Sunday 25 September 2011

Me Not Healthy: The Lung Cysts (Part 2)

If you're just joining us head back here to read part 1.

To clarify a few things this surgery actually happened a few months ago and I'm trying my best to recall it. Painkillers seem to have a way with messing with your memory, or maybe it's the pain that they don't block out that causes you to forget. Either way, that entire week was kind of fuzzy.

What I do remember was that my surgery was scheduled 4 days after the discussion I had with the doctor. He's one of the few specialists who are able to do the surgery and thus managed to work little things in the system for me. I was pretty lucky.

It was on a Saturday, scheduled for 11AM and my parents accompany me to Emergency, file out forms and wait for me to be wheeled off to the operating room. They tell me that 3 incisions will be made; 1 under the arm for a camera to be inserted (to see the cysts), 1 on the side of my chest for a tube to suck out blood and air, and 1 in the front of my chest for cyst removal.

They also tell me that this is a MASS improvement over the original surgery. They used to cut down the back of an individual, basically peel him open and then remove the cysts that way. My Aunt's friend's son had the old operation, he has a huge scar apparently.


Imagine this to be someone's back and that's how they used to do it.

I was put out for two hours and when I wake up I have a transparent tube sticking out of the side of me. I can see blood dripping through as it transfers to a plastic box attached to the tube. For the rest of my time at the hospital the box goes where I go. Its purpose is to be hooked up to a suction machine to help suck out any remaining blood and stuff from the operation and to store said fluids.

I share a room with a friendly old man who has cancer. I can't remember what kind of cancer but it prevents him from eating so he gets nutrients from other sources. My parents have brought me books to keep me occupied and my girlfriend Theresa has brought flowers. I didn't look at either very much because my hospital experience consisted mostly of me sleeping, only waking up to eat (and fall asleep mid-bite), interact with visitors (and fall asleep mid-speech), go for check-ups, or take painkillers.

I'm guessing this is what it's like to live in a Senior's home.

Did I mention how much I loved the painkillers? They helped me sleep, they took away the pain in my chest and I felt so relaxed afterwards. They started me off with Tylenol-3's. I've had them before and they were awesome. However, my body is kind of weird. And soon the Tylenol-3's stopped working after a day or two.

I'm guessing it's because my body gains a tolerance to things very quickly. They upgrade me to morphine which is amazing and I love it. I don't care that they're stabbing me in the arm every few hours and now my arm is all bruised and sore. I sleep like a baby, I can breathe, and I asked for it as often as possible.

But to my dismay the morphine suddenly stopped working. They decided to try something inbetween morphine and Tylenol 3 and gave me Oxycontin. It sort of worked but it never gave me the same feeling as the morphine did. And who knows how long it would take until my body no longer was affected by the Oxycontin.

I'm an addict and I don't care!

Fortunately the x-rays showed that I was healing just fine. The tube was removed, the hole where the tube used to be was patched up and I was sent home. They told me there was a 95% chance that they got all the cysts and my lungs would be fine from then on.

And I'll conclude this little arc in my next post. Comments and critique is appreciated as always.

70 comments:

  1. Hopefully there won't be some cruel little twist in the third post. At least, by the looks of things, everything seems to be getting better.

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  2. Good thing you didn't get nightmares from the morphine, they can be really brutal. And it sounds like the surgery was brutal enough all by itself.

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  3. Oh wow, that sounds awful. I don't envy you a bit. Ok perhaps the painkillers part, but that's about it. Glad you are healing (or already healed) just fine.

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  4. sounds like it was quite the adventure. and yeah, painkillers can be quite interesting.

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  5. Well, damn, just a few months ago? I wish I could have fuzzy memories of things I didn't like. I always remember the worst parts the best.

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  6. Been very busy with schooling stuffs this weeks (mid term exams are coming) so I cannot visit your blog as frequently as I used to be able. Sorry to know that you are not well, hope everything will be fine soon.

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  7. You had to be a macho man to tolerate the pain some decades ago D:

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  8. It surely must suck to live in a senior's home. :/

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  9. Yeah, Morphine is practically the same thing as heroin. There's a reason people become junkies.

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  10. Oh god even the improved surgery sounds terrible. At least you had your painkiller friends!

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  11. The good news is that (almost) any major medical problem can be used to get women, you just need to spin it right.

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  12. I'm still scared as hell to undergo surgery so I avoid it at all cost. Those painkillers sound awesome though. Also, nice L4D reference there.

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  13. Terrifying but improving, used to work on the wards and witness peoples after effects to major surgery.

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  14. I had my appendix removed a while back. They also used the "new" method, using a camera instead of ripping me wide open.

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  15. I had those drainage tubes stuck in me when I had a bad surgery of appendix. Rather horrid.

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  16. Okay, I AM convinced. You are a frail sickly being and you need to eat turtle claws and go for fifty sessions of acupuncture or you're going to die before you have produced a child for your mother.

    I'm sorry you're sick though. It must be terrible.

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  17. I wish I could get pumped full of morphine. Y'know, as long as I didn't have to get cysts that require surgery first.

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  18. Interesting post, it's cool to see how someone lives through that/thinks of it. I liked the first post too :).

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  19. hope you're feeling better bro

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  20. Critiques? Is this a story or did this happen to you in real life.

    Either way, it's cool.

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  21. Hope you're feeling better.

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  22. my friend a cysts too and he's worried :(

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  23. Painkillers are awesome
    PILLS HERE

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  24. Ouch! Hope you are feeling much better now...

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  25. That's a lot of crap to go through shit man!

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  26. Wow, even this improved version seemed like a major surgery. Can't even imagine what the old procedure was like.

    Glad to hear it seemed like the operation went well (as of this post).

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  27. After my surgery, I kept asking for painkillers just for kicks, but i started to get nauseous and they started giving me vicodine instead -_-

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  28. We're sincerely glad to hear that all went well. We hope you have a speedy recovery! And remember, never take any shit off your roommate, even if he is an old guy. The first rule is to establish respect and protect your rep. Wait, that's prison...

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  29. same here, just instead of a physical whatever im just lacking food...damnit some fill my fridge

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  30. hope you have a full recovery!

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  31. Glad the surgery seemed to go good. Hope all continues to go well. And, those painkillers can be addicting. Sucks when you have a high tolerance and they quit working tho.

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  32. i have had an addiction to painkillers... but i don't think its an addiction if you like it ;-)

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  33. never tried morphine before but heard it's great.

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  34. Wow, what a story. You did pick the right decision but any surgery sucks. I have not had one really (do wisdom teeth count) but I have had cameras shoved down my throat and, well, two more private areas.....not fun I know.

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  35. painkillers are nice!! DEF glad im healthy <3

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  36. the painkillers are a slippery slope, careful! i have a lot of friends who have gone down dark roads becoming obsessed with them. it eventually leads to heroine :(

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  37. Oxycontin? There's hormone with the same (or very similar name)..it basically makes you satisfied. Well, glad ur ok now :)

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  38. This is why I don't like hospitals. I don't really like the idea of waking up with a tube sticking out of me, if that happened I'd be on the pain pills and sleeping pretty much 25/7. That was a typo and then I left it as it was.

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  39. It's funny how you forgot what kind of cancer your roomate had, but you remembered all the painkiller names.

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  40. A dog bit off my finger; then it was reattached. That sounds like a cake walk compared to this. Yikers!

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  41. good news dude :) good luck for your treatments!

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  42. Wow... thrilling read. Especially the part about the painkillers was really... scary, actually.

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  43. My thoughts are with you...... as for the opening of the can of tuna fish style operation..... that would have been awful.... then delicious cause tuna fish makes for a good sandwich..... but then back to awful!

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  44. I hope you're feeling better. Relax and take it easy:)

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  45. Come on man, we need part 3. We know you survived, but we still wanna know.

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  46. glad to hear things are looking up?

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  47. Hope you stay well dude!
    I'm allergic to morphine.. I found out after my operation D;

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  48. Interview will be published in about ...14 hours hahaha just letting you know :P

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  49. 14:00 (GMT -3:00) -Buenos Aires time-

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  50. i never had any surgery, but i did have my share of pills :P morphine would be interesting though i guess.

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  51. Forgive me, I had trouble reading past the words "blood" and "lung cysts".

    Curious that they gave you oxytocin of all things, considering it is more of a "bonding" hormone rather than an endorphin...

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  52. Yikes...I'm glad you didn't have to have the original version of the surgery, but chest tubes are still painful. Such a brutal surgery, but hopefully well worth it. Sending you good health wishes~~~~

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  53. dude, i too go to college.. following out of interest..

    be SURE to check out my blog:)

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  54. I'm really squeamish about this kind of thing. I don't know if I could handle it if something like that were to happen to me. I'm glad you're healing well.

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  55. Wow, that must have been rough, but glad to hear that you are recovering well!

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  56. I haven't ever had to have a surgery. I really don't care for hospitals that much anyway so I'm pretty happy about that. Pain killers are amazing at times.

    erica

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  57. DAMN. Only good thing about that are painkillers lol.

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