strength / stamina / rehabilitation
How debilitated did the surgery leave you? What helped you regain strength & stamina? What rehab strategies were recommended, worked, or didn’t help? How quickly did you find your strength return?
How debilitated did the surgery leave you? What helped you regain strength & stamina? What rehab strategies were recommended, worked, or didn’t help? How quickly did you find your strength return?
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The symptoms which lead to the discovery of my cancer first occurred on the day I purchased an elliptical machine to begin a new exercise program. A physical therapist confirmed what I felt when I tried it for post-surgical recovery…it’s not what I need to do! The problem, at this point, is the vertical motion. I was advised to avoid exercise or activity that requires repetitive and strenuous vertical motion due to the strain it places on the surgical area.
I was advised to find a water aerobics class and for most of the past month have been doing that three times a week. The results were immediately beneficial! I could feel the work my muscles were doing without the strain that high-impact options had brought. I tried a more vigorous class but found that, at this point, it put too much emphasis on the abdominal area. I’m hopeful that the basic course and the increased strength which allows me to walk more, will continue to make a difference.
whipplelife
June 15, 2008
I should say that I was amazed at how quickly I lost so much muscle mass. It was shocking to me to see how weak I became. But what has been helpful has been to see how quickly my strength and stamina are returning, as I get going. There’s still a long way to go but I can tell that the more I do the more I’m able to do. That reality, though, WASN’T the case until I started actually getting better, about a month ago. Before that I would try to push myself do engage in my regular level of activity and end up being physically exhausted in no time.
whipplelife
June 15, 2008
I’m not at the 3 month post surgery mark yet so I haven’t tried any vigorous exercise. I may do a little riding on my stationery bike soon but I’m not rushing. I have done some stretching exercises though, and I will say that seems to help me quite a bit. I get stiff and sore and the stretching is very relaxing.
Janet
June 17, 2008
It sounds like your physical recovery is going much faster than mine did. I’ve tried my elliptical machine and the motion is just too jarring on my abdomen. The water aerobics really seem to work best for me, right now. I’m especially careful, though, after straining an ab muscle a week ago. It got better on its own, but was very painful in the process!
whipplelife
June 18, 2008
A big advantage for me was that I didn’t have the cancer to deal with. I quit smoking 3 years ago, joined Weight Watchers and lost 60 lbs and worked out regularly. I was in pretty good shape and my doctor/surgeon did say that he’s convinced this has made all the difference in the speed of my recovery. I’ve spoken to other patients in the doctor’s waiting room and they’re having a tougher time with recovery as well. I’m very lucky and thankful that if this had to happen, at least I was in decent shape and relatively healthy beforehand. BUT,,,,,this surgery was certainly no “walk in the park”, that’s for sure. LOL
Janet
June 18, 2008
After one month back at work I find that my strength and stamina are, as I had hoped, improving at an increasing rate. I walk and stand most all day and for the first couple of weeks I found that I could almost measure the slight improvements I made as my muscles rebounded. The past three weeks I’ve looked back over a few days and have been amazed at how my strength has improved. I refer to the first few days as steady improvement and after that the improvement has been by “orders of magnitude.”
One thing I have to watch is my posture. When I do get tired it is too easy to become slightly hunched over to protect my abdomen! When I’m conscious about standing straight it’s more sore but better for me.
whipplelife
August 10, 2008
I’m at 2 years and 3 months post-Whipple. I’m doing pretty well, although had to have my entire vertical incision redone a year ago because of a hernia. My energy has never returned to 100%, but I get by and have a normal life. Walking and using my tread mill (with varying programs of hills and speeds) are my main forms of exercise. Yes, I would advise being careful of the incision. I think I got the hernia from lifting a file box at work. I still have digestive issues, but am not malnourished or anything (would love to lose some more weight!). It did take about 6 months, though, to feel “normal” and to function for a whole day. Give yourselves time.
Vicki
August 26, 2008
I am 36 years old and had my surgery on June 6, 2008. I needed fairly consistent care/company following my return from the hospital because of my fatigue, lethargy and lack of appetite or interest in food.
RE: Pain: I was on pain medicine for about 10 weeks following the surgery (dilaudid). I am really amazed that people have gone through this recovery with Tylenol-3, ibuprofen, etc.; I suppose every person is different. I will say I had to make a real conscious effort to wean myself off the meds though b/c they were very addictive physiologically and psychologically. As a whipple survivor, I found myself more prone to this b/c there were so many different sources of discomfort/pain following the procedure and I got pretty tired of experiencing them all having already endured such an arduous surgery. So sometimes it just seemed easier to take my pain meds. I have been off the pain meds for about 3 weeks now and I feel good. I take an occasional advil, in addition to the prilosec (OTC) I was originally prescribed post-surgery for nausea and heartburn. I did take Lunesta for a couple of nights due to some insomnia I was experiencing (I think it was related to withdrawal effects from discontinuing the dilaudid and some anxiety about upcoming scans).
RE: Rehabilitation: I took a “superenergy” protein drink mix for a couple of weeks post-surgery to gain some weight back & build up my strength. I made milkshakes with the powdered mix-adding milk, ice cream and eggs. I also took vitamins and tried to do some small activity everyday. I saw the most strides during my third month of recovery. I was able to sit through a dining out experience, drive for long distances in my car and walk upright. I attribute a lot of my recent progress to physical therapy. I was noticing my poor posture, back pain and overall weak abdomen, so I called my surgeon and requested a script. This has been really helpful in restoring my range of motion, strength and mobility. I also recently started therapeutic massage with a masseuse who does scar massage—this helped a lot b/c it was really the tightness surrounding my incision that caused so much restriction in movement. As for rigorous activity, I haven’t really tried. I walk about 1 mile a couple of times a wek and have done up to about 7 minutes on the bike. On the few occasions that I accidentally found myself running (ie. to catch a train), i felt it and it was not pleasant so I think that level of activity will require some
additional healing.
RE: Stamina/Strength: I have not returned to work despite having been cleared for such at the beginning of August. I still get fatigued rather easily and am easily winded despite being in decent shape prior to my surgery. I often feel like I am doing my best to “keep up” when with friends or family members on some outing…but I usually fall short requiring a break or “an early night”. I had an extremely stressful job prior to surgery so returning after this life-altering event was not really an option. My plan is to take some additional time to BREATHE and even play: garden, cook, etc. for the next few months and then look for part-time work come December/January. I have never had any surgeries prior to my whipple so this experience has been a great teacher in lessons of patience, priorities, spiritual belief, gratitude, forgiveness, and self-advocacy.
Pam
September 12, 2008
I had my Whipple as a result of a small benign tumor on the duodenum next to the pancreas. The surgery went perfectly, and the recovery went well, and I was discharged after 13 days. Immediately, I came down with a c-diff infection, which set back my recovery more than a week. I had lost 12 lbs. post-surgery, then another 10 due to the cdiff, from my already thin frame. The amount of muscle lost was stunning. One month post-surgery, the cdiff came back, and I spent 4 more days in the hospital with IV antibiotics, which did the trick. I am now 9 weeks post-surgery and doing well. Have gained some weight back (within 5 lbs. of my pre-surgery weight) and started doing weight training a couple weeks ago to rebuild my body. I’m back to my normal pre-surgery life now, riding roller coasters, yard work and my stamina is much better than it was 3-4 weeks post-surgery (when simply walking across the room resulted in my having to rest for a half hour). It does get better, and I’m certain the recovery would’ve come along much sooner if it weren’t for the cdiff infection. I’ve learned a TON about how to prevent this common infection, and am still amazed at the fact that many of the nurses who worked with me did not follow the basic prevention guidelines (and I was in a respected teaching hospital)
Jeff Buchanan
September 26, 2008
Mr. Buchanan,
You sound as if you have been blessed with a healthy recovery other than the cdiff. I have a rare tumor on the head of my pancreas and they are still not sure if they will do the whipple or a distal. They are very similar especially the recovery and healing process. It will be done at Emory, is this where you were–you mentioned a teaching hospital.
I am a very healthy & fit 30 year old femail. I am hoping to bounce back like you did. I’ve really never been sick or in pain a day in my life and i am very very nervous about waking up after surgery to so much pain. would you please tell me your experience with that? Also, I am an administrator at at CPA firm and sit at a desk most of the time with a bit of walking. I would like to come back in 4 weeks to sit and do some work. I wonder if this will be possible? What suggestions do you have post-surgery & recovery that aid and/or speed the healing & recovery?
Thank you for you time!
Jessica
Jessica
February 2, 2009
your young you ll recover but understand the whipple procedure is a major surgery that has typically a slow recovery. go with it and recover safely shelley
shelley
February 16, 2009
Jessica – I’ll add my experience in the hope it gives you something positive to go on.
I’m 52 & normally fairly hail and hearty, though not particularly fit – (i.e I don’t do much by way of exercise!)
I had a Whipple on Sept 1st 08 for what turned out to be a benign tumour on my pancreas.
Post-op, I was in the HDU for 24 hours before being back on the ward, was never in any pain…(at most it was just pretty uncomfortable)- the epidural meant I didn’t feel anything at all. Like you, I’d assumed I’d wake up in a lot of pain, but please don’t assume that will be the case. They give you a button to press so you can adminster your own pain relief as often as you like (it’s limited so you can’t overdose), but I only used that for the first day – and then more because they told me too and not because I was in pain!
I was allowed to drink tea on Day 4, ate 3 light meals on Day 5, normal bowel function returned on the same day. I left hospital on Day 7.
At home I took a minimal amount of pain medication – just paracetamol for the backache – and only that for 3 days.
Had my staples out on Day 10. By Day 14 I was walking 2 miles a day, and by the third week 4 miles a day.
I’ve not had any issues with food or digestion (ate a curry on Day 12!.
For the first 4 weeks I would hold my hand across my abdomen when walking around – not because it hurt, but just as it feels a bit weird until the whole thing has had time to heal (6 weeks).
I went back to work after 6 and a half weeks – I teach in a primary school, (so a fairly full-on physical day-job!) and it was all fine. (I could easily have been back in an office type job in 4 weeks)
My brilliant surgeon discharged me from his care four & a half months after the operation. As he put it “end of story”.
I realise I’m one of the incredibly lucky ones and everyone’s different.
I’m not sure I can offer any advice, but for me… I went into the surgery in a very positive state of mind – did lots of positive visualisation and relaxation, I purposefully put on 10lbs in weight as I knew I’d be losing some postsurgery and I’m a real skinny to start with! I lost 8lbs after the op, but regained that within 2 weeks.
Leading up to the op I ate really healthily – up to 10 portions of fruit and veg and also began to eat more protein (had been a vegetarian for 25 years, so chicken was a whole new experience!). Also drank Protosip drinks just for the extra boost.
You’re young & fit Jessica – before your surgery eat well, get lots of rest but also build up your stamina with exercise (if you do sit-ups, now’s the time to strengthen those stomach muscles!) but most of all – be positive. Convince yourself the operation and recovery are going to be successful and completely straightforward. This is exactly what I did and I can only say that it certainly worked for me.
I wish you the very best of luck
Hazel
February 21, 2009
hmmm.. Your stories are not mine. I had my Whipple on Aug 15th at a Teaching Hospital by a very experienced surgical team. I have a long story, but to shorten it here goes: I was a healthy 50 year old, weightlifted 3 times/week at the gym, healthy, energetic, very good muscle mass. Then the bolt out of the blue, sudden illness and the Whipple. My end result was a 7 months either in the hospital or in physical rehab. I ended up losing all my muscle mass, collapsed on the floor,unable to walk, talk, etc. I had 2 1/2 months of TPN (Total parenteral nutrition), feeding through a PICC line, as well as a feeding tube. I
Cathy
April 14, 2009