Octopus Overlords

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 3:11 pm Dammit, that sucks! It's a rocky experience, but I found it helped to reverse the usual life advice: keep focused on the destination, not the journey. One day soon the experience will be over and you'll be able to put it behind you.

Blackhawk, truer words were never spoken. With all my wife's surgeries we've found that after weeks and maybe months of a sometimes torturous anticipation, planning, worrying, pre- and post-ops difficulties, in the end it was good to be able to, as you say, put it behind us.

The best support I'm getting is from my wife, who has zero sympathy for me feeling sorry for myself, although I intend to milk that for what I can . And it helps that I've lost forty pounds since last summer and aside from my traitorous prostate I'm otherwise in excellent health. And I don't discount my wife's vast experience dealing with the medical community. Most of the stress for me in the past was having to deal with inefficient bureaucracies and institutions.

I'm so sorry to hear that.
I've had a swollen prostrate for 20 year or more. Nothing serious but it does interfere with sex and going to the bathroom.
So personally I'd have it removed if it were me.
But you are not me so of course do whatever is best for you.

Fuck cancer and good luck.

That sucks. Best of luck!

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 2:57 pm I got the news about my prostate biopsy today and it's not good. I have prostate cancer, which sucks. We meet with my urologist early next week to discuss the options of either get radiation treatment or surgery to remove the prostate; we are leaning towards the latter. I've only ever had one surgery (that being outpatient) so I'm freaking out a bit. My wife who has had a dozen major surgeries is going to be my rock on this.

My sympathy and best wishes for a full and swift recovery. Let your wife, friends, and family be there to support you. Their strength and support will see you through this. I would also strongly encourage you to consider joining a local prostate cancer support group ASAP. Doing so can pay dividends in terms of improving your understanding and getting practical feedback about your treatment options.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 2:57 pm I got the news about my prostate biopsy today and it's not good. I have prostate cancer, which sucks. We meet with my urologist early next week to discuss the options of either get radiation treatment or surgery to remove the prostate; we are leaning towards the latter. I've only ever had one surgery (that being outpatient) so I'm freaking out a bit. My wife who has had a dozen major surgeries is going to be my rock on this.

Ugh! Man, that sucks. Good luck with the treatment. Hope things improve soon!

As we were watching TV, something occurred to me. I turned to my wife and noted that now I'll have a good excuse to avoid jury duty

I got out of that when I was about 22 or so. Not been contacted since. If I am contacted for it again Im not sure how to avoid it. Maybe being alone with a small dog and disabled would save me.

I've never been contacted. If I were contacted today, I'd have a number of easy ways to avoid it.

I wouldn't avoid it. If I can't do my little part, I can't bitch about the system not working.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 9:37 pm I've never been contacted. If I were contacted today, I'd have a number of easy ways to avoid it.

I wouldn't avoid it. If I can't do my little part, I can't bitch about the system not working.

We don't have all that many duties as citizens. Jury duty's an inconvenience, but being tapped to dispense justice is kind of an honor.

I was called twice. The first time I was impaneled and sat on an interesting sex discrimination case that lasted a week. The defendant successfully argued that they had not discriminated against the plaintiff by demonstrating that they treat all their employees like shit. Not guilty. The second time I was seated, then the whole jury was dismissed after the lawyers consulted with the judge. They objected to one particular juror and there were no alternates left.

If I'm ever called again I will grumble and serve.

Saw my wife this morning. She's doing better than she was and is more alert.
Unfortunately she still can't hear and understand words too well. Even when she can understand the words she can't understand their meaning or concepts too well. <sigh>

Well that's progress, at least.

My sister is declining faster than she had thought she would and is now in the hospital. We're all set to fly to MI on Sunday but might have to move that up. I hope not; I'm already struggling to get things done enough to leave for a week. But death doesn't care about our schedules.

It's tough to have to shift things like that. As you say death doesn't care about our schedules but moving things forwards can be a kick in the gut.

My mom has pancreatic cancer and breast cancer. Seemingly not related to each other. We saw her in the summer and over Christmas. I was in a good place knowing that when I retired back to the US in June she would be unlikely to have long left. But she was doing well on chemo and while she was frail at Christmas it was a healthy type of frail. Two weeks ago she switched to a different chemotherapy drug that gave her worse nausea and diarrhea. Last week she went into the hospital because she collapsed at home. She's getting enough fluids down that she's mentally fine but she can't kick the diarrhea and she's physically weak.

She's not taking the chemo drugs now and the doctors seem to think it isn't really due to cancer. It seems like part of the problem is that she has nothing in her GI track so anything she does eat goes right through but her rear end is sore and she's not really expending any energy to she has no real feeling of needing or wanting to eat other than knowing that she should. Right now Dad thinks she's pull through and just end up weaker but still ok for a little longer since it doesn't seem to be the end stages of cancer doing it. i'm a little less sanguine about it but I'm not quite ready to ask the school for time off to fly back to the US.

In all animals, losing interest in food is a bad sign. You will probably laugh as I suggest cannabis for your mother, but it definitely does stimulate appetite and relieve minor chronic pain. My sister was anti-weed her whole life but changed her tune while she was on chemo. It could help your mom if it's legal in your realm and she's open to trying a new medicine.

My sister's in the hospital now, facing two surgeries this week to alleviate pressure from the tumors on her ureters and intestines. The fact that they believe she will survive, and recover from to some degree, these procedures indicates that her doctors don't believe she's near death yet. As of right now, it looks like we're back to our regularly scheduled trip, with some hope that she might feel a little better by the time we get there. Maybe they'll even discharge her. She doesn't want to die in a hospital.

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 11:36 pm In all animals, losing interest in food is a bad sign. You will probably laugh as I suggest cannabis for your mother, but it definitely does stimulate appetite and relieve minor chronic pain.

I won't laugh but I think she would. It seems she is interested but my brother reports that it is meals like half of a hamburger (without the bun), a small bowl of soup, and a small container of applesauce. Which then goes right through her.

I'll add another post (versus editing to add this bit) just in case someone has read the first one. She specifically says that no she is not depressed, in pain, or otherwise thinking of ending her life. For that matter she says that she doesn't want me to rush back from Korea that the end of the school year is soon enough! She's weak but feeling positive.

Well, shit.

Gross part: We called 911 and I got an ambulance ride to the nearest hospital. They gave me some clotting drugs and put me into an observation room. As with many of these community hospitals, it was not a first class facility (although I think the ER staff did a good job). I got virtually no sleep due to the screaming coming from a nearby room from a patient in restraints, and what equipment worked the nurses weren't always sure how to operate. A GI doc didn't come to see me until about 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon. After consulting with my physician, I checked myself out (while the [spoilered] stuff wasn't completely done, it had greatly slowed down to the point where I was stable) and moved to a much better hospital downtown.

I had been scheduled to have my first colonoscopy a couple of years ago, but it got canceled due to COVID and never got rescheduled. If they sent me home, an expedited colonoscopy would still probably take a month to schedule, so they admitted me so that I could do one inpatient. Once things were fully stabilized I did colonoscopy prep on Sunday evening. (Super fun! Highly recommended!) They looked around my colon on Monday and found a mass. I'm still waiting on the biopsy results, but everyone's pretty sure it's colon cancer. The good news is that they did a CT scan that night and nothing has metastasized. Pending final biopsy results in the next couple of days, I'm probably looking at surgery to remove the impacted part of the colon and possibly some chemo based on how things look. My first appointment with oncology is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

So, lots of unknowns at this point. I was incredibly relieved that the CT scan showed nothing had moved beyond the mass in the colon, but beyond that I'm waiting for final biopsy and the oncology appointment. There's still a small chance that this is something other than cancer, but that seems unlikely.

Bottom line: Don't put off your colonoscopy! It might not be the most fun thing you'll ever do, but catching things early is better than [spoilered]!

Bonus: I was either not eating or on a "clear" diet for most of the last week, so I've lost 12 pounds! I'm ready for bathing suit season!

That is some scary stuff. Best of luck, man.

Wow - thanks for sharing. I had a colonoscopy scheduled for mid-Jan but canceled because we were at the height of our surge. I'll work on rescheduling today.

Good luck with it all man. I can imagine the stress...almost. My mom had colon cancer and part of her colon removed too. Dont think it ever bothered her. That was the 80s.

This isn't on the list of acceptable developments.

Kick its ass!

Holy cow. That sounds...less than ideal. Thanks for sharing and prompting those that need to go to get checked. I hope you get good news.

Here's hoping it comes out clean and that's the end of it.

I've had three colonoscopies and after the last one they said I'm good for 10 years, so that's at least one thing I don't have to worry about.

Trying to cleanup brush. Im not young any longer and sitting at a computer for over 25 years is not helping. My back and chest hurt. My heart actually aches and Im not really doing anything. My neighbor cut the stuff down for me as my chainsaw does nothing but start and die start and die. He even cut it up into smaller pieces. But just dragging those pieces about 30 yards up a small incline to my brush piles makes both my back and heart ache to where after each pull Im leaning on something panting.

But a little at a time and Ill get it by the end of the week lol. Something I could have done in 2 hours when young even with a shit back. And this is only part of what I need to get done. Crap will be grown out again and summer heat beating down by the time Im part done.

Took some tylenol, aleve, ibuprifen and aspirin......shouldn't take it all together but really need it. Plus what blood pressure meds I have. Im out of half of it for a week now. Money comes tomorrow though. If I can get into my doctor Ill get refills. If not then not. Can buy some milk and eggs and bread tomorrow until my food stamps refill in a week.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 2:34 pm Kick its ass!

Wouldn't that be kick your ass's ass?

Scary stuff.

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 12:12 pm Bottom line: Don't put off your colonoscopy! It might not be the most fun thing you'll ever do, but catching things early is better than [spoilered]!

Amen.

It's good to know the results of your surgery seemingly went well, and you're at least somewhat on the mend. Hang in there, I certainly wish you all the very best as you begin treatment.

That's super not good news. It's awesome that you caught it before it spread, though! I hope they excise that thing stat.

Fack. Thanks for sharing with us and all the best for a good prognosis and recovery.

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:13 pm It's good to know the results of your surgery seemingly went well, and you're at least somewhat on the mend. Hang in there, I certainly wish you all the very best as you begin treatment.

In case it wasn't clear, it was just the colonoscopy and CT scan as of yet. They're still doing the biopsy on the mass they removed during the colonoscopy, and I'll learn more about the path forward (including the likely surgery) on Monday.

Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm keeping a positive outlook at this point, even if it's not easy.

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 10:15 pm

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:13 pm It's good to know the results of your surgery seemingly went well, and you're at least somewhat on the mend. Hang in there, I certainly wish you all the very best as you begin treatment.

In case it wasn't clear, it was just the colonoscopy and CT scan as of yet. They're still doing the biopsy on the mass they removed during the colonoscopy, and I'll learn more about the path forward (including the likely surgery) on Monday.

Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm keeping a positive outlook at this point, even if it's not easy.

Focus on finding strength in the friends and family around you. You are not alone. Whatever comes of the biopsy, they will help get you through this. Soldier on, and best wishes for your treatment on Monday.

Chrone's plus dad having polyps removed every five year has has me on the five year colonoscopy plan since I was 40. Luck to you ILB! Be well!

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 12:12 pm
Bottom line: Don't put off your colonoscopy!

I have a run of the mill physical in May when I was going to ask about this, but I think you just encouraged me to start looking into this today instead. Best wishes!

Edit: just messaged my healthcare provider.

While everyone is scrambling for their colonoscopy (which is good), keep in mind that there is something better than finding it early: Not having anything to find. Lay off the red meat, super lay off the processed meat, and eat your damned veggies. It wouldn't hurt to get out and move around a little, too, you lazy slobs.

I broke my leg some 24 years ago. Besides the broken leg part the worst thing was the hemorrhoids.They were the 8th wonder of the world. Caused by not being able to walk around.
As I've said before I had a colonoscopy around 14 years ago and I swore to never have one again and I still haven't. I'd rather have the cancer.

FWIW, I think colonoscopies aren't nearly as bad now as they were 14 years ago. The prep isn't fun, but it wasn't all that bad. I slept through the whole scope itself. The way they do it now you really don't even have a bunch of gas afterward (although that may be disappointing to some ).

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 12:51 pm I broke my leg some 24 years ago. Besides the broken leg part the worst thing was the hemorrhoids.They were the 8th wonder of the world. Caused by not being able to walk around.
As I've said before I had a colonoscopy around 14 years ago and I swore to never have one again and I still haven't. I'd rather have the cancer.

Didn't they knock you out with a general anesthetic? When I got one it was: Count backwards from 100...Oh, you're done?

My first colonoscopy was around 14 years ago and it wasn't bad. Prep sucks. Getting around the after the day of is little uncomfortable. But it's nothing bad. Prep sucks. The basically no eating anything but Jello and having to chug a gallon of laxative filled Gatorade over several intervals so you can go 0 to toilet in 30 seconds is no fun but in the scheme of things is not so bad. The worst part for me is they won't let you drive yourself home after the scope. You have to have a driver which means I have to inconvenience someone else who is willing to be inconvenienced. Nothing much has changed in the three scopes I've had done.

In my case I was laying on the gurney with by butt hole all greased up and ready to go and..........the doctor hadn't showed up. Had to wait 40 minutes for him (he was sleeping at home) to get there and there was a big line waiting for him so he hurried everything up. I was in much pain in my intestines for weeks afterward. Felt like I had a bad hernia. I was clean inside there.

My butt hurts just reading this thread. No seriously it hurts. Ive gone so much this week and ran out of nice soft tp. Its never in stock plus it costs so much. You think turds would soften in water but no not the case. If I walk off and forget a flush and come back later man o man. I think they are made of concrete. Just add water. Its as if they shake a corn kernel at you and yell "I defy you!" Well until you get out the plunger set to full power and beat them to death "Get down that hole you bastard!"