Please help me. My mom had a total pancreatectomy after Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and is now 80 lbs with constant diarrhea. I desperately need advice.

I am desperately looking for advice from anyone who has gone through a total pancreatectomy, pancreatic cancer, or severe pancreatic insufficiency.
My mom is my best friend and my hero. She has Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and has been through chemo, a total pancreatectomy, serious complications, emergency surgery to prevent sepsis, and 52 days in the hospital. Through all of it, she has never complained.
Now she is home but is down to around 80lbs and has constant diarrhea. She desperately needs to gain weight, but it feels like everything she eats goes straight through her. I am terrified she isn’t absorbing what she needs.
I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has actually been through this.
What helped with the diarrhea?
How did you know your enzymes were working properly?
Did your enzyme dose need to be adjusted?
What foods or nutrition helped you gain weight?
Did a certain dietitian or specialist help?
What do you wish you had known after your pancreatectomy?
I know Reddit can’t replace her medical team. I’m just desperate to hear from people who have lived through this and can give me things to ask her doctors or things that helped them.
I have a 3 year old son and for the past year I’ve been trying to keep myself together enough to be there for him while watching my mom go through all of this.
It’s hard to be a mom yourself when you feel like your own mom is slipping through your fingers.
It feels like my mom fell backwards into a black ocean. Deep, dark and completely unknown. I dove in after her immediately. I keep searching and diving deeper, trying to find her and pull her back to the surface, but no matter how hard I search or how deep I go, she seems to have sunk farther into the darkness. I just can’t reach her.
I just want more time with my mom.
If anyone has been through this, please tell me what helped. Even something small could mean everything to us right now.

Posted Aug 12, 2026, 3:13 AM UTC

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