Update on oggbashan's health

[oggbashan]

Chemo session went well.

Scheduled start was 14.30. The actual start was 14.25.

Expected finish was 18.15. Actual finish was 17.45.

 

[Handley_Page]

Chemo session went well.

Scheduled start was 14.30. The actual start was 14.25.

Expected finish was 18.15. Actual finish was 17.45.

And a good meal thereafter ?

 

[oggbashan]

And a good meal thereafter ?

Of course. they offered me anti-nausea tablets after each session. I still have the unopened pack from my first chemo ever.

 

[sirhugs]

Long May You Run...

 

[oggbashan]

I was emailed the rest of my CT scan taken just after my second chemo session. I have just had session five of six.

The cancer had reduced by about 40%. My head and brain are clear.

Except for my long-standing gall stones - no change - my lower parts are 'unremarkable'.

My spine? Evidence of long-standing ankylosing spondylitis - but no change. A fractured T7 vertebra was first noticed in 2019 when it was 'old' and has not changed.

One more chemo session to go in a fortnight's time and then another CT scan.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

Glad to hear your results were good. Wishing you all the best.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Hugs, sir, and prayers.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'm delighted with your results. Been a bit worried about pops, he isn't feel bad, but he isn't feeling good. He probably is feeling bad, just will not admit it. My dad must be in agony to go to a doctor because, according to him, "If I go, they'll find some wrong with me." He has an extreme tolerance to pain, which doctors all agree isn't always good.

 

[sirhugs]

Keep beating the odds, my favourite odd fellow.

 

[jehoram]

He has an extreme tolerance to pain, which doctors all agree isn't always good.

That can be a real issue, all right. People with chronic pain tend to shrug off a pain, and label it as a 2 or 3 on a scale from 1 to 10, while another patient without chronic pain might give it an 8 or 9. Or so said a study I read recently.

 

[Duleigh]

My spine? Evidence of long-standing ankylosing spondylitis - but no change. A fractured T7 vertebra was first noticed in 2019 when it was 'old' and has not changed

Oh, I can identify a lot of that. A fractured T11 vertebrae, it happened decades ago in Spain, when it reoccurs the pain actually masks as heart pain and I have a hell of a time telling the doctors "It's not in the front, it's in the back"

 

[oggbashan]

Not a good day. Vomiting most of last night and was very unstable on my feet all day.

I hope it will be better tomorrow.

 

[Handley_Page]

Not a good day. Vomiting most of last night and was very unstable on my feet all day.

I hope it will be better tomorrow.

Fingers crossed.

 

[sirhugs]

Not a good day. Vomiting most of last night and was very unstable on my feet all day.

I hope it will be better tomorrow.

added to my prayer list.

 

[MillieDynamite]

That can be a real issue, all right. People with chronic pain tend to shrug off a pain, and label it as a 2 or 3 on a scale from 1 to 10, while another patient without chronic pain might give it an 8 or 9. Or so said a study I read recently.

Pops has been through many things in his life that brought pain. Not the least of which were physical injuries by people trying to hurt or kill him. It isn't hard for me to imagine chronic issues with a back issue, indigestion, discomfort from a pain he can't quite figure out where it is, don't compare with being stabbed or shot.

 

[oggbashan]

Been back to normal for a couple of days but high pollen counts have been giving me mild hayfever. I take anti-histamines sometimes, and a basic cough medicine when my throat gets dry.

BUT - childproofing tops on the cough medicine bottles are a real pain. I may be old. I still have strong wrists but those locks defeat me.

Eventually, I used a knife to cut it off and replaced it with the cap from a Diet coke plastic bottle.

 

[Handley_Page]

.

.

are a real pain. I may be old. I still have strong wrists but those locks defeat me.

Eventually, I used a knife to cut it off and replaced it with the cap from a Diet coke plastic bottle.

What a bloody good idea, Ogg. Thanks for the tip!

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I keep a pair of channel-lock pliers in my kitchen just for such indignities.

 

[LdyHoneybee]

I think i am too new to know you, but i am a two time cancer survivor! Go get ‘em!

 

[KeithD]

Been back to normal for a couple of days but high pollen counts have been giving me mild hayfever. I take anti-histamines sometimes, and a basic cough medicine when my throat gets dry.

BUT - childproofing tops on the cough medicine bottles are a real pain. I may be old. I still have strong wrists but those locks defeat me.

Eventually, I used a knife to cut it off and replaced it with the cap from a Diet coke plastic bottle.

I keep bottles of pills that have convenient-open caps and transfer pills received in "kid-proof" bottles to them. There are no kids in this house now.

 

[oggbashan]

I keep bottles of pills that have convenient-open caps and transfer pills received in "kid-proof" bottles to them. There are no kids in this house now.

Rarely I have resorted to drastic measures such as cutting off the top with a machete. Very satisfying!

 

[AloneTooLong]

I only have to ask the pharmacist to give me non-childproof tops. They add that info to my account and that takes care of that.

 

[MetalRabbit51]

I was emailed the rest of my CT scan taken just after my second chemo session. I have just had session five of six.

The cancer had reduced by about 40%. My head and brain are clear.

Except for my long-standing gall stones - no change - my lower parts are 'unremarkable'.

My spine? Evidence of long-standing ankylosing spondylitis - but no change. A fractured T7 vertebra was first noticed in 2019 when it was 'old' and has not changed.

One more chemo session to go in a fortnight's time and then another CT scan.

Great to hear of the cancer reduction. May it continue to shrink! And my very best to you in your health struggles. I admire your courage in the face of all this. There's no better response, really.
I was wondering, since they have found gallstones, why not have the gallbladder taken out? Perhaps other issues preclude this. My experience with this was my only two trips into the ER for pancreatitis. They first seemed to think it was caused by alcohol consumption (I'm just a light social drinker all my life; liver is fine). So I agreed, no more alcohol. For five years. Second attack sent me back to the ER last fall. On the third day they ran an MRI. Found tons of gallstones. Artifacts from the gallbladder precipitated each of these ER episodes. Apparently gallstone issues can inflame the pancreas, which is the medically necessary organ. When they saw the stones, surgery was scheduled a few hours later. Took it out posthaste. No more pancreas issues, and I'm back to having a beer now and then. No ill effects.

 

[oggbashan]

Many people die with gallstones - not OF gallstones.

My gallstones haven't changed in ten years. Unless and until they become a problem, they are best left alone.

The only thing I notice is if I roll over in the dead of night? They rattle!

 

[sirhugs]

I only have to ask the pharmacist to give me non-childproof tops. They add that info to my account and that takes care of that.

But then what do you use the machete for? They can get up to no good if left unattended: the description line for my Elysium Island Adventures "is that machete loaded?". an odd story that got a very mixed reception, but I was pleased with it because I wrote it in response to a three word challenge that was truly challenging, so I decided to just have some fun with it. I forget the other two, but machete was definitely the third word. At least no tentacle monsters were harmed in the writing of the story.

As Ogg points out, machetes can be very satisfying.