Good almost afternoon (it's 11:54AM here just south of Boston)!! And Happy Saturday!!! I hope everyone has as pain free a weekend as possible & can enjoy some of the holiday preps!!

Happy first day of Hanukkah to my Jewish friends!! May you enjoy good food and time with family & friends as you celebrate!!

I've gotten a number of questions from friends regarding the pancreatectomy & splenectomy (pancreas & spleen removal), so I'll address those now.

You can live without your spleen, however; you will be more at risk for infection from the usual bugs that inhabit our world. But with good hand washing & strategic avoidance of those you know who are sick, you should be OK. But, if it were not safe & left the person without any immunity, we would be instructed with severe community restrictions, like no going out in large crowds, where a mask and gloves when out & recommendations like that. But other than good hand washing, keeping your immunizations & boosters up to date and getting the all important flu & pneumonia vaccines, those without a spleen are allowed to continue a normal life. We have other immunity safe guards in place naturally & they take over to protect us. Sure we're more susceptible to colds & viruses but that's a small price to pay in my book for a chance at a life with a significant decrease in abdominal pain, nausea & vomiting! Sure, I'd like to have a spleen but that's not possible for me at the current time.

Another question I've received is, "How can you live without your pancreas?" Well, it's not easy but then again, neither is living with constant pain & acute flares resulting in hospitalizations. So, I've chosen a pancreatectomy knowing I'll have to make adjustments. During the surgery, the transplant surgeon is going to re implant my islet (insulin producing) cells back into my body to hopefully decrease the risk of my becoming diabetic. However, there's a rule of thumb with the islet transplantation that 1/3 of recipients become insulin free, 1/3 need some insulin, diet & exercise, and 1/3 become what's known as a brittle diabetic. This type of diabetes is very difficult to control with the usual measures. But I'm taking the risk versus benefit approach: I have a 2/3 chance of having a good outcome & if I do become a brittle diabetic, world renown Joslin Diabetes Clinic is right in my area! (And, I've already checked & they're taking new patients!! I've already spoken to them & was instructed to call after the surgery!!)! Plus, with an insulin pump, blood sugars are known to be much more easily controlled. I've already checked with my health insurance company and they cover the pump & the supplies necessary to operate it. So, I feel I'm ready to take on the risk. And again, the decrease in my current daily, incapacitating pain to me is worth the risk. Personally, I'd rather live with diabetes than continue to live the way I'm living! But that's my decision. It may not be right for you.

Another job of your pancreas is to digest your foods. Luckily, these enzymes can be replaced with oral enzymes. Which by the way, I already take because my diseased pancreas does a poor job of digesting my food, so this will not be a big deal for me. I'm aware that it takes a bit for your intestines to adjust to the decrease in secretions from your pancreas, and I'm guessing here, from the increase in space they now have to spread out. You'd think they'd be happy the can stretch they're legs, so to speak!! But, again, it's risk versus benefit. I've asked multiple support group friends who have had the surgery and despite any bad effects she or he is dealing with now, each one said they would do it again even knowing what they would deal with post op!!! That's all I needed to hear!!

I hope that helps!!! Keep any questions you, my friends, may have coming. I want you all to know what I'm going to be going through & it's for selfish reasons...I'll need as much support from all of you as I can get. So, the more you all know, the better.

Enjoy your weekend And try not to get too stressed with the holidays!! They're here for us to enjoy!!

Best,
Sandy