Sunday, October 25, 2009
Home Again
Got released from the hospital yesterday morning. 8 days in the hospital for a bowel obstruction. All they really did was pump me full of pain killers and wait. I guess that's better than an actual operation. All I know is that it was a really boring week, daytime TV sucks. I'll be back to work on Monday.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Still in the Hospital
It's day 4 of my hospital stay. As fun as it's been, I'm ready to go home. Took a small step towards that goal about an hour ago. Had a small bowel movement, which means the Ileus is (healing?). In any case, doc said today that once things are moving, it'll still be 48 hours before I could go home. So I'm looking at heading home on Wednesday, providing everything progresses well.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Back in the Hospital
On Thursday night around 9:00, I started to get what I thought was bad case of gas. You know, that sharp pain in your gut and bloating. So I took some Gas-X, which usually does the case. It didn't. The pain kept getting worse regardless of what I tried: milk, Malox, Tums, toast, more Gas-X. I was up all night pretty much writhing in pain and feeling sorry for myself. It was the worst case of gas I'd ever had. It even made me throw up a couple times. Odd thing was, throwing up didn't help the pain.
Julie got up at 4:00 to get ready for work but instead wound up taking me to the emergency room. They pumped me full of pain killers, which helped a BUNCH. I could actually breathe normally. They then did a CAT scan on my abdomen and sent it to Australia for a doctor to read there (due to time difference). The results came back that I had a bowel obstruction, a collection of fluid outside intestines, and an abscess near my large intestine. They contacted my surgeon and arranged for me to take a ride to Miami Valley Hospital.
Once at Miami Valley, they took some X-rays of my abdomen, started me on a pain regimen of Palladone (a morphine derivative) and Toradol. I checked in at about 10:30 am on Friday. I didn't see my doctor until about 6:00pm. I was getting pretty pissed about that until I talked to him. He was busy in surgery. Plus, it turns out the Australian radiologist didn't have it quite right.
What I actually have is an Ileus. Basically part of my intestines have shut down, causing a "blockage". There isn't anything physically blocking the intestines at all. The accepted treatment is Tincture of Time (my surgeon's term). Basically wait for things to start back up.
So here I am, sitting in a hospital room watching football. It's Sunday afternoon. I haven't had anything to eat or drink since Thursday. I'm only allowed ice chips to keep my mouth moist. They have an IV keeping my fluid levels up. The doctors won't give me an estimate of how long it will take to get "right" again. I'm getting the distinct impression it could be awhile.
As it so happens, my doctor stopped by while I was writing this. He wants to wait until Wednesday to do anything more than just wait. Then we could start talking about surgery. Problem is, by disturbing the intestines with surgery you increase the chance this could happen again.
On the upside:
Julie got up at 4:00 to get ready for work but instead wound up taking me to the emergency room. They pumped me full of pain killers, which helped a BUNCH. I could actually breathe normally. They then did a CAT scan on my abdomen and sent it to Australia for a doctor to read there (due to time difference). The results came back that I had a bowel obstruction, a collection of fluid outside intestines, and an abscess near my large intestine. They contacted my surgeon and arranged for me to take a ride to Miami Valley Hospital.
Once at Miami Valley, they took some X-rays of my abdomen, started me on a pain regimen of Palladone (a morphine derivative) and Toradol. I checked in at about 10:30 am on Friday. I didn't see my doctor until about 6:00pm. I was getting pretty pissed about that until I talked to him. He was busy in surgery. Plus, it turns out the Australian radiologist didn't have it quite right.
What I actually have is an Ileus. Basically part of my intestines have shut down, causing a "blockage". There isn't anything physically blocking the intestines at all. The accepted treatment is Tincture of Time (my surgeon's term). Basically wait for things to start back up.
So here I am, sitting in a hospital room watching football. It's Sunday afternoon. I haven't had anything to eat or drink since Thursday. I'm only allowed ice chips to keep my mouth moist. They have an IV keeping my fluid levels up. The doctors won't give me an estimate of how long it will take to get "right" again. I'm getting the distinct impression it could be awhile.
As it so happens, my doctor stopped by while I was writing this. He wants to wait until Wednesday to do anything more than just wait. Then we could start talking about surgery. Problem is, by disturbing the intestines with surgery you increase the chance this could happen again.
On the upside:
- It's not life threatening
- I'm fairly comfortable, just bored
- The hospital has 30" flat screen TVs with HD
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Last Treatment
Yesterday I got my last dose of Oxaliplatin and hooked up the pump for the 5-FU infusion. I'll get that removed tomorrow at 11:00am and I will be done with the post-surgery chemo treatments. Yesterday was about the worst I've felt on treatment day. Today is better, though. And tomorrow will be better yet. By the end of next week I'll start to feel a little normal. By Thanksgiving I hope the side effects will be just about gone.
On another note, I've managed to get a handle on my bowel issues. Through a combination of high fiber diet, fiber supplements, and immodium I'm able to maintain an almost normal schedule. Hopefully I won't need the immodium after the chemo effects go away. It's not good to be on a regular schedule of opiates (yes immodium is an opioid).
There will be a "Not Dead Yet" party, looks like somewhere around the 5th or 6th of November. Far enough out from today that I can eat/drink what I want :). If "Not Dead Yet" is too morbid, maybe we can call it a "Survival" party. I don't know. Everybody said I should have a part, so we're having a party.
On another note, I've managed to get a handle on my bowel issues. Through a combination of high fiber diet, fiber supplements, and immodium I'm able to maintain an almost normal schedule. Hopefully I won't need the immodium after the chemo effects go away. It's not good to be on a regular schedule of opiates (yes immodium is an opioid).
There will be a "Not Dead Yet" party, looks like somewhere around the 5th or 6th of November. Far enough out from today that I can eat/drink what I want :). If "Not Dead Yet" is too morbid, maybe we can call it a "Survival" party. I don't know. Everybody said I should have a part, so we're having a party.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
11 down, 1 to go
Got my 11th treatment yesterday. Nothing different to report, it's typical day 2; working from home, hands and feet numb to varying degrees, nausea. I just have to do this one more time and I'm done!
Thinking of having a party sometime around Halloween to celebrate the end of the misery and the start of my post-cancer life.
Thinking of having a party sometime around Halloween to celebrate the end of the misery and the start of my post-cancer life.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Muddling Along
This is a good week (no treatment). However, it seems the side effects are getting stronger and lasting longer. A few months ago the cold sensitivity would wane pretty quickly. By the weekend it would almost be gone. Well, it's Monday and it's just as strong as ever. I can't grab stuff out of the fridge without it hurting like hell. My feet started getting "tingly" with treatment about 6 weeks ago. Now it's to the point I have to wear socks to bed because I can't stand anything touching the bottoms of my feet. It's like they're asleep, except highly sensitive, very annoying. And I get the feeling they are going to be like that the rest of the way, it doesn't get better with time.
My last treatment is on October 12, just 5 short weeks away. By Halloween I should be feeling OK. I'm hoping that by ThanksGiving I'll be 100%. If not, it'll still be a great Christmas, compared to last year when I was pretty much laid out by radiation and chemo.
My last treatment is on October 12, just 5 short weeks away. By Halloween I should be feeling OK. I'm hoping that by ThanksGiving I'll be 100%. If not, it'll still be a great Christmas, compared to last year when I was pretty much laid out by radiation and chemo.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Flying Sucks
Let me just say, flying when you have digestive issues is a huge hassle. I took the 6:50am flight from Dayton to Philly this morning. However, ever since the operation that removed 2/3 of my rectum, I've had a constant problem with regularity. The last time I was "regular" was after the chemo/radiation ending in January, and the surgery was done in March. Since then I cycle through constant bouts of diahrea followed by constipation. Travelling would be ok in a constipation phase, but I nearly missed my plane this morning due to a very necessary bathroom stop.
Here's another very annoying thing: I've been telling my doctor about the whole diahrea thing for months. On Friday, he said, "oh that's normal for people who have a portion of their colon removed. Try this...". He could've let me in on the little secret 4 months ago. Basically, it looks like I'll be taking Metamucil twice a day for the rest of my life. If it stops the insanity, I'm all for it, it could be worse.
Another very annoying thing: Apparently they've been testing my "cancer markers" every time they draw blood, which is with every treatment. Nobody has bothered to tell me the results or that they were even doing it. My nurse happened to mention it at my last treatment, so of course I got all worked up about it. I'm thinking "what if there's more cancer?", "what do they do if the markers are high? Do I have to do a lot of testing?". So at my doctor's appointment on Friday, he says, "Oh yeah, the markers are at 0.6, we don't worry about it unless it's over 2.5. We test them every time". It would have been good if he'd have let me in on that little bit of information. By the way, 0.6 is considered "normal". People who've never had cancer will register some level of markers.
Here's another very annoying thing: I've been telling my doctor about the whole diahrea thing for months. On Friday, he said, "oh that's normal for people who have a portion of their colon removed. Try this...". He could've let me in on the little secret 4 months ago. Basically, it looks like I'll be taking Metamucil twice a day for the rest of my life. If it stops the insanity, I'm all for it, it could be worse.
Another very annoying thing: Apparently they've been testing my "cancer markers" every time they draw blood, which is with every treatment. Nobody has bothered to tell me the results or that they were even doing it. My nurse happened to mention it at my last treatment, so of course I got all worked up about it. I'm thinking "what if there's more cancer?", "what do they do if the markers are high? Do I have to do a lot of testing?". So at my doctor's appointment on Friday, he says, "Oh yeah, the markers are at 0.6, we don't worry about it unless it's over 2.5. We test them every time". It would have been good if he'd have let me in on that little bit of information. By the way, 0.6 is considered "normal". People who've never had cancer will register some level of markers.
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