Psoriasis pain

[RSteve]

Arrived for my surgery at 7:30 am, procedure was about 40 minutes, then two hour wait while the lab examined the tissue. All the cancer tissue was removed and I was stitched up. Doc overcut the cancerous area as a precaution, so there's quite a bit of stitching. Back in two weeks. I have to keep the leg elevated and a minimum of time on my feet. I am exhausted.

 

[Brewdude]

Hope they got it all and your recovery is a short one Steve.


Cheers,

RR

 

[ftrplt]

Healing blessings and kind thoughts sent your way!!!! Rest, heal, be well!!!!!!!!!! FTRPLT

 

[Zeno Marx]

and soon to rock on...

 

[RSteve]

and soon to rock on...

After the stitches are out. The "recovery sheet" with post surgery instructions says very specifically that full recovery should not be expected for a full year. That is a surprise because I'm usually a fast healer.

I chatted with the surgeon as he was slicing, but not dicing. He was a H.S. classmate of my daughter. Small world.

 

[Balisong]

Happy to hear it's all working out!

 

[Blackhorse]

I was very concerned when I saw your procedure was set ahead to April. That’s very atypical as they always want to get after CA ASAP. Then when I noted you were fit into the fast track I was greatly relieved. That’s exactly what they should have done. Sounds like you’re on your way to gittin’ ‘er done. Best regards for success.

 

[Sherlock]

Wishing you speedy recovery.

 

[Ranger107]

Best wishes Steve. Keep the feet up, have a drink, smoke a pipe and relax. You'll be well before you know it.

 

[Zeno Marx]

After the stitches are out. The "recovery sheet" with post surgery instructions says very specifically that full recovery should not be expected for a full year. That is a surprise because I'm usually a fast healer.

Athletes retire because their bodies can't heal and recover quick enough for the next competition, not because their skills and knowledge evaporate. It's the cruel trick of aging. You are at your highest in knowledge and experience, but your body can't repair in time. Sleep is the deal. We don't value sleep enough in our culture. It's when the body does it's best work and healing.

 

[RSteve]

The post surgical pain is quite "interesting." I take no painkillers. There is a certain baseline of pain that I expected, then without doing anything to exacerbate the situation, I'll get a short surge of indescribable discomfort. I think it may be payback for all the nasty crap I've done in my life.

 

[RSteve]

Sleep is the deal. We don't value sleep enough in our culture. It's when the body does it's best work and healing.

I believe that, but I'm a terrible sleeper. I don't think I've slept more than three hours consecutively in 25 years. I usually wake up every 90 minutes to two hours. Total sleep per night is rarely more than six hours. My older brother uses a C-pap and says his sleep pattern with the C-pap is the same as mine.

 

[RSteve]

Last night, I was up and down most of the night, and when I finally fell asleep and think it was a pretty sound sleep my phone rang at 6:10 am and, on the screen "SCAM LIKELY." I stopped the ringing and, thankfully, conked out immediately, but 10 minutes later, "SCAM...." again. I would power down my phone, but my daughters would be frightened if I didn't pick up and they'd drop whatever they're doing and rush to my house. Finally, later, I took a nap.

Friends are wonderful, but sometimes....LOL
About 5:00 yesterday afternoon, a very close friend phoned and said he had some soup for me. "Is it okay if I bring it over, now?" I said, "Sure." His reply, "Good, I'm in your driveway." I hobbled to the front door, where he was masked, bag in hand with the soup in a tupperware-like container. He handed it to me, wished me a speedy recovery and left.
The bag felt peculiarly cold. The soup was some sort of barley concoction that was frozen solid as rock. I know his wife to be an excellent cook. I was able to drop the block of frozen soup into a Pyrex container and heat it in the microwave. As soon as I tasted it, I had to laugh. Someone must have brought it to their house for a potluck dinner. It was watery and tasteless. I added some powdered chicken bouillon and instant oatmeal and popped it back into the microwave. It came out as a tasty porridge. My friend phoned me this morning. "Was the soup okay? Phyllis was not happy that I brought it to you. She didn't make it and was debating whether to pitch it." I told him that it was very good.

 

[RSteve]

It was two weeks ago that I had Mohs surgery. They removed all the cancer cells and stitched me up. Tomorrow, I'm scheduled to have the stitches removed. I'll be surprised if the surgeon decides there's been enough healing to remove the stitches. I've been following instructions to change the bandage daily and there's still some bleeding and swelling+ it hurts. I hope my tears don't rust my computer.

 

[RSteve]

I'm on a pretty common antibiotic, doxycycline, and applying an antibiotic salve to the incision area. The area is still quite sore, as expected. Doc put me on the meds, just in case of infection. The area is still "weeping" a bit and I'm doing my best to stay off my feet. If I'm "upright" for any length of time, the muscle area, where the cancer was removed swells, so I'm spending most of today not even bothering to get dressed.

 

[RSteve]

I seem to be healing pretty well; no pain unless I'm on my feet too long. Apparently, some of the carcinoma was beneath the skin. While I was in the waiting area previous to having the stitches removed, had a short conversation with a man who had the same procedure and was there for a 90 day follow-up. His skin cancer was on his scrotum. It made me feel quite lucky.

 

[Brewdude]

Hope your recovery goes according to plan Steve!


Cheers,

RR

 

[Sherlock]

It's good to hear. I hope you'll be on your feet the longest in no time.

 

[RSteve]

The bill for my skin cancer surgery arrived today. To be honest, I was nervous about what my out-of-pocket would be.
$6,343 for my surgery.
Thankfully, I have excellent medical insurance (opted out of Medicare) and my out of pocket cost was $280.43.
Breathing easy.

 

[urbino]

When it works the way it's supposed to, health insurance is an awesome thing.