After the Whipple's procedure patients usually lose 5-10kg. For some it is a good thing while for others not so much. My partner lost about 4kg. She weighs around 53.5kg and has started climbing back to her normal pre-surgery weight as she thinks it is her optimal weight.
Our priority when it comes to her physical condition is to enhance and then maintain her physical fitness level to where it was prior to the surgery.
There are three main areas of particular interest;
1] Cardiovascular system
2] Strengthening muscles
3] Overall flexibility using the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching method (PNF)
Phase 1 (3-8 weeks after surgery)
During this initial period our aim is to strengthen her immune system while she is preparing herself for her first chemo treatment and get her as fit as possible.
After arriving home from the hospital our strategy was - sleep, sleep and sleep. Get rested and get lazy and bored! It lasted 4 days. The pain was manageable and she decided to start with short walks on day 5 and has been increasing the distance ever since.
Morning session
15-30 min. - meditation and mental preparation
15-30 min. - walk (slow to moderate pace)
20 min. - PNF (prior to Yoga introduction)(stretching and muscle conditioning)
Meals
(I will write more about it later)
6 meals every 2 hours starting at 7 am
Afternoon session
30 min. - relaxation (music for relaxation, self-hypnosis (instructional)
20 min. - PNF
30 min. - walk (moderate pace)
(During week 6-8 a short jog and some additional home exercising is to be introduced)
