James My gastroenterologist asked how I was doing. “Fine,” I said. I wasn’t fine. I was having diarrhea six times a day. I’d lost twelve pounds in three weeks. I was so fatigued I could barely get out of bed. My Creon wasn’t working. But when he asked “How are you doing?” I said “Fine.” Because … Read more
Nobody tells you what the first two days after Whipple surgery actually feel like. The discharge papers talk about “recovery time” and “pain management.” The surgeon mentions ICU and drains. Your family nods along like they understand. But nobody tells you about waking up with a tube down your throat, unable to talk. Nobody mentions … Read more
Nobody tells you the truth about Whipple recovery. Your surgeon says “6-8 weeks.” Your discharge papers say “resume normal activities in 2-3 months.” Everyone acts like recovery has a finish line you’ll cross by summer. They’re lying. Not maliciously—they just don’t know. The real Whipple recovery timeline isn’t weeks or months. It’s years. And nobody … Read more
You’re taking your Creon. Every meal. Exactly as prescribed. And you still feel terrible. You’re still having diarrhea. You’re still losing weight. You’re still seeing undigested food. You’re still bloated and uncomfortable. What’s going on? I spent two years in this exact situation. I was taking 6 capsules of Creon with every meal and still … Read more
I thought I knew everything about Whipple recovery after my first year. I was cancer-free. I’d survived the surgery. I’d figured out my Creon dose. I was eating again. I considered myself “recovered.” I was wrong. The truth is, year one teaches you how to survive. Years 2 through 14 teach you how to actually … Read more
I spent three years taking the wrong Creon dose. Not because my doctor prescribed it wrong. He gave me a starting dose and said “adjust as needed.” The problem? I had no idea how to tell if I needed to adjust. I didn’t know what “right” felt like. So I just kept taking the same … Read more
Recovery from Whipple surgery isn’t a straight line. Some days you feel great. Other days you can barely get out of bed. And the hardest part? Trying to figure out what’s actually helping and what’s making things worse. I’ve been tracking my Whipple recovery for 14 years. Not because I’m obsessive (though my partner might … Read more
I’ve run over 5,000 experiments on my own body. That’s not hyperbole. That’s actual data. Every meal is an experiment. Every Creon adjustment is an experiment. Every vitamin change is an experiment. For 14 years, I’ve treated my body like a laboratory. Hypothesis. Test. Observation. Conclusion. Adjust. Repeat. Because when you have half a digestive … Read more
I haven’t been hospitalized in six months. That might not sound impressive unless you know that before I developed my ChatGPT system, I was ending up in the ER every few months for something. Dehydration. Vitamin deficiency. Electrolyte imbalance. Some new crisis my body decided to throw at me. For 13 years after my Whipple … Read more
I woke up soaked. Again. The sheets were drenched. My pillow was wet. I’d been awake for maybe 30 seconds and already needed to change my clothes for the third time that night. This wasn’t occasional. This was every single night for two years after my Whipple surgery. My doctors said it was “normal” and … Read more