The FAP - Whipple Report

 I wasn't sure what life would be like after my Pancreaticoduodenectomy or "The Whipple" in Nov 2023, my big concern was the change in quality of life and would I be able get back on the mountain bike. The surgery it's self went really well they tell me, but on the start of the second week, when I should have been going home I developed several leaks and this was the beginning of a long difficult recovery . I started to worry that this was what my new normal would be like, but some how found the drive and energy to walk as much as I could while spending 140 days in the hospital. I kept telling my self this would help me get back to the life I wanted. Friends and family helped support me, gave me the energy I need and reminded me to keep my sense of humour.  A group of friends, family, and strangers put to together a Gofund Me campaign and bought me a Rocky Mountain Instinct Ebike , at first I wasn't sure how to take it. Did they think I wasn’t going to ever be ab...

   UPDATED Jan 8 2026 The number of polyps / adenoma, in my remaining colon, rectum and stomach, has increased since after my Whipple Surgery , and I started taking a Proton Pump Inhibitor. The Whipple re-configures the digestive tract, and creates a new connection between the stomach and the small intestine (jejunum). Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are prescribed to patients after a Whipple to prevent ulcers and bleeding in the upper digestive tract . Do Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) cause an  increase the numbers of polyps with   Familial Adenomatous Polyposis , FAP ? There is a study,  Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science, that seems to suggest that using a Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) for over 12 months is a significant risk factor for developing advanced colon polyps. As of June 17, 2025 there are now several small  Fundic Gland Polyps in my stomach, this is the 1st time I can remember or seen any word of these, and not sure if this because ...

 WARNING , this post contains Medical Graphic Pictures below.  I can’t help wondering if Creon , a  pancreatic enzyme , caused extra damage to internal tissue when it got into a gastrojejunostomy (GJ) stomach leak , then a enterocutaneous fistula ? I had the Whipple Surgery in Nov 2023, then a few days post surgery developed a pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) leak , followed by hepaticojejunostomy (HJ) leak , gastrojejunostomy (GJ), and a stubborn fistula. The gastrojejunostomy (GJ), the new connection between the stomach, and small bowel, didn’t show up on any CT scans , and wasn’t truly discovered till Mar 2024.  Do pancreatic enzyme need a stronger warning about the damage they can do to tissue?  The reason I ask the above question is: I was discharged from the hospital in early Jan 2024, I still had fluid/ paste leaking out the fistula located in the middle of my incision. When I was discharged it seemed that the leak, and fistula were healing. Jan 6, 2024, Ho...

 I am excited and feeling very thankful that I am able to return to work with Alberta66 MTB as a coach / guide this season. It was a long difficult recovery from the Pancreaticoduodenectomy or "The Whipple" in Nov 2023. Things didn’t go as plan after the surgery, complications slow things down and set back the recovery. Staying focused on a positive out come and making a full recovery was the main goal but spending 140 days in the hospital took a lot out of me. Walking as much as I could early on really helped me keep moving, and then I was gifted an e bike by family and friends which got me on the bike as soon as I could build the strength to sit on the saddle. I lost around 13 kgs which I had to work at putting back on, a TNP and a NJ feeding tube helped and then I was able to transition to solid food. IT’s been a challenge to stay on top of eating enough and staying active. Because of the new changes to the digestive system I have to eat small meals/snacks more often...

 WARNING: This post contains medical graphic pictures. Apr 1, 2024 was a day I had been dreaming about since my Whipple Surgery ( Nov 17, 2023) and the complications that started a few days later. It was the day the Enterocutaneous Fistula stopped outputting any fluid or paste. I was secretly happy to see no discharge from the fistula, but was still skeptical to believe things were healed. I think I didn’t even tell the medical team for a day or 2. For 4 months I had spent many sleepless nights reading about how these fistulas could cause problems requiring surgery to try and fix them. I had even had a room mate for a day who was back in the hospital again because they were experiencing problems with a similar fistula for over a year and a half. I was very concerned the fistula would cause more problems than the original surgery or reduce the quality of my life. Zero output of the fistula was a huge step forward in the recovery but it was still another 3 months before the scab fel...

 I went into the Whipple Surgery , Nov 17, 2023, with the belief that I would be home in 7 days and recovered in 3 months. The surgery it’s self went okay they tell me, but 4 days later I developed a pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) leak , followed by hepaticojejunostomy (HJ) leak and there were delays in acting on these complications. It got so bad 2 of my close friends had to come in and talk to the medical team to find out why a CT scan ordered on Nov 24, 2023 still wasn’t done 2 days after it was ordered. By the time the CT scan was done things had gotten much worst and it was the start of a very long recovery . This when I started to notice it was very important for me to pay attention, advocate for my self and my health care. Nobody knows your body and how you feel better than you.  Unfortunately I didn’t start making notes or taking pictures until I was discharged, Jan 5, 2024, after 50 days in the hospital. I was sent home with 2 drains and a very active leak that was com...

 UPDATED Dec 12, 2025. Happy to say blood work looks great, Ferritin, Iron, Vit D and Vit A are all back up into the normal range. I had been living a very active life since I was in my late 30’s. I started road biking , and then mountain biking and loved it. Mountain biking became my to go to exercise, and I loved peddling up the longest hills I could find . I took part in many races, single and multi day events, never really too win but to see what I was capable of doing, to see new wilderness areas and meet good people. Living with  Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) gave me a reason to take care of myself and keep pushing myself, I figured if I was able to ride a bike as much as I did there wasn’t anything wrong with me. In July 2023 polyps in my duodenum started to show signs  of change, and a large flat adenoma was un able to be removed, so I decided to have the Whipple Surgery in Nov 2023. The surgery went okay, biopsies of the large adenoma showed high...

 UPDATED Dec 12, 2025 Happy to report that what I have done over the past 12 months has helped my Ferritin and Iron levels stay stable and a slight increase. Part of the on going follow up after my Whipple Surgery is having blood work done at 3 and 6 month intervals. Blood work done in Nov 2024, a year post Whipple, showed my iron levels to be in the normal range, but the Ferritin levels had started to drop. Both my primary Doctor and dietitian recommend me increasing my daily iron intake to see if that would help raise my Ferritin level . The duodenum is removed during the Whipple, and it plays a crucial role in iron absorption , so removing of this section of the small bowel reduces the body's ability to absorb iron. Ferritin is a protein that stores iron in the body's cells and It's found in many cells, especially in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow . A low ferritin level after the Whipple is common and is often due to impaired iron absorption caused by the remova...