Mikenh and Surgery

Mikenh said:

I've had almost all of my

I've had almost all of my Amalgam fillings replaced with porcelain crowns or onlays and have had far fewer fillings since then. The artificial stuff is quite good in performance. I skip the sedation for fillings. I also have two root canals and I tried to get the first one without anesthetic. That didn't work well. If you have the level of pain of a root canal, then you really need to get that fixed soon as it's basically an infection.

The oncologist said that it should start in a 6-8 week window and I'm starting the 7th week because of scheduling. I think that scheduling is challenging this time of the year because a lot of people are using up insurance benefits before the new year so I guess that there may be elective surgery and other procedures. I would have liked to get the port done sooner but the OR appears backed up until late next week.

Are you doing Oxaliplatin as well or only Xeloda? The Xeloda dosage for me will be 20% higher and it will be 14 on, 7 off instead of 5 on and 2 off.

As far as I know it's just Xeoda.  I got back from the dentist a little bit ago and as expected I need a lot of work. I have to get a form signed off from the oncologist saying it's OK for antibiotics since it looks like I've got at least one active infection and others close to it.  I suspect my chemo got pushed out a little while to make sure they get some deductable out of me passing into the new year.  My chemo dosage is going to be higher too. I'm not sure by how much but it will be higher.  It will be 3 weeks on and one off if I remember right for up to six months. 

Mikenh said:

My Xeloda dosage is 4000

My Xeloda dosage is 4000 compared to 3,400 before but I'm getting Oxaliplatin too.

I've never heard of 3/1 weeks before.

The sooner you get the infections fixed, the better. Those things are very nasty.

This was caught in the nick of time.  In this case I've got stage 4 cavities, lol.   It could have been deadly according to the dentist especially going through chemo. I should have this done in the next couple week or so.  They said it's going to be about 5-7 visits just to do a patch job.  I'll have to wait til after chemo to get implants since those take up to 8 months to do.  

Mikenh said:

I got into Brigham and Women

I got into Brigham and Women's Hospital at 5:30 this morning. It was a quick trip with no traffic. So hitting the border by 4:30 AM means no traffic into Boston. 5:00 AM used to work but I don't think that's true anymore. I'm working from the coffee shop until my appointment and then will head to the office afterwards. I don't think that it should be that bad going against the traffic.

We went grocery shopping last night and there were six grocery bags (plastic) and a thing of cans. I picked up the six grocery bags and my son picked up the thing of cans and we went in. I imagine the groceries that I carried weighed about 25 pounds but I didn't have any problems with it. So capabiiities continue to improve though slowly. Oftentimes I feel like doing something and then pull back. Other times I go to do something and I just do it without thinking. I used to do an exercise called The Farmer's Walk. Take two 35-45 pound dumbbells and walk around the gym with them for two or more minutes. It simulates carrying in a lot of groceries. I'd guess that it hits a lot of muscle areas and is good for balance and probably posture.

The oncologist asked me what percentage of recovery I felt so far and I said 20%. I think that she was quite surprised by that low a number but that's how I really feel. My workouts are a very small fraction of what I used to do in the past. She emphasized that I'm young (I don't feel young) and healthy (which is objectively true but surgery takes a big toll). How are others going as far as recovery from surgery goes? I'm thinking that the six to eight weeks of waiting to start chemo is a good idea as the body really does need time to recover, particularly from open surgery.

I have found recovery from surgery to be tough.  Just found a supplement to help me sleep yesterday!  Healing is difficult without sleep. I now take a low dose edible (cannabis taffy) and valerian root capsules. So glad not to take Xanax or Norco anymore!  I have gone to my gym twice to swim, hot tub & sauna. Surgeon doesn't recommend any strenuous exercise for me until January.

I chose to put off adjuvent chemo, because I want my body to heal completely from surgery first. And I amsuffering from side effects from the Xeloda I took months ago. CT scan for me on Monday to see where we're at. Feeling better every day though.

Mikenh said:

Glad to hear that you're

Glad to hear that you're feeling better. There's a thread asking about you that was started earlier this week because we hadn't heard from you. I did a little running at the gym tonight. Only five steps worth. The new bag belt and different clothes helped. The main limiting factor was my iPhone 7+. It weighs about half a pound with the case and it bounces all over the place. I'll need an iPod Nano (my wife took mine and Apple doesn't sell them anymore) for comfort. I should have gone with the iPhone 7.

Yeah, I feel ready to do some resistance type exercises to build up my flabby muscles. Also added carbs back in to gain some weight and my knees are in pain again. Not from weight but bread! 

I know my putting off chemo is not a popular/highly supported decision; but I am seeing a new Onc in1 week. My CT scan results and his opinion will determine my next steps. 

Also, I am so impressed with nurses who specialize in stoma care. My colostomy has been pretty easy. Amazing how the right products help our situations! And I know your reversal will be great for you.

I got my Coloplast Mio sample kit today. I was just expecting an envelope with on Mio bag. But they sent a box and it was actually heavier than I expected. They sent me three Mio one-piece appliances, a nice kit with barriers, some liquid or creme I think, a mirror with Velcro, a pen, some small circular rings, scissors and a stomaguide. There's also a DVD with what I assume is  videos on how to use this stuff. It has a hook so you can hang it on the back of a door.

I ordered a three-pack of Cavilon from Amazon but I didn't have the name of the powder and I did want to order that. The names and reference numbers are on an index card in the bag of my ostomy supplies and didn't have it with me at the office when I placed the order. It struck me that I'll have to use my old supplies (like the towelettes) until I can get the Cavilon and powder unless I can find them in a local store. I also ordered another Convatec belt which I'll leave in my gym bag in case I forget to put it on. I've heard of people buying a bunch of them - I guess that's reasonable if you work out a lot.

Mikenh said:

We had about three inches of

We had about three inches of heavy, wet snow and I pushed some off the driveway while my son moved it further away. I need to clear some off the roof and am trying to decide whether to try it or have my son do it. It's a bit on the late side and maybe better in the morning but I like to take care of these things when they might be a problem.

Thats what children are for. Let the young pups so the heavy work, while you continue to recover - even if you think you're fully recovered, I bet theirs still some healing going on inside -

Enjoy the beauty of the snow. 

Tru

I pulled the snow off the roof with a roof rake. Son helped assemble the rake. The temps are warm enough so that we should have some good melting today which is just in time for another storm tomorrow. Estimates are 1 to 8 inches (hoping for 1).

I changed the Convex bag this morning (20 minutes) to the last bag from the Hospital and I was amazed at how clean everything was from the Convex bag. So using the stoma powder, Cavilon Spray and changing in four days. The skin looks and feels great. I went back to my Wipes for the one today as I'm waiting for the Cavilon to arrive and I need to order the powder. What they say about stockpiling is true. The Convex bags have a smaller flange as well which means my clothes fit better.

So I 24 bags (1 Convatec Convex, 3 Mio One-Piece, 20 Convatec from November's order) which should be good for two months. And I can order again right now but I'm not sure which to order and am wondering if the stoma is going to continue to shrink. I will probably hold off on ordering for another week or more. But the Convatec Convex definitely works (with the other stuff) to prevent irritation.

Tunadog said:

I use..

I use the Coloplast sensi mio convex 1 piece, it sounds like the one you are using.

I have found they are the best for me. Due to insurance, I probably have 10 months worth. (I also have a bunch of different samples from various manufacturers)

Best of Luck for the bag which works best for you.

Sounds like you are on your way 

I'm currently using the Convatec two-piece but the Stoma Nurse installed the Convatec Convex two-piece last week. I have three Mios from a sample pack and the Stoma nurse requested Convex Mio one-piece bags for samples so I should get a few of those to try out. I shoud try out the Mios - it's just that the least path of resistance is to use what I've already used as the process is familiar to me. I think that the Cavilon and Powder do make a huge difference in comfort. The Mio belt is supposed to be better as well so I hope that they include one of those. If not, I'll have to order a pair for when I do the testing. I'm pretty sure that I want to go through the versions with large flanges as the smaller flange is more convenient.

Went to the dentist this morning and they said one of my old filliins is faliling so I'm going to get it fixed on Wednesday. This is just a simple composite filling so it should be a piece of cake. I was actually surprised that I could get in an appointment. They're usuall really busy in December as people are trying to use up insurance benefits.

Mikenh said:

Glad to hear that you're

Glad to hear that you're feeling better. There's a thread asking about you that was started earlier this week because we hadn't heard from you. I did a little running at the gym tonight. Only five steps worth. The new bag belt and different clothes helped. The main limiting factor was my iPhone 7+. It weighs about half a pound with the case and it bounces all over the place. I'll need an iPod Nano (my wife took mine and Apple doesn't sell them anymore) for comfort. I should have gone with the iPhone 7.

Try wireless headphones. Since you said at the gym, guessing you meant on treadmill, so you could set the phone on the machine. I haven't used wireless, but some guys frm work use them.

Trubrit said:

Port

Are you still schedulrd for your port placement on Friday?

Tru

Yup. They called this morning with directions. I'm hoping that it's easy. There too much that's hard.