richinsdakota
-
Posts
382 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Downloads
Store
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Blogs
Events
Posts posted by richinsdakota
-
-
I too have developed migraine headaches, just 6-7 months out from my thoracotomy. Havent had those since I was young, so of course, I worry. heh However, MRI brain done 4-5 months ago, showed nothing between the ears , but "mild to moderate" sinusitus. My headaches have come with the onset of winter here, and my trying to walk outdoors in cold, makes the sinuses cold and probly is what causes the aches....but...who knows. Anyway, Im not rushing to check it out, long as aspirin and some stronger migraine pills seem to knock it out. And they are fairly infrequent now. dunno....
By the way, to deal with the claustrophobic MRI tunnel, they simply laid a small towel over my eyes....worked fine, I jus laid back and listened to the music in the headset. Pretended I was on a noisy airplane..heheh.
Anyway, good luck with results...hope it s nothing....Rich B.
-
Grumpy was one of the first to greet me when I came here in a panic over my dx....he had those reassuring words and attitude that helped many here, Im sure. We wish him a turn for the better and pls tell him hes in our thougths .....Best of luck to us all....Rich B.
-
Saw an episode; it appears this show is just another "reality" concoction, running for some weeks, I suppose. Nevertheless, if they repeat the first episode with the description of a thoracotomy, Id like to see it . If anyone gets wind of a repeat performance....would u pls post to alert us to tape it? Thx...take care...Rich B.
Im speaking of "Cold Turkey" show, of course...
-
Welcome; also dont forget the American Cancer Society , or even the Lung association....I think they can help you get the help you need, be it counseling, info, ...whatever your situation is. Ok..good luck...Rich B.
-
Hi; welcome to a very helpful group....
Only advice I can add: I conquered the constipation problem with "stool softeners" , over the counter stuff. Its very effective, and a lot less messy. Also; I take Nexium for the stomach, and I heard a nurse say that it helps with constipation too, getting things started up by the stomach, etc. Laxatives tend to be such a "messy" solution. Might try the stool softeners...much better. Good luck....Rich B.
-
What kind of surgery is she having? On her shoulder, or lung....I only have experience with thoracotomy, (lung removed). Take care...Rich B.
-
Ok..sounds interesting...thanx for posting that....Rich B.
-
Yep; congrats and enjoy the time off....hopefully that was the worst of it, huh? was for me...take care and good luck to us....Rich B.
-
Wow; how interesting.....Id like to see that, what they did to me too...(I think). Ive heard the surgery described roughly, but to see a detailed demo would be very informative.
Ill keep my eyes open for that show, and thanx for posting that for us...Take care...Rich B.
Also; it might help decrease the numbers of us fools who smoke..hope so.
-
To Kaffie; glad to see u back...figured the chemo was keepin u down some...one treatment knocked me flat, so I know how it feels. All done now? Hope youre feeling better every day, and that the chemo did its job. Take care...Rich B.
-
Yep; I was home in 5 days after thoracotomy. I musta been goofy for the first 2days, cause I dont remember much until the third day, heh. They weaned me off the epidural catheter pump and sent me home with heavy duty pain meds. (Oxycodone) Pain was major issue for me for first 6wks. I think. And yea, ya gotta hug that pillow or cushion when coughing.
I was still sleeping in the recliner chair until just few nites ago..(6mos. now), and can still only sleep propped up in the bed similar to the chair position. On my back only. No rolling around on those sore ribs yet.
Anyway, it does get better, just slowly, takes a lotta patience, etc. Good to hear it went well tho, gotta get the beast outa there, for sure. Hang in there and good luck. Rich B.
-
Yea, a lot of things show up on diff. tests that are not cancer...my MRI showed a lesion on my spine, but it didnt show on PET scan, and orthopedic doc. ruled it just arthritic joint , so....all is not what we fear. If he says he sees no disease...great! Good luck to us all....Rich B.
-
Enjoyed your post...yea, this group has been pretty quiet lately...anyone heard from Kaffie? Havent seen her post for awhile....
Yes, life is fragile, but keep up the good spirit and enjoy those clear xrays, ...hope to get the same news in a month or so....Rich B.
-
Can anyone enlighten me about this ? I had someone whos pretty savvy tell me that in this state, at least, Drs. who are participating plan providers with your health insurance, cannot by law demand payment of charges in excess of health plan allowances. Of course they all overcharge the plan, and bill the patient for remainder of their charges, and we all feel that we have to pay.
But my friend says the patient is not legally bound to pay these "over the plan allowance" charges...and should refuse to pay. Docs and other providers have no choice but to eat this portion of the charges, since they have agreed to be a participating provider for the health plan, and have to accept what the plan pays them, and eat the rest, if we dont pay/? Any one know about the law on this? Or where we could find out? Medical law kinda thing, I g;uess..?
Thanx for anything you know on this subject.....Rich B.
-
Sorry to hear of these problems over the holidays....and yes, docs can be frustrating sometimes. I dont know much about Iressa, or any of the symptoms, but blood needs to be analyzed, I would think. Maybe you can see another doc. at first opportunity? A second opinion like thing...never hurts. Might be more savvy doc too....just a suggestion,...Rich B.
-
Sorry to take so long to update this: The symptoms, while a bit scary, were short lived after I went back to sleeping in my chair again. Musta just been making my rib cage sore layin on it all night in the bed for several nites. So much for the bed..sigh..maybe someday.
Still, things shouldnt be so easily irritated, maybe, so I will bring it up with doc. next appt., see if he wants to do an xray. Anyway, it seems to all go away when I stay out of the bed. Thanks for your concern, all...and I hope I didnt falsely alarm yall, it was a bit scary tho....Rich B.
-
Nicotine addiction is a very powerful addiction. I can only add that I too smoke after losing a lung to cancer. It is not a certainty that it will give me more cancer, but even the chance that it could wont convince me to stop...Im a hopeless case...a fool who loves to smoke.
One tip; Like a ny addiction, the smoker has to make that personal decision to quit for his own good...until we do, we cant quit. Understanding and help might go a lot further to help, than anything. Rich B.
-
My bio below tells my story with lung cancer....and I hoped it would end there, with no more chapters, but.....
Disturbing symptoms have appeared, first, a soreness in the right rib cage, pain when I cough, ....like when I had plueresy when I was a kid. I hoped it was just bedsore, (only side I can sleep on), so back to sleeping in the chair, to see if it clears up. But then, theres the traces of blood in the sputum again, the symptom that led to losing my left lung...if its indicating more cancer....its my only lung left.
All this occurring last couple days, just before Christmas, so cant get it checked out until Mon. or so. In the meantime....are there benign causes for blood in the phlem thats spit up? Hoping it doesnt necessarily indicate cancer....dunno.
If anyone has knowledge of this sort of thing....would sure like to hear of your experiences. Thanx....Rich B.
-
Welcome: I can only add that I had a lot of pain from thoracotomy for several months, although I didnt have radiation. I noticed that laying on those CT scan tables, etc., did seem to irritate things. My surgeon and his nurse wanted to wean me off the heavy pain killers, ((narcotic), way too soon I thought. Fortunately, the Oncodoc kicked in a few more vials of oxycodone. Now, almost 5 months out, Im just using a couple darvocets a day, if that much.
But only you can judge whether your pain is tolerable and necessary, or if you should demand more pain relief. If something is aggravating the pain, check with the doc., maybe something can be done to prevent it....worth a try. Get the relief you need, if pain is intolerable. Good Luck....to us all.....Rich B.
-
My bout with steroids was very negative; I dont remember much about the decadron, only used it twice before I got pneumonia infection from the Taxotere. Imediately I was on IV antibiotics and PREDNISONE. At the end of that week, lung was cleared up, but I found myself in the local emergency room crying like a baby. Emotional basket case! Some Lorazepam finally calmed me down for awhile.
If that wasnt bad enuff, I went the next week for a spinal epidural injection...guess what.... more steroids! few days later, back to emergency room in middle of the nite. Im now stuck on constant Lorazepam till the double whammy of steroids wears off, which may be awhile since the spinal injection is meant to linger and ease the spinal pain. sigh.
Anyway, steroid reaction for me was anxiety, despair, depression and insomnia...didnt get 1-2 hrs. sleep for over a week. Thatlll make a grown man cry, and cry....couldnt stop. heh No more steroids for me...now on my allergic list. Thank G. for Lorazepam till It dissipates.
-
Not many posts lately, it seems....wonder if the winter blahs and holiday stress has got lot of us down. Sure does a trick on my depression, I know.
Anyway, hoping we can all get thru this difficult time, and wishing all a Good and HEALTHY Holidays!!! Best of luck to us all.....Rich B.
-
Hoping the results are not as bad as you think, and wishing you all the best luck.....and Happy Holidays....Rich B.
-
Yea; RF ablation seems like a great option, some on here have had it done and swear by it. I checked it out, but opted for surgery on lung., turned out whole lung was affected, so would not have been candidate for ablation anyway. But it sure seems a great way to treat tumors, if possible. Good luck with your treatments, all .....Rich B.
-
Yes, thanx for your efforts and best of luck on that biopsy....I know not knowing is tough, so best to biopsy and know....Rich B.
Sleeping Discomfort
in GENERAL
Posted
Hi..yea, sleepin is a b...ch after the surgery. I could sleep nowhere but in the recliner chair since July. I just now moved into the bed couple wks ago....foam wedge seemed to irritate my chest pain, so just witn to normal bed....stayed flat on my back for fear of rolling over on those ribs...ack...but finally can sleep briefly on either side, if Im careful. Seems like I always wake up when I need to toss and turn, so I consider the move carefully before I do it..heheh Dunno, took 7 months of healing to get into the bed again....maybe u might need more time..? Itll happen eventually. Good luck....Rich B.
BTW, It seemed like all those xrays I had recently made the good lung and rib cage inflammed and sensitive for awhile. Probly chemo might do same thing...? Dunno...something to consider. If ur doing any of that...?