Proximal abdominal wall reconstruction, with inserted 6" x 12" mesh, to repair multiple (Swiss cheese) hernias after recovery from small and large bowel resection due to septic peritonitis and bowel perforation.... all while receiving 7 weeks of adjuvant radiation for smooth muscle sarcoma resection of aggressive tumor in my arm... 4 years ago and I'm still here
Expect to fight with insurance
wanna see some pictures? (probably not!)
Whew!!
Expect to fight with insurance
wanna see some pictures? (probably not!)
Whew!!
Stainless bolt-on clavicle, 2015, from a bike crash. I was 31 at the time so I'm here to break the trend early. 
Tips and advice is that once it's screwed together, it's pretty strong, so use it about as much as you can tolerate so you don't lose strength and range of motion. Depends on the joint/bone of course, but I asked what my limitations were to activity, ignoring pain.
Tips and advice is that once it's screwed together, it's pretty strong, so use it about as much as you can tolerate so you don't lose strength and range of motion. Depends on the joint/bone of course, but I asked what my limitations were to activity, ignoring pain.
3rd inguinal hernia repair 19 months ago. Way more black and blue this time than either previous.
tip #1: If the nausea/pain is mild and infrequent -- doesn't ruin you life -- consider living with it. The surgeon always thinks their work is more perfect than it will turn out to be. I was lucky enough to go many OK years with the first one -- not so lucky between two of the other repairs.
tip #2: Don't 'go off' on the surgeon -- she/he controls the oxy, and it WILL matter to you -- maybe not the first few days, but after a week or so ..
auplater -- Hope you're a bunch better by now. How much better STILL would you be without the insurance fight(s)?
tip #1: If the nausea/pain is mild and infrequent -- doesn't ruin you life -- consider living with it. The surgeon always thinks their work is more perfect than it will turn out to be. I was lucky enough to go many OK years with the first one -- not so lucky between two of the other repairs.
tip #2: Don't 'go off' on the surgeon -- she/he controls the oxy, and it WILL matter to you -- maybe not the first few days, but after a week or so ..
auplater --
Hope you're a bunch better by now. How much better STILL would you be without the insurance fight(s)?
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Arthroscopic surgery of the right shoulder for rotatory cup injury last year.
Next up is vein surgery, and then right knee orthroscopic surgery for meniscus tear and ligament tear of the right knee if the steroid injections don't fix it.
Fortunately at 68 years old, my bones are pretty strong still.
My estranged wife fell off a ladder and had a Schatzker V plateau fracture of the right Tib a little over a month ago. She is in a wheel chair for about 12 weeks as she has osteoporosis.
Next up is vein surgery, and then right knee orthroscopic surgery for meniscus tear and ligament tear of the right knee if the steroid injections don't fix it.
Fortunately at 68 years old, my bones are pretty strong still.
My estranged wife fell off a ladder and had a Schatzker V plateau fracture of the right Tib a little over a month ago. She is in a wheel chair for about 12 weeks as she has osteoporosis.
Oh, forgot to mention my full hip replacement due to the quackery of a surgeon in a teaching hospital. I needed this 8 months after initial surgery to put me back together after an auto accident. If I was one of those people who hover over their body on the operating table I'm sure I would've seen a bunch of giggling students poking and prodding me. Worst decision you could make is to enter one of those torture chambers. I never should have needed a hip replacement had I been put together properly in the first place...bent screws...wrongly positioned plates. There was an exposed screw going across my hip socket that the end of my femur was grinding on for 6 months before it was finally discovered by a competent orthopaedic surgeon, the initial surgeon denying anything was wrong the whole time.
We used to have two competing medical systems in the local area. The primary (biggest) company managed to stop the second system from expanding.
Unfortunately the second medical company apply for a certificate of need for beds in the region, and was denied by the TN board after having purchased land and developing an implementation plan.
Within a year, the first company in the region received the approval for a certificate of need for additional beds.
Eventually the two systems "merged" (system 2 was going bankrupt and got bought out by system 2).
We used to have four level 1 trauma centers within 60 miles of where I live.
Under the approved plan, all but one will be eliminated (the local one remaining).
This seems to me to be a reduction in quality of health care.
Unfortunately the second medical company apply for a certificate of need for beds in the region, and was denied by the TN board after having purchased land and developing an implementation plan.
Within a year, the first company in the region received the approval for a certificate of need for additional beds.
Eventually the two systems "merged" (system 2 was going bankrupt and got bought out by system 2).
We used to have four level 1 trauma centers within 60 miles of where I live.
Under the approved plan, all but one will be eliminated (the local one remaining).
This seems to me to be a reduction in quality of health care.
I had a rear molar removed two days ago.
Anesthetic gel was applied to the gum and then anesthetic injected around the tooth, after 5 min wait the dentist used a tool looking like a pocket screwdriver with the end bent 30*, freed the tooth all around and then popped it out, no pain whatsoever during the whole procedure.
After an hour or so as the anesthetics wore off a bit of discomfort but nothing major and will continue until the gum heals over.
What is blindingly and breathtakingly painful is healing from a crushed (now wedge shaped) L3 vertebra since about five weeks ago.
Gladly surgery is not required for this type of injury, I am wearing a supporting corset that helps to some extent but doing anything like lying down, walking, standing, sitting, showering, coughing, laughing, sneezing hurts like hell, any wrong move causes front and rear abdominal muscles to spasm hard and that then causes the injury site to really hurt.
I normally and fastidiously do not take any pharmaceuticals (not even Aspirin or Paracetamol) but I have relented for the duration and have been taking slow release Tramadol (painkiller) and Temazepam (as anti-spasmodic) before bed in order to get some better quality sleep.
I have been through this exact injury (L1 vertebra) 15 years ago so I am familiar with the whole pain/healing process, there is light at the end of the tunnel, in the mean time ya just gotta 'suck it up'.
The longer term outcome is that I need to be conscious of my posture in order to set good new geometry as cartilages reform shapes and tendons and position sensing set to a new neutral.
The L1 vertebra injury healed perfectly and my back has been good as gold until now, hopefully this L3 heals well and I will be relatively unaffected.......hopefully.
20 years ago a friend mentioned that since stopping taking Panadol (Paracetamol) he never gets headaches, I was an occasional (hangovers) user of Paracetamol but I decided to do the same, I quit Panadol whatsoever and after a few months I stopped getting headaches.
To this day I don't get random headaches and I don't get hangover headaches regardless of whatever or how much I drink on occasion.
This is a data sample of two of course but food for thought, perhaps some of you can benefit from this information.
I have read dire warnings that Ibuprofen is to be avoided also, and that Turmeric is a useful substitute.
Auplater, my heart goes out to you, I can't imagine the hell you have been through and I'm glad you are around, I enjoy your posts that I have read and I have learned interesting things from you.
Discopete, my heart goes out to you also, it is not fair when this kind of 'professional arrogance' causes such harm and lasting injury and continual reminder.
This might be good time also to appeal to some here that they might like to consider the complete plight of their fellow forum members and in keeping this in mind understand the perfectly easily avoidable and deliberate harm caused when posting insulting derogatory and disrespectful responses which actually amounts to tribal bullying and is indeed no different to workplace bullying or schoolyard bullying.
There is already far too much harm in this world, I live happily by the commandments, the first of which is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" or the Mosaic law extension “Whatever is hurtful to you, do not do to any other person.”...there is nothing difficult about this, same as always being truthful.
As extension to this is my 'unusual' energy filtering research which is toward the greater good for all, and that means benefiting my children and your children into the long term future, better audio for all is but one offshoot.
Peace and love, Dan.
Anesthetic gel was applied to the gum and then anesthetic injected around the tooth, after 5 min wait the dentist used a tool looking like a pocket screwdriver with the end bent 30*, freed the tooth all around and then popped it out, no pain whatsoever during the whole procedure.
After an hour or so as the anesthetics wore off a bit of discomfort but nothing major and will continue until the gum heals over.
What is blindingly and breathtakingly painful is healing from a crushed (now wedge shaped) L3 vertebra since about five weeks ago.
Gladly surgery is not required for this type of injury, I am wearing a supporting corset that helps to some extent but doing anything like lying down, walking, standing, sitting, showering, coughing, laughing, sneezing hurts like hell, any wrong move causes front and rear abdominal muscles to spasm hard and that then causes the injury site to really hurt.
I normally and fastidiously do not take any pharmaceuticals (not even Aspirin or Paracetamol) but I have relented for the duration and have been taking slow release Tramadol (painkiller) and Temazepam (as anti-spasmodic) before bed in order to get some better quality sleep.
I have been through this exact injury (L1 vertebra) 15 years ago so I am familiar with the whole pain/healing process, there is light at the end of the tunnel, in the mean time ya just gotta 'suck it up'.
The longer term outcome is that I need to be conscious of my posture in order to set good new geometry as cartilages reform shapes and tendons and position sensing set to a new neutral.
The L1 vertebra injury healed perfectly and my back has been good as gold until now, hopefully this L3 heals well and I will be relatively unaffected.......hopefully.
20 years ago a friend mentioned that since stopping taking Panadol (Paracetamol) he never gets headaches, I was an occasional (hangovers) user of Paracetamol but I decided to do the same, I quit Panadol whatsoever and after a few months I stopped getting headaches.
To this day I don't get random headaches and I don't get hangover headaches regardless of whatever or how much I drink on occasion.
This is a data sample of two of course but food for thought, perhaps some of you can benefit from this information.
I have read dire warnings that Ibuprofen is to be avoided also, and that Turmeric is a useful substitute.
Auplater, my heart goes out to you, I can't imagine the hell you have been through and I'm glad you are around, I enjoy your posts that I have read and I have learned interesting things from you.
Discopete, my heart goes out to you also, it is not fair when this kind of 'professional arrogance' causes such harm and lasting injury and continual reminder.
This might be good time also to appeal to some here that they might like to consider the complete plight of their fellow forum members and in keeping this in mind understand the perfectly easily avoidable and deliberate harm caused when posting insulting derogatory and disrespectful responses which actually amounts to tribal bullying and is indeed no different to workplace bullying or schoolyard bullying.
There is already far too much harm in this world, I live happily by the commandments, the first of which is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" or the Mosaic law extension “Whatever is hurtful to you, do not do to any other person.”...there is nothing difficult about this, same as always being truthful.
As extension to this is my 'unusual' energy filtering research which is toward the greater good for all, and that means benefiting my children and your children into the long term future, better audio for all is but one offshoot.
Peace and love, Dan.
I had cataracts in both eyes at 50, had to be corrected after I couldn't pass the eye exam to renew my driving license. My optometrist had seen them, but didn't bother to tell me about them! The cataract surgeries then precipitated retinal detachments in both eyes, which were successfully reattached. Then more damage, scar tissue forming on my left macula that caused it to "pucker" and required invasive surgery to correct. Lucky I can still see.
Then at 54, two angiograms after a heart attack. Lucky to be alive, luckier to not have lost any heart muscle.
Most recent was an umbilical hernia repair last year (age 60).
I hope I'm done for a while.
I had a radical nephrectomy (kidney removal and other unnecssary bits removed) almost 8 years ago to the day. At the 5 year mark, I was and still am in remission. One month later my dermatologist removed a small chunk of my neck. I was seeing the dermatologist for a number of years for rosacea. He said the rosacea was looking good but there was some skin cancer on my neck. He sliced, diced and cauterized while I was there. Sometimes you just cant win. He said the type of skin cancer I have wont kill me. Bascel Cell.
Had basil cel melanoma removed twice. The one from my face was interesting. A six inch scar along the nose starting about a half inch from the eye. They didnt want to remove too much so they would cut, then send me to the waiting room while they biopsied the margins. Did this 3 times over about 3 hours, all under local anesthetic. You can hardley see the scar. Some plastic surgeons are actually doing usefull work. They were fantastic.
How about we discuss DIY surgery?
Intentional or otherwise?? Ought to be some real horror stories there
Awww thanx Cal. Not a race I wanted to be in.
On a lighter note: Here's my current system, mostly used for streaming to the 65" LG OLED, but for those few people I meet locally still interested in audio, killer sound in 7.1 format with 4 x 12" sub-woofers strategically arrayed around the room (one of them is the 6' sonotube behind the left Frankinfinty/BG speaker)
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Sorry I'm being pedantic, but this runs peripheral my real job: it's basal cell carcinoma. I know it could just be a phone thing. Glad you guys are okay, keep an eye on your skin, as we folks up north are liable to going from pasty white to skin burn. (I'm in the PNW and we have some of the highest incidences of skin cancer in the US)
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