@Woodsman Hope it nothing too serious. We'll be thinking about you and wishing for the best as well as a speedy recovery. And hopefully you won't be returning to the group with the new moniker ... Woodswoman.
@Woodsman -- May the healing powers, which are part of the Divine creation, respond to the wisdom, experience, and skill of those entrusted with your care.
May you find find renewed strength in the knowledge that friends are praying for you, wishing you well.
And may you find courage and comfort in the difficult days ahead....
I'm back, Zipper scar from bypass now joined by aligned zipper starting at navel down to (?). Awaiting tests to see if removed tumor has spread requiring Chemo.
@Woodsman -- Had open chest cancer surgery in 2000 (Thymus gland removed) at Sloan Kettering. Biggest problem after surgery was colitis caused by antibiotics you're given when they crack your sternum in half, followed by eight months of sciatica caused by laying on hard operating table for five hours. The sciatica just returned one day after Thanksgiving a week or so ago. Sciatica is pure unadulterated hell. I hope you are relatively pain free in your recovery.
@motie2 Sciatica can be a real bitch. It's like having a jolt of electricity shoot down your leg - the only difference is it doesn't stop. I herniated three discs while at work and tried working through it. Didn't know they were herniated at the time. The pain was ungodly. So I went to a Chiropractor hoping to alleviate the pain. He actually made it worse. Apparently when he cracked my back one of the disc extruded ... meaning the jelly substance literally squirted out, completely flattened the disc, and the nerve was pinched between two vertebra. I went to the Chiropractor on a Friday evening after work and was in the hospital on Monday having emergency surgery. Which is how I discovered the one disc was extruded. In those two days between Friday and Monday the nerve damage actually affected my ability to urinate and couldn't pee. I guess it had something to do with the nerve that stimulates your bladder. Not sure how that works, but all I knew is I was in a world of hurt for several days, and I can understand why some people consider suicide when they're in extreme pain. But the moral of my story is don't wait too long to discover the cause of your sciatica it might be serious and lead to ever more severe problems. Don't assume just because you experienced it before and you managed to live through it and it eventually got better on it's own, that it will happen like that again. 9 times out of 10 it only gets worse.
Thanks @ghostsofpompeii -- Was that supposed to be reassuring? <giggle> Well, between the chiropractor (3 visits so far), the ibuprofen, and the heating pad, life is manageable. The lightning bolt down the right thigh has mostly ceased, and it just hurts like hell.
I hate doctors. My surgeon and radiologist in 2000 informed me that I had an 80% chance of living five years if I took the high intensity/large aperture course of radiation that they recommended/demanded..... and offered no odds if I refused. After a week of "post discharge colitis," followed by "post surgical neuropathy" (i.e., sciatica) I was in no freakin' mood to put up with more doctoring, and especially so after they said the radiation would leave me a permanent invalid. Screw that.
Well, it's 2017 and I'm still here babbling to y'all suffering no consequences from my decision.... at least thus far, and in so far as I know. I do go to a cardiologist, but I avoid my regular physician like poison. I wouldn't recommend anyone else behaving this way, but it works for me.
In my experience tending to end-of-life situations, no one gets out of here alive, and it most often ends badly.
By the by, back in the day (2000) In did consider suicide ("Ya know, if I just took this whole bottle of morphine tablets......). At that moment, I poured the remainder of the bottle down the toilet. (My surgeon didn't want to be bothered, and had prescribed 250 morphine tablets...... In retrospect I think that was irresponsible.) After two months, I got to a pain clinic where I was prescribed a brain chemical and an anti-depressant, which kept me going for eight more months until the sciatica receded.
In my humble opinion as your physician I recommend two bowls of Barbados Plantation once a day for a total of three months. Then see me in three months and we'll see if we need to add a bowl of Molto Dolce as well. That will be $50.00 for today's visit.
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Hope you have a speedy recovery Woodsman, you are in our thoughts and prayers!
I hate doctors. My surgeon and radiologist in 2000 informed me that I had an 80% chance of living five years if I took the high intensity/large aperture course of radiation that they recommended/demanded..... and offered no odds if I refused. After a week of "post discharge colitis," followed by "post surgical neuropathy" (i.e., sciatica) I was in no freakin' mood to put up with more doctoring, and especially so after they said the radiation would leave me a permanent invalid. Screw that.
Well, it's 2017 and I'm still here babbling to y'all suffering no consequences from my decision.... at least thus far, and in so far as I know. I do go to a cardiologist, but I avoid my regular physician like poison. I wouldn't recommend anyone else behaving this way, but it works for me.
In my experience tending to end-of-life situations, no one gets out of here alive, and it most often ends badly.
By the by, back in the day (2000) In did consider suicide ("Ya know, if I just took this whole bottle of morphine tablets......). At that moment, I poured the remainder of the bottle down the toilet. (My surgeon didn't want to be bothered, and had prescribed 250 morphine tablets...... In retrospect I think that was irresponsible.) After two months, I got to a pain clinic where I was prescribed a brain chemical and an anti-depressant, which kept me going for eight more months until the sciatica receded.
Life sucks and then you die, eh?