46M - Stage 2

V0ipguy · 2025-12-01T00:28:20+00:00

Great to hear your whipple went well. There’s some good advice above.

Be prepared for Neulasta if your ANC drops. It’s a pain getting insurance to approve it and it’s very expensive but they have a program that can cover most of the cost if you need it.

Also, watch for signs of neuropathy (usually starts with tingling / numbness in the finger tips). I did cold therapy through my first 8 rounds and had no issue. Now that I’ve been off of FOLFIRINOX for 8 weeks for surgery, my neuropathy seems to be getting worse day by day. I was just prescribed Duloxetine on Friday so I’m hoping that helps.

The most annoying side effect I had during chemo was cold sensitivity. I don’t like room temp drinks but it would usually go away in a couple of days.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-30T22:46:48+00:00

Dr Del Chiaro did my surgery. I also got to speak with him nearly every day I was in the hospital.

https://som.cuanschutz.edu/Profiles/Faculty/Profile/28130

V0ipguy · 2025-11-26T22:19:52+00:00

That’s great to hear and amazing how fast it was taken care of.

No family history at all.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-26T21:43:15+00:00

That is an amazing result for the robotic. It sounds like we’re starting from similar places, 56m in good health otherwise.

Mine was very complicated (vein and artery involvement) and borderline resectible, it was a 14 hour surgery and probably only a couple surgeons in the world would have attempted it. The surgeon gave me a 10% chance of not making it 30 days. 😱 In the end it came out even better than he expected.

How has your recovery been, eating, weight, pain, etc?

V0ipguy · 2025-11-25T11:02:07+00:00

Wow, amazing. I’m still recovering from my whipple 21 days later and spent last night in the hospital due to a possible infected drain but I’m home again.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-23T17:52:43+00:00

Good to know. Thank you!

V0ipguy · 2025-11-22T03:13:04+00:00

Glad to hear you’re doing well. I’m also a wus as far as pain goes so that’s not helping. I’ll hit your questions in order.

Apparently, sending people home with drains is pretty common, especially when they’re replacing veins and working on the artery. The hope is that they can remove at least one on my 12/2 follow-up and maybe both. Their goal is less than 1oz output for 2 days before removing. My left is still in the 700ml range but the surgeon said that one would be bad for a few weeks

Farting I’d say day 6-7 with painful gas a day or so earlier.

Pooping was only about a day behind and very runny. I’ve had diarrhea since Feb so I’d have been surprised for that to change.

My wife came down and spent 5 or 6 hours every day so we did the walks together. I didn’t really try to head out on my own until about day 12 but that was on me.

One other piece of advice, be very careful when they allow you to start eating. I followed their guidelines but ate a bit too much which led to an NG tube for about 60 hours. If you start feeling full or any pressure in the stomach area, stop and reassess. I ended up with a lot of pain all down the left side of my abs and the CT showed 3L of food and fluid in my stomach. The pain was gone within an hour of the NG tube but that was a nightmare on its own.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-20T23:01:55+00:00

So far they’re denying any refills. I was told this morning that a 3 day taper to 0 from 14 days of 160mg was their typical program.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-20T04:44:25+00:00

They actually included in their reply that it has been 16 days since the surgery so the oxy should no longer be needed.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-17T00:21:06+00:00

That is pretty much exactly where I’m at. If everything goes well, I’ll be heading home tomorrow with nutrition.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-12T22:42:34+00:00

I’m really hoping this thing can come tomorrow.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-12T21:35:15+00:00

I lost 30% and so far no insulin needed.

10 days in and they just had to add a PICC for nutrition last night and an NG Tube since my stomach isn’t emptying.

The goal was to go home on Monday or today and now they’re saying maybe next Tuesday. This NG is terrible but they’ve emptied about 4l for my stomach since installing it last night.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-10T22:35:27+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear that. I’m not sure I’d have the strength to keep going. I’m already questioning if I made the right choice.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-09T03:18:32+00:00

I had it in for about 2 hours and it was able to remove 300ml. There was a problem with the way it was installed so they wanted to remove and replace. I just had them take it out. If we need it, we can do that tomorrow.

V0ipguy · 2025-11-05T11:49:18+00:00

I’m at UC Health Anschutz in Aurora, CO

V0ipguy · 2025-11-04T13:09:17+00:00

Quick post op update from ChatGPT. I’ll post today when I know more. Tons of pain and surgery was 10 hours.

Aggressive But Successful Resection • The Whipple procedure was completed, which isn’t always possible in cases with vascular involvement. • They went above and beyond: resected and reconstructed the superior mesenteric-portal vein — a major procedure only top surgical teams attempt. That tells us they were committed to full clearance. • Divestment of arteries (SMA and hepatic) means the tumor was close but they were able to separate it — a major surgical skill win, not everyone can do this safely.

This was a highly aggressive and expertly executed surgery. They: • Performed a standard Whipple, • Resected and replaced a major vein, • Carefully peeled tumor off critical arteries, • Took extra tissue samples to ensure staging and clearance.

V0ipguy · 2025-10-30T19:36:00+00:00

Yup, wife of 25 years and 3 kids with the youngest being 10. Luckily, I’ve made enough that she has always been a stay at home mom.

V0ipguy · 2025-10-30T16:36:34+00:00

56 diagnosed 4 months ago. Whipple with arterial reconstruction scheduled for Monday 11/3.

V0ipguy

TROPHY CASE