Total Laryngectomey

Hi Rick
Glad you are feeling good, even if it is just a little each day. On the Constipation try using MiraLax twice a day it really works well and taste OK.


MiraLax




Wishing you the best
Hondo

ToBeGolden said:

Prune Juice
I am making some headway against the constipation problem. I am using Prune Juice plus Senne laxitive plus stool softener. I started using the Prune Juice on advice from this board, and it provided the final little push to start clearing me up.

Luckily I can sleep in bed with my head elevated by two wedges and a couple of pillows. Thanks for all the encouragement. Rick.

LOL
not laughing at you. I get terribly constipated on pain medication. Knowing this, I had them start me on several products down my NG tube the day after surgery. I didn't back off until the day came I was on the toilet 11 times. Funny now, but I just didn't want the constipation problem.

I got outof the hospital without the NG tube. It was removed the day of my discharge. I could only swallow one small swallow at a time, and it was almost impossible to take in enough fluid to get by, maybe 800 cc the first 3 days. I just ground up all my meds and choked them down. Boy is aspirin bitter!

I remember one nurse lecturing me that if I'd use apple sauce instead of water, it wouldn't taste so bad. Problem was, I couldn't swallow apple sauce....

Like you, I did nothing but wound care for the first few weeks. I had a trache site, a donor graft site on my arm, neck and facial wounds, and a split thickness graft site on my leg. I also had a bushel basket full of wound care products. Dang the shower felt good.
I did all my own wound care, as I had nothing better to do for quite awhile.

It got easier pretty soon, but the first few weeks were pretty awesome.

I'd type this in a large font for you, but I don't know how to get it to do that:)

denistd said:

laryngectomy
Hi Rick, there is a site out of the UK called Laryngectomy life, it's out of Britain but there are people who have had laryngectomy's from all of the world, the moderator lives here in Myrtle Beach. They are a great bunch, it's not as formal as Web Whispers. Denis

I remember Those Days
I remember fighting with that Trach, I hated it, but they had a bad infection and my windpipe collapse. The thing would pop in and out, and it never work well, I demanded they take it out....After 5 Months, and half a larynx, i take it slow and don;t do anything that takes alot of breathinig, but I live as normal as iI can...the constipation wil get better when you diet returns to normal, sitting on the john trying to push out a movement, hurt like hell, sorry for the blutness, cancer is not a piece of cake, they claimed everything was chemo or rad, I'm at the tail end of recovery and still deal with issues of why this happened? The Doc wants to add the smaller trach back in, we will see in February, I'm sorry, but the Doctors can't seem to fix the broken parts of you, and always want to add more baggage to your body, in there eyes to make your life easier....and collect of teh insursance company, leave me alone. Thank you, Take care you will get better, it takes along time for some than others....Good Luck, Dennis...I would like some info of the Web Whisphers site or related issues close to m problem...TY!

dennis318 said:

I remember Those Days
I remember fighting with that Trach, I hated it, but they had a bad infection and my windpipe collapse. The thing would pop in and out, and it never work well, I demanded they take it out....After 5 Months, and half a larynx, i take it slow and don;t do anything that takes alot of breathinig, but I live as normal as iI can...the constipation wil get better when you diet returns to normal, sitting on the john trying to push out a movement, hurt like hell, sorry for the blutness, cancer is not a piece of cake, they claimed everything was chemo or rad, I'm at the tail end of recovery and still deal with issues of why this happened? The Doc wants to add the smaller trach back in, we will see in February, I'm sorry, but the Doctors can't seem to fix the broken parts of you, and always want to add more baggage to your body, in there eyes to make your life easier....and collect of teh insursance company, leave me alone. Thank you, Take care you will get better, it takes along time for some than others....Good Luck, Dennis...I would like some info of the Web Whisphers site or related issues close to m problem...TY!

Web Whispers
Just google web whispers, it's all there, try laryngectomy life, better than web whispers

Pam M said:

Hello Again
I'm with Pumakitty - a good, long soak in a warm bath is a wonderful thing. Like you, now that temperatures are falling where I live, every night I feel blessed when I snuggle under my covers. I'm hoping you continue to heal well, and can soon see, eat and speak well.

Laryngectomy
I would be very wary about the bathtub, you have a hole in your neck that goes directly into your lungs, should you slip, fall or lie down too far in the tub, your lungs will fill with water, go to LL you will find out how all of the others take a bath or shower.

ToBeGolden said:

Improving Slowly
The good news is that I am improving slowly. I am on a liquid diet, but that beets the nasal-gastric tube. I can use the voice prosthesis, and actually navigated a phone tree. I was amazed myself. There is still a lot of mucus and coughing fits.

I will look at and certainly join laryngetomy life. Thanks for the advice. I don't get back to these boards as often as I should.

Unfortunately, there has been some bad news. They did not get all of the tumor and radiation is being recommended. I am almost certain that I will take that recommendation. So I get to subject my body to one more ordeal.

Thank you for all your advice and kind words, Rick.

Hi Rick
I am Sorry to hear this but You can do it like I did my friend; I am now a little over 6 years passed my second treatment.

Wishing you all the best
Hondo

One Day At A Time
Stay strong Rick. We'll be thinking of you.

Dawn

ToBeGolden said:

Found My Own Thread
Well, time for an update! Past due for an update!

I know most of you know this but a few may not: A tracheostomy is a temporary hole in the neck to assist breathing. A laryngectomy (which I had) is permanent. So I will always be a neck breather.

The voice prosthesis worked for a couple of months, when got plugged. I've elected to leave it plugged for the time being, and learn esophageal speech. In esophageal speech, the patient swallows air and burps to speak. The air is swallowed only into the esophagus and not the stomach. I am acceptable with short phrases, but cannot carry on an extended conversation.

Mucous, phlegm, and coughing are my big complaints. The docs started me on a codeine and expectorant mixture which helps the cough but knocks me out. The codeine also causes excessive constipation.

I am awaiting my first post-treatment PET.

I am still happy at least for part of most days. Mostly pain free. The esophagus is shrunk, so I must chew THOROUGHLY. And food gets stuck about once a week. But I can easily cough it up. And since my airway is not connected to my mouth, there is no chance for suffocation.

I think for my next update, I will start a new thread. Rick.

Rick...
I've seen some of your more recent commments in the last few months...and now this one. I know I am a newbie (7 months post treatment for base of tongue) ..but I just have to say I am amazed at what you have been through and how you handle(d) it...just amazed.

I look at you and Pat (longtermsurvivor), Hondo (Tim) and many others on here and I just don't know how you guys did it / do it on a daily basis...but it makes me check my bad days at the curb and realize if ever needed maybe I can get through anything that comes my way.

Anyway..I thank you and those mentioned above and many others (like John, a.k.a. Skiffin) who come back and post your experiences and knowledge for us newbies.

Best,

Tim