Splenectomy

[Guest guest]

Margaret,

You wrote, " when you have your spleen (splenectomy) out you have to be

vaccinated against pneumococcal pneumonia,..you're at higher risk of getting

nasty

infections. You also have to contact your doctor in future pretty much every

time you sneeze or run a fever at all to see if you need antibiotics. "

You are so right about the importance of the spleen. I do think that doctors

amy take them out to rapidly, kind of like the appendix you to be. I feel okay

about the fact that my spleen was removed when I had the Distal

Pancreatectomy because there was a large 'thrombus' or bulging clot and it was

near

rupture. The reason why it is so often affected is that the spleen lies in close

proximity to the tail of the pancreas. When the autodigestion is occurring to

the

pancreas from the leaking enzymes, they often end up on the spleen causing

damage.

Regarding the need to monitor infections ... bingo again. Though the bone

marrow produces blood cells, the spleen produces a large amount of the necessary

blood components to fight infection. My doctor recently left her practice and

I was forced to get a new doctor ... talk about fear....anyway, I started

running a temp a few days ago, am run down, feel like I have the flu.

Additionally

a blood panel done by the new doctor showed almost every single blood test to

be abnormal. It's amazing I can walk, and I barely can. My Thyroid

Stimulating Hormone was 47, and normal is less than 4. At any rate, I called to

get in

to see the doctor mainly because of my splenectomy putting me at risk of

getting a serious infection. Nobody understood the significance of what I was

saying. I am trying to contact my doctor directly, because he can't be aware of

what

is going on or he would have told them to work me in. I try not to " go out

there " if you know what I mean, but we have lost several people from

Pancreatitis and the complicating factor has usually been pneumonia.

I am a true believer in the power of positive thought, so I don't stay here

very long, but I also needed to get it out.

Margaret,

You also wrote, " (and I was just going to lurk-LOL!) "

That is so funny. I hear that all the time. Glad to see you posting!

Karyn E. , RN

Executive Director, PAI

http://www.pancassociation.org

Pancreatitis Association International