resection

You will probably not gross me out nor shake me up anymore than I already am. It seems almost everyone I talk to including the staff at the hospital is perhaps more concerned about the delivery of the message than the message itself. Kind of like the first couple of times I remember my folks talking to me about sex. A lot is still left to the imagination.

We ARE close in age. From what I can tell though, "old man's disease" is attacking Americans at an earlier and earlier age no doubt the result of our American diet.

My first bout arose after a long flight four years ago. I went from Houston to Hawaii. Prior to that event, like you, I pretty much just ate crap, no exercise, never listened to grown ups.

In the years between, my wife has done a good job of providing great meals. I don't always eat breakfast, sometimes don't eat lunch, and sometimes eat crap for lunch when I do, but mostly I am good. Dinners are always healthy. We eat as a family. I have a boy (4) and a girl (7). I really have a great wife.

My cholesterol was higher than a giraffe’s butt last year. The wife brought it down so much that I came off of the Lipator on December 31, 2003. The doctors said it was "impossible" for me to get off of the drugs. My panels indicated my genetic makeup was probably too whacky. She got me there with a pretty strict diet over a four month period.

One week later, January 6, 2004, I was in the hospital with diverticulitis. Lost 20 lbs. Got out, got scoped, went on the Discovery Health Challenge, working out three times a week. Boom, I get two more bouts in the midst of the healthiest living in my life.

For about six years, I have had hematuria (blood in the urine). It is microscopic, only present sometimes, and otherwise asymptomatic. The doctors cannot figure out why. They scoped my bladder last summer ... nothing.

If the doctors talked to my mother, she would say it is because I do not drink enough water. I think she is right. Maybe related to the diverticulosis too.

Back to the cystoscopy (bladder scope). I recommend you never, never get that done in a doctor's office. Wow, that was the most painful experience I ever went through. I also know NOW that your risks are about 10 times greater when performed in a doctor's office. Go to a special facility or hospital if you can. Otherwise you can expect to bite on a rope and suck it up for about ten to twenty minutes of pure hell.

I learned THAT when I got the colo-scope. The staff there could not believe I went “natural” on the bladder scope. They eased me in. After my bladder experience, I really was fretting pretty good. I had to wait about a month after I got out of the hospital before the doctor wanted to perform it. I never thought about not having it done (they needed cancer biopsies), but it was stressful waiting.

As it turned out, it was a great experience. The staff was great, AND, they hooked me up with pain meds and with Verset (a real date rape drug). Not only was I NOT uncomfortable, I don't remember the event. I just went down with a nice warm buzz and came back the same way. I had a few flash backs over the next two weeks of 10 second pieces of conversations in the procedure room, but it is still blurred.

For any macho-man in Houston that can't handle the thought, I can point him to the right facility.

Anyway, I have read about dumping syndrome, and people unable to tolerate meat and fresh veggies (I love veggies) after the resection for years or forever as the case may be. That is on my mind. Only one person I came across defined his new life as “miserable”. And, I think he is in big trouble physically. He has lost a 1/3 of his body weight, can’t work etc. Part of his problem is that he refuses to accept the colostomy. I am afraid he may be on his way out if they cannot stabilize him.

Intuitively, I think they would not perform resections for benign diseases if they resulted in a really low quality of life. So, I think my post-operative experience will be “manageable”. There are many supportive people like you, who have crossed the river, on this board that are helping others.

Like virtually everyone else on this board, I believe I will adapt at some point. I was just wondering about any changes in the quality of life. That way, I can go into denial sooner.

Just running over to see if someone has replied is very therapeutic. It is helping run the clock out before the big day.

I don't feel right telling my wife everything on my mind. She has enough to worry about. I have told everyone to skip coming to the hospital. The procedure itself is expected to take 2 to 3 hours. With prep and recovery, I can only imagine how horrible the waiting will be on the loved ones. That is everyone except my wife. She is my agent. So she has to be there and alert in case of any "decisions" that need to be made from colostomy to whatever.

If I could spare her this trip, I would.