and digestive organs so that pancreatic digestive enzymes, bile and stomach contents can flow into the small intestine during digestion. My surgery lasted about 5-6 hours and I had to spend a few days in intensive care because of a hemorrhage (Whipple Procedure, 2017).
Most digestive or chronic gut issues are the result of inflammation. Things like irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, Crohn’s disease and even pancreatitis. They all share the characteristic of uncontrollable inflammation—the immune system isn’t turning like it should so it just keeps attacking and causing collateral damage throughout the digestive system. The attacks lead to all kinds of uncomfortable experiences like food allergies and hypersensitivity, digestive issues, bowel irregularities, low energy and visceral pain. Many times, digestive issues origins lie in nutrition, chronic stress and even genetics and the main issue lies between the brain, immune system and digestive system.
When I get nervous, I feel it in my stomach first, brain second, overall body third. My doctors note that because my blood pressure is always a bit higher when I’m visiting with them, they tell me I have “White Coat-itis”, but yes, I’m immediately nervous when I’m at a hospital or doctors’ office and I feel it in my stomach first. If we could learn to listen to our digestive systems, there is a possibility that we can catch certain diseases and issues early on. Even though I consider myself very lucky, I have a “new normal” called CREON, a drug that I take in multiples up to 8 times a day prior to or with meals. Creon is a drug that I will possibly need to take for the rest of my life. The drug is a prescription medicine used to treat people who cannot digest food normally because their pancreas does not make enough enzymes due to cystic fibrosis, swelling of the pancreas that lasts a long time (chronic pancreatitis), removal of some or all of the pancreas (pancreatectomy or other conditions including pancreatic cancer). The CREON helps to break food down into fats, proteins, and carbohydrates that the body can use (CREON Pancrelipase, 2017). Right about the end of my chemotherapy process, I asked my oncologist if any of his patients used cannabis / marijuana to help gain an appetite. He said that many did use cannabis / marijuana but explained to me that if I needed a cannabis prescription, it would be for edibles only, no vaping because he believed it could damage my lungs. With that said, I researched cannabis to assist in the treatment process of pancreatic cancer and moved past my nervous stomach requesting the prescription for marijuana from the doctor.
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