Medical Status of Boardmembers

[Ball Hopper]

Progress is continuing, even if at the usual slow rate.

Had a good Christmas and New Year.  Ate enough, drank nothing and had a good time with the family.  Getting the right balance of meal times and frequency/timing of meds is the ongoing battle - everyone is different and I have to keep trying until I find the magic combination that will allow me to sleep most of the night at least.

Bathroom issues are improving though, with daily visits now down to single digits.  Of course, any stepping out of line with diet will cause grief, so I've been fairly good in that area.  The last visit with the medical team got me permission to step up from the very bland foods to something near-normal, with some exceptions.  With the intent of putting a bit more aggression toward the intestine, I was allowed to have crispy foods, but nothing deep fried yet for a few more weeks.  Add some stronger seasoning will be the path forward for now before eventually getting to a mild curry or equivalent.  That might take weeks or a few months, nobody knows.

Vegetables still not allowed unless mashed, as the intestine wouldn't be able to handle the hard items like carrots, even if boiled completely.  I thought that was odd until I found out how tough it is to mash those boiled carrots - not as easy as I thought.  Although I was allowed to step up to Chinese food, I chose not to do that until this coming week, as overstepping the mark will have a bathroom price to pay and I'll wait till this coming week to venture up the food spice chain. Some General Chicken midweek is the plan, with plain white rice.  Avoid stir fry stuff though, as the large chunks of veg won't be fully cooked.  For once, the Irish way of boiling the heck out of everything in the veg arena will suit me for a while.  Porridge is back on the menu too and I really enjoy it.  Having multiple smaller meals during the day is the way to go, with nothing within hours of bedtime.

I'll probably overstep the mark initially on some foods, but I'll have more tolerance the following week when I try those same foods again.  Eventually I'll build up said tolerance to back to near normal and away I go.  I figure the next two months will tell a lot.  Don't think I'll ever get to super spicy stuff, but I'm ok with that too.  Had a glass of wine before Christmas as a trial run - did not work out well for me, so no alcohol until March at the earliest.  Now that I know the repercussions of a glass, it is surprisingly easy to forego.

Everything else is going very well - the ileostomy site has healed full from the inside out with no sign or trace of any infection along the way.  I am eating more these days, after I had to force myself to eat the portions before Christmas.  I never thought it would be so hard to finish a small plate of meat and potatoes as it was when I just wasn't hungry at any time of the day.  Weight is just a small bit over my target, which is fine.  It means I tolerated the surgery and recovery pretty well. 

So I just have to behave myself when it comes to foods I like/want for a while.  Introducing them slowly in small quantities and building up tolerance is the key.  If I don't do that, the intestines may never come to accept such foods and I'll be stuck on the bland diet forever and any small deviation will have bathroom consequences.  The goal is to get back to normal by March, but any time up to early summer will be ok too.

I'll update again when I get closer to March, and, as always, sincere thanks for the support. 

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Good man BH best wishes for the year ahead

[grounded]

That all sounds like great progress BH. Im over the moon for you.

[Jeepers Creepers]

Happy new year BH. Progress sounds good!

[Ball Hopper]

The big news to open with this time is the latest full-body CT scan showed no cancer, or anything resembling it. 


Needless to say, this is great news.  I will have scans every 6 months until 5 years after my surgery – August 2025 – but I'm off to a great start.  Next scan in August will be 2 years cancer-free, which puts me at 40% of the journey to final discharge already!

Bathroom issues have improved greatly as well...although still more frequent than "normal".  I still have the odd night where I'm up more than twice, but such nights are getting further apart – I'm currently getting a full night's sleep in 9 out of every 10 nights and looking forward to getting it to 19 out of 20 and then 30 out of 31, meaning only one night a month causing bother.  I still don't leave the house for too long at any one time, but I'm usually good for a few hours without any sense of panic setting in.  I'm liable to need a bathroom twice in 20 minutes, so even going shopping requires a lot of thought and a good sense of confidence in the immediate future. My new "normal" will be with me in a few weeks/months and it looks like it will be easily managed and tolerated.

Getting the proper balance of medicaments and food was a challenge, but things are fairly well under control now and I'm back to nearly normal diet – managing all the vegetables quite well and some of the spicier foods (at the low end of the spiciness scale) have been taken on board without any backlash.  The usual battery of blood tests showed only glucose outside of normal range, and that has even lowered as well.

I've even tolerated some white wine (the red won't be sampled for another few weeks at least) and it has been wonderful to be able to return to one my life's greatest treasures – sitting back and have a glass in the company of Mrs. BH. 

Although I have some time to being back at full health, I feel truly blessed in all the support I have experienced since diagnosis in November 2019.  That is especially true for the gaaboard posters – I recall reading this entire thread in hospital on one of my "low" days just after surgery and the lift I got was unbelievable.  All that is left to say now is a reminder to those who have not scheduled a colonoscopy and are either at risk from family history or are simply of the age where it is recommended – you can get yourself a good deal of comfort by getting it done soon.  Please schedule it.

Thanks again to one and all...I'll probably post again in May or thereabouts as I'm not expecting any news between now and then...again, best wishes to each and every one of you.

[Tyrdub]

That's great news BH, well done. I'm sure it the weight is lifting from your shoulders

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Fantastic stuff ☺

[Franko]

Brilliant news BH.

I think most GAAboard posters would agree that following your journey has given everyone else a lift also!

[Rois]

This is brilliant news to read. We've all gotten so much insight from your willingness to share the details. I agree fully with Franko, we definitely have gotten a lift.

[johnnycool]

Great stuff Ballhopper, be really proud of yourself for how you've faced up to this huge challenge in your life.

[Dougal Maguire]

Great news BH. Delighted for you.

[balladmaker]

Fantastic news BH, your posts here have been inspirational, your recommendation for a colonoscopy is not lost on me, thank you.

[grounded]

Great stuff BH. Brilliant news

[TwoUpTwoDown]

Genuinely got the goosebumps reading that BH. Good luck for everything and enjoy the grapes where possible!

[ziggy90]

That post made my day BH. The best of luck with your continued recovery.