Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Comments
-
Time is . . . Too slow for those who wait,
Too swift for those who fear,
Too long for those who grieve,
Too short for those who rejoice;
But for those who love. . . Time is Eternity!
Henry van Dyke0 -
Survived procedures and prep though very short on sleep because I had to get up before 2 AM to finish prep. Let's face it after drinking the prep you are not going back to sleep. RN decided to check my blood glucose pre-procedure and it was 58. Surprised they let me consent to procedures since this low level does have an impact on cognition. They did administer glucose IV prior ro administering anesthesia. Hate the automatic BP machines because they are set with a high upper threshold (200) which far exceeds my systolic meaning it causes pain and thus an artificial systolic reading. Had to use my calf for BP during procedure and it was painful until I was knocked out. Now I have the wait until I get the pathology reports since they did bx in both stomach and several areas of colon. No evidence of regrowth at appendiceal orifice area, so that is a relief. The area is tattooed (am anti-tattoo for me so only breast for radiation and cecum as needed) so they can identify the specific site. Took a short nap when I got home but woke because my youngest cat decided my chest was an ideal area to take her nap but she is no featherweight and was perturbed that I disrupted her nap! In bed by 10 and never woke until 9:30 this AM so I made up for some of the lost sleep.
Have a nice weekend.
0 -
Betrayal, I'm with you on the blood pressure. Mine is high so they try to cut my arm off when they take it. I think it's a reading during pain, so not necessarily accurate. Good for you getting on the other side of the tests. I'm not surprised you slept like a log.
It rained here last night. It was really heavy for about an hour, stopped, then resumed raining steadily for several hours. Very welcome. We have had rain here for a long time. I hope eastern WA got enough to help with the fires. Right now it's sunny and pleasant but showers in the forecast for the weekend.
0 -
Wren44: Because I am overweight the assumption is my BP must be in the hypertensive range and it never has been. So here is an example of appearances being deceiving and assumptions being wrong. If they use the automated machines (they never make the cuff tight enough which also causes a false reading) it is in the 150 range whereas if they use the manual machines it is usually lower than 130 systolic. Post procedure it was 117/54 and at my age, I am lucky I am not on any anti-hypertensives whereas my colleagues were all on anti-hypertensives and they were over 20 years younger and thinner. I also tell the medical assistants to not pump it up to over 150 or they will never take my BP again. One MD told me that her MA was unwilling to take my BP anymore and I explained why to her and she then took my BP herself at each visit. Never exceeded 134 systolic even then when I may have had some white coat syndrome. I do practice guided imagery when they are taking my BP so that may account for why it is not elevated.
0 -
I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.
Muriel Strade0 -
I think we may start getting some rain late this afternoon and in the next day or two as well. Cooler temps. and less humidity. Fall is definitely making itself known.
SIL is due ( fingers crossed the plan doesn't need to change ) to return home leaving this coming Sunday. He really hasn't been gone all THAT long, but with many events taking place it sure seems like it. Daughter is now driving my car to work. My kids have three cars here and things going on ( Dh is not up to car repairs anymore much ) they are all out of commission. I do admit the one is fine, but not re-licensed and registered for this state. So praying my car ( it certainly should ) holds up. Dh has a truck and no one seems to one to deal with it. I've not been thrilled with trucks for some time. Not sure why, but they are hard for me to get into and they are definitely too small if there are more than two people needing to go somewhere.
Otherwise it should be an okay day. Monday starts my count-down for phone visit with my PCP and a couple days later my scope to see if I'm still NED after the last tumor removal from the bladder. The earlier fancy cytopathology test showed no aggressive activity going on so that was a big relief. Fingers crossed.
Later in Oct. I will stay with my cousin's little dog Muffin while they are gone for four days. He is old enough that he'd rather be home and has never done well in a kennel. He hates it and his reactions to it are that of a dog who is being punished for something and doesn't know why. So, I will stay with him ( actually fun for me ) and make sure he gets his ride in the car every day -- he is an only child so is spoiled -- and all will be well and parents will be more easily forgiven then they get home.
Hope you all have a great Sunday.
0 -
Jackie: Hope all goes well with your scope and you are NED. Hope I get my pathology results this week and I can go back to a 3 year schedule for follow-up. Fingers crossed for both of us.
Have fun with Muffin.
0 -
Good morning, all. It is rainy and overcast. It has rained so much and doesn't drain, the puddles are growing green slime. Everything smells wet and moldy. Yuck. Still waiting on the mamo results.
0 -
Hoping everyone waiting on results receives good news. It’s always the waiting that drives me nuts. HUG
0 -
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury; and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasion, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden, and unconscious to grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony. -William Henry Channing
0 -
Hear, hear. Yes waiting on good results. Sounds not so good in the weather dept. for you petite. We had some rain overnight and more to come. It will not be hot ( will feel it though ) but some mugginess will be out there. I have mainly indoor chores today and some extra cooking as it will be a long day tomorrow ( but easy ) working. Then my scope on Wednesday. Our hospital ( like so many ) had to reinstitute a no visitor policy so Dh will have to drop me off and come pick me up when I am done. The last two scopes I had Dh was able to come in and participate in the recovery area -- but not this time.
This week will be cooler and the humidity will ease off with the extra rain. Nice for a bit, but we never know anymore when the positive change will stay for a while.
Not sure I said, but SIL will be starting today or tomorrow it is thought, for his return here. He will have a loaded truck so toward the end of the week or week-end we will be un-loading a truck. Good thing actually as things needed, mainly some important paper-work was within the load coming. Nice to have it here and not have that hanging fire any longer. Daughter has been here since late February and at the time we thought the very next 'trip' the truck would come. It will be nice to have the kids solidly moved here and not have their lives part there, part here.
Hope you all have a good Monday.
0 -
The late Tom Petty had it right: "The Waiting is the Hardest Part." (It was an earworm loop during labor--and then much later, the interim between breast ultrasound & biopsy results--for me).
In that vein, my BIL has his thyroid biopsy tomorrow--six weeks after first noticing symptoms, a month after being able to be seen by an endocrinologist, and three weeks after a "suspicious" ultrasound. Hoping it's "just" a goiter or other manifestation of Graves' Disease. And if it's cancer, that it's a non-aggressive form controllable by surgery.
Cindy, another member of the Piriformis Syndrome Club here. My back was getting better (thanks to Tylenol & Advil, heat, CBD, and topicals) until after our trip to Soldier Field yesterday. We managed to get seats on the 50-yd-line for yesterday's Bears home opener (wouldn't have bought them if the weather forecast had been iffy), but instead of driving to the Millennium Park garage and taking the free shuttle we had to take the CTA Red Line. Because noisy car-based celebrations of Mexican Independence Day--which was this past Thursday--began on Sept. 10 with no letup by Fri, and clogged streets & Lake Shore Drive (making it hell to live or work downtown), the City announced "rolling" street closures for the entire weekend. They refused to divulge exact times & locations, lest the celebrations (which included honking horns, playing loud car stereos, and even shooting off firecrackers) simply move to adjacent streets. So even had we been able to park downtown & take the shuttles, there was a chance that Sun. evening celebrations would have prevented us from leaving the city garage, necessitating taking the train home anyway, keeping the car overnight, and paying an arm & a leg to ransom it.
So we took the train to the station closest to the stadium...a 2-mile walk. (Sort of like when you're walking down the Las Vegas Strip, the landmark that's your ultimate goal seems to get farther away the further you walk). When we got there, we found our seats were on the other side of the stadium, requiring us to walk all the way around, up & down ramps. Our seats, as great as they were, were in the third tier (albeit Club Level) and high enough up steep concrete steps that it took quite a bit of exercise and caution to get there. Afterward, our walk back was nearly as long, but on more varied terrain--and when we got to the restaurant we wanted, found it is closed Sun, & Mon. So we walked another 1/2 mi. north to our second choice. Then the nearest station had neither escalator nor elevator. By bedtime my back was aching again--and now so are my hip/groin joints. Last time it felt like this it turned out to be piriformis, with a "side order" of I.T. band. So I'm doing those piriformis stretches several times a day. At least I got 14,000 steps yesterday and "closed all the rings" on my Apple Watch.
0 -
Oh, and it unexpectedly poured this morning. That, plus yesterday's heat (almost 90) made some more of my tomatoes start to ripen and even some buds to set. Storms forecast overnight--hoping the basement doesn't flood again (city sewer backing up) like it did in June & August. Thank goodness we now have some extra litterboxes ready to go up here.
0 -
Sandy - I feel your pain. Piriformis, IT band, hamstring tendon, if it’s not one muscle it’s another. I did PT today, she rolled a stick/cane on piriformis, pain but I know from foam rolling it will release eventually. Just took Advil and will cover myself with bio freeze for good measure. Tomorrows another day.
Although our weather has been pretty nice in the day, at night temps dropping. It went into the 40’s last night. It’s time to think about closing our pool. Once that happens it’s all over but the shouting, we look out on to a black cover and summer is over.
I had to go to Kay’s jewelers for inspection & cleaning of a bracelet. It’s in a mall and I parked where I went through Boscov’s to get to Kay’s. Well I saw clearance on summer clothes, $6.99 each. Needless to say I bought 4 shirts and 2 pr of shorts, all to take to FL. (that’s my justification HA!)
Hope you all have a great Tuesday
0 -
Inconvenience for a couple of days. The asphalt pavement in the resort is being cleaned and resealed today. Everyone has to park their vehicles up at the top of the property. The pavement can't be walked on for 4 hours after sealing and can't be driven on for 48 hours.
A weird problem for dh to deal with. A skunk has been spotted at Mark's campsite. Skunk looks ill. DH is passing this problem on to the owner who owns an arsenal of firearms.
Jackie, it seems that you are quite pleased with the new living arrangements.
0 -
It is through our extended family that we first learn to compromise and
come to an understanding that even if we don't always agree
about things we can still love and look out for each other.
Sara Sheridan0 -
Hope you ladies ( back issues ) have good and very stable results that end really, really well. I am grateful ( everything crossed twice ) that I don't seem to have anything going on with my back. Cindy -- yea for find a great sale. Gets us every time almost, huh !!
Carole, I am truly happy about my kids coming home. It was so difficult to admit that we ( Dh and myself ) were no longer capable of doing all the work that being a homeowner requires, and in some cases just trying to keep up wasn't always so great either. I sort of mentioned it from time to time, but once the kids were here ( SIL especially ) and I saw him in action I finally got serious about our needs. Without them here, we were reaching the point of paying through the nose for handy-man help or giving up and getting an apt. in town. ( You should be able to hear me screaming no, no matter where you all live ).
Rained here overnight and this morning but it will not ( so it was said ) cause humidity but will leave it cooler. That is okay with me. We will likely have some more later and maybe tomorrow as well. As long as we don't get the humidity I'll handle it okay.
Still have the coyote lurking around at the old store. I've quit leaving the raccoon food out for it and instead moved the cats slightly as well. It looks to me like ( hopefully ) the coyote may have to return to deep inside the park because otherwise to avail itself of any of the cat food it would have to be willing to stand out completely exposed fairly near the road and in sight of anyone. I am hoping someone will take it upon themselves to help move it out of the territory. Since animal control is actually related to me I don't want to have to call him if I can keep away from it. Time will tell.
0 -
"When you do not question what will be,
you allow yourself to be present with All That Is."The Voice For Love
0 -
Been a lovely cool day here. A/C likely will not turn on. In fact, it has stayed cool in the house all day without needing it. Today was scope day. It went pretty well although I didn't do real well with the anesthesia again. I think going to the lighter variety may be a good thing as this in my second "incident". Despite being given ? Pepcid beforehand, I once again lost my cookies. Got right enough to be able to leave early.
Was hoping for no cancer, but I did have one very tiny one. So, each time I improve -- now to get to none. The scope before this one I had one small tumor that the Dr. removed , as he did this one which was much smaller yet. I likely will have more chemo inserted but will have to wait for my appt. to see Dr. B to find out what his final thoughts are. Hate the idea that this will put me back to having to re-start over having four clear scopes before we can reduce the number of scopes at all. More reason to change the anesthesia I think.
Otherwise all is well. Had a small nap when I got home and will cook some spaghetti later ( made the sauce yesterday so it could sit overnight) and some garlic bread. I'm looking forward. Nibbled toast and a few crackers up to now and I'm starting to actually feel some hunger. Not swallowing real well, but slow and steady should work. I will go to town and help my friend tomorrow and feed the ferals. Did not see the coyote today but we were late getting there. Keep hoping that he will get discouraged by not finding any offerings and get back well inside the park territory.
Hope you all are having good weather and able to get out if you want too. Hoping all those recovering are doing ok still.
Hi to all who haven't posted for a bit. You are thought about.
0 -
Jackie - sorry they found another spot. Talk to the doc about getting a 'scop patch' next time. I had no nausea at all with that. And tell the anesthesiologist directly & personally that they have to change the mix. After spending hours in recovery the first time, they changed the drug & I fine.
0 -
I don't post too much but continued good wishes to you Illinois as you continue treatment. Also thinking of those who are experiencing back trouble.
I made an interesting dish recently as a side dish for dinner but which could be a main dish. Portabello Caprese Salad. It was yum and even DH liked it.
Have a good rest of the week!
0 -
Sorry they found the tiny lesion and hope that your MD's plan will offer a clear plan for follow-up.
It was hot today after having an almost spring like day yesterday. I decided to tackle reorganizing the linen closet today and am pleased the results. It looks so much better now. I will have to rehome some throw rugs to either my DD or DDIL since my one cat has decided that she doesn't like them and marks them. They are brand new so if they don't want them, they will go to Purple Heart. As much as I would like to use them, cat urine will ruin them so I am unwilling to chance it.
Basement flooring has been received by restoration company and the installer visited yesterday to assess basement for installation plan. We need to move out some items that we don't want damaged by movers and secure it in a safer area. So tomorrow will be an assessment day for us to determine what is being moved out and where we can store it. Feel we just play musical chairs with furnishings until this job is finally done. Basement is fully furnished so some items will just be shifted from one side to the other and some items will be removed and not return such as an older huge TV. Someday this will all be behind us and that can't come too soon.
0 -
Good morning. A nasty looking spot has formed on my calf and I am heading to the Dermatologist this morning. It is painful. I think it is a cyst or ingrown hair. DH thinks it is a bug bit or sting.
0 -
Jackie, sorry that you didn't get a clear result. Good luck with the continued treatment.
0 -
And when we come to think of it, goodness is uneventful. It does not flash, it glows. It is deep, quiet, and very simple. It passes not with oratory, it is commonly foreign to riches, nor does it often sit in the places of the mighty: but may be felt in the touch of a friendly hand or the look of a kindly eye. -David Grayson
0 -
Minus Two Thanks. I think you are absolutely right. I need to get loud and clear to whomever is doing anesthesia on my scope days to go back and find out what were the combinations that worked. I hate throwing up. The nurse gave me more stomach meds right away, but I was surprised that it happened. The last scope was fine and I had no issues and got to get up almost immediately when the scope was done and come home. I still got home quite early this time, but I did throw up twice beforehand. I know I had one woman ( good anesthesia then ) Dr. but it seems like each one has a slightly different protocol they follow.
petite I hope you are able to figure out with your Dermatologist what you have going on and get a suitable treatment. I do know where we live ( and this yr. has been far worse ) any time we go outside we can come back in with some sort of bug bite. They seem to love to find soft tissue -- like the thigh or inside of the arm near the armpit -- so I do wonder about something on your calf.
Had an incident here last night. I went to bed early as I was tired and still likely some anesthesia weight going on. Anyway, around 11 p.m. I woke up to use the bathroom. My daughter came in and said something is wrong with your computer. Well, we don't really know what happened. But what she saw was that the surge protector was sputtering and sparking. By the time I got out of my room it has stopped, but you could smell ( the smell of something burned ) that something had taken place. I thought I saw water on the floor and don't know if that has an involvement or not. Anyway, we un-plugged everything, removed the damaged surge protector and everyone went to bed. All to say I am on here late. I had a number of things to do this morning and couldn't get my computer area put back together. I also had to get another surge protector before getting every set up again. All seems fine now.
I hate to admit it -- but likely it was the only thing that was going to get my computer desk cleaned off right now and if you were here you would see me hanging my head in shame. I started the project twice and couldn't finish. Hopefully -- I'm cleaning the whole complete area it will soon be looking good and I will figure out how not to keep loading up my desk.
Hope you all are having a great Thursday.
0 -
Jackie - scopolamine patches are really amazing. I first learned about them for my DH's motion sickness offshore fishing all day. I popped one on behind my ear before the last two surgeries started and VOILA! Below is from Cleveland Clinic. There are some contraindications, but it's definitely worth checking out.
SCOPOLAMINE (skoe POL a meen) is used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by motion sickness, anesthesia and surgery. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions. COMMON BRAND NAME(S): Transderm Scop
0 -
Well, pathology report showed up on portal and results were that pre-cancerous lesion that resulted in two colonoscopies within 3 months of each other last year (June and September), is back. It was the reason I was changed from a 3 year follow-up to a 1 year follow-up. It is in the same almost inaccessible portion (appendiceal orifice) of the cecum and not the news I was hoping for. I have not heard from the GI specialist I am seeing (in lieu of my normal GI MD) but hope he will call me tomorrow to discuss what is next. It seems to be larger than the initial one and that is of concern. They felt certain that they had removed it all last year but now I wonder if there was a very small piece left? Not looking forward to another colonoscopy in another 3 months but not sure of what options I do have at this point. Guess I'll have another sleepless night.
Edited for poor spelling
0 -
Betrayal - so sorry to hear about the recurring colon lesions. Hope the doc has something positive to offer.
0 -
Minus Two, I will ask if I can have one of those patches. I had no idea they could be used in the case of having anesthesia. In particular since it seems like you are hostage to whomever may be working and in charge of anesthesia on any given day. Thanks for taking the time to tell me more.
Betrayal, I'm sorry too that your report wasn't what you really wanted. I do know the feeling. Add my wishes to Minus Two's that the doctor will be able to present something that may truly give you a positive result despite this set-back.
0
