He was adamant to have this surgery as the pain was unbearable and really affected his lifestyle. However, my fathers case can be regarded as very different to others. He had end-stage kidney failure, gallbladder removed (because of gallstones), also he was very slim and because of the pancreatitis he loss a lot of weight. The operation was successful, and took a long time a recover. However, months after the surgery he suffered from severe diarrhea and vomiting. Everything he ate would come straight out. Doctors said this was because he was not taking enough enzyme tablets, however every time he would take these tablets (even with a biscuit) it would get stuck in his throat or would put him off his dinner, which resulted in him losing a large amount of weight. With having your pancreas removed means that controlling your sugar is extremely difficult, especially if you don't eat regular meals. People always talk about the positives of this procedure but from my fathers experience I think people also need to consider the difficulties some patients face. My father said that if he could go back in time he wouldn't have agreed to have his pancreas taken out and doctors said that if he decided not to then they would have been able to control the pain with drugs. Sadly this operation caused more harm then good to my father and sadly he passed away last week at just 52 years of age. Prior to the operation he was about 50 kg, after he went down to 33 kg. I'm not saying to not get the operation but these are just some things to consider. Everyone's different and I'm sure a lot of people have benefited from it. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

I am so glad I found this.  Great information to hear of others that went through something similar to me.  I have never found anyone else that went through anything close.  In November 2005, at 23 years old,  after going to several doctors telling me I had bladder infections, UTI, and scratching their heads as to why i had such severe back pain, finally a gastroenterologist noticed on the same CT image others had looked at, that there was a large tumor on the tail of my pancreas. I was in surgery a week later, due to Thanksgiving holidays, and after a 6 hour operation which consisted of the whipple procedure where the tail of my pancreas was removed, I also had my spleen removed and partial colon removed because those organs were affected as well.  The tumor was benign, thank goodness, but I was in the hospital for a month.  I had alot of blood loss during surgery, 2 blood transfusions,  pulmonary collapse during surgery,  several cases of pneumonia in the hospital despite having the vaccine.  The first year was rough.  Having a spleen removed lowers your immune system, so a few months later I kept getting staph infections everywhere for about 3 months. The staph infections on my body just made a bad recovery even worse!  That was horrible.  I had blood sugar problems the first few years,  would faint alot,  I have a problem now with adreneline dropping my blood pressure.  I just assume that I will have a few problems here and there for the rest of my life.  Yes, I also wear my large scar across my stomach with pride.  But being so young, and it happening so fast, I really did not know the seriousness of the situation, so I really wasn't that afraid.  I am always afraid now, of something coming back and since I have known several die of pancreatic cancer and colon cancer and now I know it is hereditary.  Every now and then I go back to the doctor with problems of chronic constipation, swelling, numbness and the occasional back pain in the same spot, in hopes that they will do a CT scan or something to check on things, but they never do.  The doctor always blames it on scar tissue and colon blockage due to the surgery and basically I will just have to live with it.  I do not like that answer.  And now, 4 days ago, I had surgery to remove Melanoma skin cancer on my side, near the big scar on my stomach, so now another large scar.  I can't help but be afraid of cancer all the time.  I even took the job position from a lady that died of pancreatic cancer last year right after being diagnosed.  A little irony??  I have just thought, maybe I am a little paranoid just because of what I have been through, and I try to blow off any symptom because I know I will be told I'm just paranoid.  Alot of times I just get the feeling that something is not right.  But in the back of my mind there is always a "What if?".  It is so comforting to know there are people out there living with the same issues. Being so young, I have never known of anyone else that I could relate to at all.  I would love to know what kind of issues others have after this kind of procedure, to know if I am just being paranoid or not. 

Eileen,

I have had my pancreas removed and am having trouble with enzymes. Have a lot of diarrhea, gas, etc. The Creon seems to be too strong. Any suggestions?

I am saddened to hear of this and know,It Is never easy to lose someone. I hope you and your family are stronger today.

I had all three organs removed June2012 , I had endocrine tumours in the pancreas. Iam ok , still have some pain , insulin four times a day , penicillin twice a day , you get use to that still working at it will take time I will get there . Most important I have a life with my wife and children . You will be ok , David