Category: surgery

Another Surgery

Tony T5 Comments

IMG_0566Well, tomorrow morning I am having surgery on my left hand, another carpal tunnel repair. I had the right hand done last December. Right now my right wrist really hurts. I’m not sure what is causing it. I had thought it was driving the school bus. But nearly a month and a half on vacation, it still hurts. Maybe is the motorcycle riding. But I’m not giving that up.

I am still having issues eating right. I am trying to limit my carb intake. My doctor wants me to eat more proteins. I still try to consume more fats (the healthy stuff). What can I say? The high fat, low carb thing was working.

On a positive note, the results of my blood work looked better they have in the past. I still have some work to do yet. Of course, I will continue to fight. I won’t ever give up. Sometimes I just have to give it a break.

So, the surgery on the left hand should go off without a hitch and hopefully heal as well as the right hand did. The Doc said he believes the pain in my wrist could be tendonitis. Whatever it is, it hurts.

Well, I’m off to bed.

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Doctors, Doctors, Doctors

Tony T2 Comments

Yesterday I had a CT Scan with a contrasting agent.  Doctors are trying to figure out why I am having pain in my left ear with no infection. The pain has been excruciating. Sometimes I can’t close my teeth together. My ears ring really loudly.

Today however, I am headed to the hospital with my daughter, who is having surgery on her right hand. She got hit with the college level fast pitch of a softball one too many times last season in the same exact spot. Her wrist has been swollen most of summer so far. She has been in pain since the last time she was hit back in April.

The doctors seemed to think it would heal on its own eventually. But Kat wanted it taken care of through surgery. I hope that it is an issue that can be solved surgically.

Personally, I hate surgery. For me it has never worked out the way it should. My lower back surgery, though deemed a success by the surgeon who performed it, has caused me nothing  but pain since 2010. I had surgery on my neck two summer ago but my neck still hurts, though I think the pain I now feel is a new issue. I had carpal tunnel repair this past December on my right hand and my wrist still hurts.

So, I’m not a fan of surgery. Perhaps it will be different for my daughter. She is younger and stronger. And did I mention she is younger and stronger? Yea. Hopefully, she won’t be out of commission too far into the next school year, and will be ready for softball season. That is what she is shooting for.

Report on my Dad

Tony TLeave a comment

daddyI am back home in South Carolina now. For the past two weeks, I had been in Texas visiting my Father, who has been ill. I went there because when I heard about his condition it scared me. I lost my mom in 2013 and I never had the chance to tell her how much she meant to me. I wasn’t about to miss that chance with my dad.

I was there to assess what his health actually was. It was not as dire as it could have been, or as bad as my imagined scenario. And now that he is getting the proper help he will be even better. I left him in good hands with my brother and two sisters and his nieces and nephews; all of whom care about and love him very much.

achalasiaHis issue was related to not being able to eat. His diagnosis is a condition called, Achalasia.

Achalasia is a rare disorder of the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. It is characterized by enlargement of the esophagus, impaired ability to push food down toward the stomach (peristalsis), and failure of the ring-shaped muscle at the bottom of the esophagus, the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), to relax. It is the contraction and relaxation of the sphincter that moves food through the tube (http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/achalasia).

For the past two weeks my dad has been on a clear liquids diet; chicken and beef broth, protein shakes, juice, and water. He is very tired of it. He has lost a lot of weight. He is being scheduled for surgery to improve the condition. The goal is to dilate the ring-shaped muscle at the bottom of the esophagus, or lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which will hopefully enable him to eat more solid food again.

Coughing Man - ArrowsNow I was adopted, and I don’t think this condition is one that is hereditary. I think anyone can get it. I have already had problems with a hiatal hernia and GERD. I have taken medications for years to reduce acid reflux. I now control it by not over eating, and not eating certain types of foods. You’re probably thinking I avoid spicy foods, but you’d be wrong. It is high carb foods that are the real problem. My digestive system does not appreciate high carb foods. I get gassy, painful digestive movements, and the worst smelling waste possible in a human. Whereas, when I eat high-fat carb and high fat diet digestion is very easy, less gassy, and therefore painless, and waste is not so smelly.

When I first encountered the problem of gerd/hiatal hernia I was in my 30’s. I ate a lot (I mean a lot) of high carb foods. I was literally stuffing myself beyond my stomach’s capacity. I also ate very fast. Maybe its a military thing. My father was in the military and also eats a lot (more than he should), and he eats very fast. I think the way we eat has a lot to do with digestive conditions we may develop later in life.

I am glad my father is getting the help he needs. I hope he will slow down and eat better foods. I have, and I feel 100% better when I really stick to low carb and high fat, or Keto. This is not where I was intending to go with this post. I guess it was on my mind more so since my dad’s recent stomach issues. Well I guess I will end this here.

Take care yourself and your digestive system. It is very important in the long run.

Follow up with my Surgeon

Tony T2 Comments

Since my surgery I have had a really hard time staying on track. I have been eating sugars for a couple of days after dinner; cookies, ice cream, caramel popcorn. I don’t know what has happened.

Maybe I’m bored. I am in recovery from this surgery, which is proving to be quite painful. For the past couple of days I have had a migraine headache.

I thought maybe my high blood pressure was causing the headache, but now I’m beginning to think the pain is cause the rise in blood pressure.

During this initial recovery period I’m supposed to be taking it easy; not supposed to lift anything weighing more than 10 pounds. This whole thing just seems to have knocked me off my game. My mind is back to eating out of Borden.

The total time for the fusion to heal is supposed to be about a year. I won’t be released to exercise or go to the gym until I see the surgeon on July 5th. He’ll x-ray my neck to see if things a re still in place, and healing correctly. I hope the pain starts to decrease soon.

Surgery Update

Tony TLeave a comment

I am in recovery. My surgery went well but I have a really sore throat. It will be that way for a few days I suppose.

They gave me good pain medication when I first woke up, Percocet. They have now switched to Neurontin which is non-addictive, and not as strong. So it takes a little longer to work, but it does.

Dr. Highsmith seems to think the surgery went very well and that I should have some relief from my neck pain. He also said that my grip was very much stronger than it was before, since the nerve is no longer being pinched.

Once I am healed I should be able to go back to lifting heavier weight at the gym.
Overall I think it went much better than my lower back surgery in 2010. And I think it will heal more quickly.

I have not eaten for nearly 33 hours. And though I am not hungry at the moment, I suspect in about an hour or so I will be extremely hungry, because they have stopped my IV, and I am up and about.

If I don’t eat here at the hospital before being discharged this morning, I will most certainly stop and waffle house and have some scrambled eggs and sausage. That is, if I can swallow it.