FEATURED Morning Pops!

ColoCowboy said:
Good morning Pops and happy hump day to one and all.

@CouchCoach godspeed for a quick and complete recovery. Looking forward to your return from "Adios Gall Bladder Day".

We've had one set of grandkids (ages 10 and 11) for several days. So far, I have a strained shoulder from ziplining, a sore tail bone from the waterpark slide and a bruised and bloody elbow from a hiking mishap. Measured in terms of 'grandfather injuries', we're apparently having a good time.

I remember my father fiddling with his first cable TV remote control and my mother struggling to operate her smart phone. After spending 1.5 hours trying to hook up a Xbox (the instructions said 'turn Xbox on, download app, follow online instructions'), I handed the whole thing over to the 10 year old who had it running in about 15 minutes. Karma is a cruel mistress.
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Morning, Pops and peeps. I've been AWOL for a few days. I just don't post on any forums as much right now as I used too. Anyway, I wanted to drop in and say hello. Okay, let the "You've been gone?" posts commence.
 
Morning Pops and all y'all. Thanks for the concern and well wishes.

Well, couldn't just be a simple procedure, the surgeon took one look at me that morning and went into overdrive to get another ERCP done. They usually do gall bladder removals close behind to keep more stones from going into the bile duct but mine was 11 days apart. I kept telling people I was still sick but the wheels just wouldn't turn fast enough.

When they got into me, they didn't like what they saw and my surgeon, today while performing another procedure, used the highly medical term "your gall bladder was a mess", this isn't the same doc that asked me "how honest do you want me to be"? That is the ERCP guy who talked to my son before coming in to see me post op to tell me they were concerned about what they took out and have sent that to pathology and it will take 5-7 days to get the results. This is the same guy that was concerned I had the same cancer that took my wife and he went into overdrive a little himself and got a first pass pathology yesterday that showed no cancer but I won't get the all clear until the entire report is done. He said the pathologist told him "looks like you guys caught this just in time, it was definitely headed for cancer and this guy is really lucky".

Taking my messy gall bladder wasn't enough, that wasn't content in just being a mess itself, it had to mess with the bile duct and not just once. The surgeon put in a drain that empties into a small plastic hand grenade looking thing that was supposed to provide suction but it was faulty and I had to keep deflating it every hour so it would work and stop leaking out of my side and try to keep from hooking the tube on the many knobs I have discovered in my home. I gotta say, seeing this stuff coming out of my body was not fun and I must have gone through 2 lbs of gauze trying to absorb what didn't get pulled into that plastic hand grenade. So I called the surgeon who had given me his cell number, which was a little concerning, I never had one do that before. He told me to come in this morning and he'd take the drain out.

That drain was like a knife in my side and I couldn't drive because the seat belt hit right where the drain came out of my body. Had to get my son back into taxi service and went and got that pesky drain removed. Doc Frazee, the surgeon, told me to take a deep breath and he pulled 6" of tubing out of me and patched me up. It was great to get that out but not to watch him pull it out. He said the color was good. I said it looked like thinned blood. He said "oh, there's blood in there". These guys are just little casual with my precious bodily fluids.

The pain now is tolerable so I am not on pain pills and am awaiting the pathology report. I did get one little attaboy from the Doc today. He said he and Cohen, who go by the nicknames of Goose and Maverick and everyone at the hospital seems to know this, had decided along with my prep nurse that I was the funniest patient they'd had. When they were both in to see me before the surgery, I told them they should call me Cougar because I am going to be out shortly. He said they're still laughing about that. I think laughing docs make better docs.
 
Runwildboys said:
I expect nothing but good news from here on out, CC. Make sure to pass that on to your doctor before he gives you the results.
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I don't know which one will call me, it was the GI guy that has sounded the alarm since this started and he likes me so much, he gave me a parting gift but I have to return it....a stent in my bile duct. I have to go back in August to have it removed. These ERCP's are getting to be a habit. I think the delay between that emergency ERCP and the gall bladder removal was a contributor to this. I could tell when the surgeon took one look at me and went into overdrive. But I do like and believe in these guys, they have to play the hand they're dealt and I have learned my lesson about being in an area like this and needing fast healthcare. I have to drive right by a hospital 10 minutes away to one an hour away to get treatment and I am done with that as soon as my lease is up.

I gotta say, after asking me "how honest do you want me to be", I wonder after this stent and drain which were never discussed, just how messy was my gall bladder? And are they being completely honest with me? I do not like it when a doc says "we've got our fingers crossed for a clean report" but it is what is and what it shall be. And how comfortable is a doc with his patient when he can say "your gall bladder was a real mess"? Isn't it enough that it's gone off to some lab with a guy that looks like Beaker? (Muppet theme to return shortly)

Getting that drain out was a real pick me up and the pain began to subside almost immediately. It's now more of a discomfort and I know strangers have been rummaging around inside my innards.

Now, yours truly is getting ready to embark on a journey he hasn't been on in 10 years, Cannabis Reality Adjustamus. I last did this with my wife when she was going through chemo and have stayed away from it for fear it would send my head somewhere it didn't need to go but I think I have come farther than even I thought I would ever get so my son brought me some gummies and I am going to try some to ease the discomfort some because I really don't want any more hydrocodone.

One thing that has happened that really concerns me, I have become addicted to the Great British Baking Show. I just started my 3rd season and can't stop myself. I love the two women that host it and these people really interest me and they even have some representatives from the "British Teeth Just As You'd Expect Them". But I think with judges named Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, this should have been a Muppets production. ( As promised)

Hey, you guys and gals, seriously, thank you for the concern and wishes for wellness, means a lot to me. If this takes a turn south, I will be leaning on that. My worst fear is taking my sons down that road again because my younger one has never been able to get off the shoulder of that road.
 
CouchCoach said:
I don't know which one will call me, it was the GI guy that has sounded the alarm since this started and he likes me so much, he gave me a parting gift but I have to return it....a stent in my bile duct. I have to go back in August to have it removed. These ERCP's are getting to be a habit. I think the delay between that emergency ERCP and the gall bladder removal was a contributor to this. I could tell when the surgeon took one look at me and went into overdrive. But I do like and believe in these guys, they have to play the hand they're dealt and I have learned my lesson about being in an area like this and needing fast healthcare. I have to drive right by a hospital 10 minutes away to one an hour away to get treatment and I am done with that as soon as my lease is up.

I gotta say, after asking me "how honest do you want me to be", I wonder after this stent and drain which were never discussed, just how messy was my gall bladder? And are they being completely honest with me? I do not like it when a doc says "we've got our fingers crossed for a clean report" but it is what is and what it shall be. And how comfortable is a doc with his patient when he can say "your gall bladder was a real mess"? Isn't it enough that it's gone off to some lab with a guy that looks like Beaker? (Muppet theme to return shortly)

Getting that drain out was a real pick me up and the pain began to subside almost immediately. It's now more of a discomfort and I know strangers have been rummaging around inside my innards.

Now, yours truly is getting ready to embark on a journey he hasn't been on in 10 years, Cannabis Reality Adjustamus. I last did this with my wife when she was going through chemo and have stayed away from it for fear it would send my head somewhere it didn't need to go but I think I have come farther than even I thought I would ever get so my son brought me some gummies and I am going to try some to ease the discomfort some because I really don't want any more hydrocodone.

One thing that has happened that really concerns me, I have become addicted to the Great British Baking Show. I just started my 3rd season and can't stop myself. I love the two women that host it and these people really interest me and they even have some representatives from the "British Teeth Just As You'd Expect Them". But I think with judges named Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, this should have been a Muppets production. ( As promised)

Hey, you guys and gals, seriously, thank you for the concern and wishes for wellness, means a lot to me. If this takes a turn south, I will be leaning on that. My worst fear is taking my sons down that road again because my younger one has never been able to get off the shoulder of that road.
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I'm confused. I thought they removed your gallbladder, and if they did, why didn't they take the bike duct along with it? Were they afraid they'd be accused of stealing the stent?

See that? I read the whole thing.
 
Runwildboys said:
*Bile duct
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The gall bladder isn't critical but we need our bile ducts even though they have a terrible name and do a really nasty job.

So, I have to give the stent back, and was really getting attached to it after only 4 days, and keep the bile duct. The same bile duct that has turned my life into a unending circle of itching and scratching and at least that is gone but my post op nurse told me I looked like I'd been in a cat fight and lost. I have a feeling with two docs that refer to each other as Goose and Maverick, my stent is ending up in some holiday punch bowl.
 
CouchCoach said:
The gall bladder isn't critical but we need our bile ducts even though they have a terrible name and do a really nasty job.

So, I have to give the stent back, and was really getting attached to it after only 4 days, and keep the bile duct. The same bile duct that has turned my life into a unending circle of itching and scratching and at least that is gone but my post op nurse told me I looked like I'd been in a cat fight and lost. I have a feeling with two docs that refer to each other as Goose and Maverick, my stent is ending up in some holiday punch bowl.
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I thought the bile duct was part of the gallbladder, or at least attached to it in such a way that it's useless without the gallbladder. The GB's only function is to store bile for digestion, and send it to the digestive system via the bile duct. This seems like leaving the garden hose attached to the spigot when there's never going to be anymore water.
 
Runwildboys said:
I thought the bile duct was part of the gallbladder, or at least attached to it in such a way that it's useless without the gallbladder. The GB's only function is to store bile for digestion, and send it to the digestive system via the bile duct. This seems like leaving the garden hose attached to the spigot when there's never going to be anymore water.
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The gall bladder serves as a storage tank from the liver and the bile duct delivers bile to the intestines, I don't think the digestive system would work properly without the bile duct. When my wife's cancer showed up, it originated there but removing that was never an option. Had they found it early enough, putting in a stent was an option as we met a lady in chemo treatment that had that procedure but I found out from one of the nurses later that she didn't make it. Our oncologist told us that she and my wife were the only two with that cancer in the DFW area, as they report that, and they were both being treated at the same at the same place. I had been told it was rare but that was beyond rare.

Look, don't be so quick to give up my poor maligned bile duct! It was all the gall bladder's fault!!
 
CouchCoach said:
The gall bladder serves as a storage tank from the liver and the bile duct delivers bile to the intestines, I don't think the digestive system would work properly without the bile duct. When my wife's cancer showed up, it originated there but removing that was never an option. Had they found it early enough, putting in a stent was an option as we met a lady in chemo treatment that had that procedure but I found out from one of the nurses later that she didn't make it. Our oncologist told us that she and my wife were the only two with that cancer in the DFW area, as they report that, and they were both being treated at the same at the same place. I had been told it was rare but that was beyond rare.

Look, don't be so quick to give up my poor maligned bile duct! It was all the gall bladder's fault!!
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Maybe I'm just biased because my bike duct was too narrow, and that caused the bile to back up in my gallbladder and turn it gangrenous. I can't stop hating bile ducts. My friends tell me I should seek professional help, but I don't know how a hooker is gonna do anything about it.
 
Runwildboys said:
Maybe I'm just biased because my bike duct was too narrow, and that caused the bile to back up in my gallbladder and turn it gangrenous. I can't stop hating bile ducts. My friends tell me I should seek professional help, but I don't know how a hooker is gonna do anything about it.
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*Bile duct
 
Runwildboys said:
Maybe I'm just biased because my bike duct was too narrow, and that caused the bile to back up in my gallbladder and turn it gangrenous. I can't stop hating bile ducts. My friends tell me I should seek professional help, but I don't know how a hooker is gonna do anything about it.
Click to expand...
I had the same problem and he opened up the sphincter (who knew we had more than one?) on the first ERCP but evidently that wasn't enough so he put the stent in this time. I didn't know but bile duct stones are rare but in my case, it might have been good fortune because I didn't have any pain with this and if this pathologist is correct, that pesky gall bladder just might have saved my life.

My older son is starting to get a little freaky because he didn't know about the Cirrhosis symptoms and just what the GI doc had been concerned about and now this wait and see about my messy gall bladder has him concerned. He told me he feels I am dodging bullets and they're getting closer.

I do not fear death but I do not want it to be what took their Mom. I have a good friend that lost both of her parents to cancer and it affected her. She feels marked and it's just a matter of time before it comes for her.

And I got some very bad news this morning. A very good friend of ours lost both of her parents to Alzheimer's, and she's our age and fears that more than anything, as she watched both of them slowly slip away from her and she just learned she has Parkinson's.

I cannot tell you the times I've used the phrase "there by the Grace of God go I" in the last few years and that doesn't make me feel any better but what does is "treat everyone with kindness for you know not the battles they are fighting" and this is especially applicable to those fighting the mental battles. I, personally, know of the skirmishes but not the full battles and can only imagine, that is the true horror.
 
CouchCoach said:
I had the same problem and he opened up the sphincter (who knew we had more than one?) on the first ERCP but evidently that wasn't enough so he put the stent in this time. I didn't know but bile duct stones are rare but in my case, it might have been good fortune because I didn't have any pain with this and if this pathologist is correct, that pesky gall bladder just might have saved my life.

My older son is starting to get a little freaky because he didn't know about the Cirrhosis symptoms and just what the GI doc had been concerned about and now this wait and see about my messy gall bladder has him concerned. He told me he feels I am dodging bullets and they're getting closer.

I do not fear death but I do not want it to be what took their Mom. I have a good friend that lost both of her parents to cancer and it affected her. She feels marked and it's just a matter of time before it comes for her.

And I got some very bad news this morning. A very good friend of ours lost both of her parents to Alzheimer's, and she's our age and fears that more than anything, as she watched both of them slowly slip away from her and she just learned she has Parkinson's.

I cannot tell you the times I've used the phrase "there by the Grace of God go I" in the last few years and that doesn't make me feel any better but what does is "treat everyone with kindness for you know not the battles they are fighting" and this is especially applicable to those fighting the mental battles. I, personally, know of the skirmishes but not the full battles and can only imagine, that is the true horror.
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Alzheimer's is one of the worst ways to go that I can think of. Hell, I get upset when I do the absent minded type of things my mother does, and she's always been like that! I can't even imagine the frustration of forgetting the faces of people you've loved your whole life, and so many other things. Parkinson's is surely a bad way to lead into dementia, knowing it's coming and there's nothing you can do to stop it.
 
I had the same problem and he opened up the sphincter

Have to admit @CouchCoach there were parts of me, private and important parts, that involuntarily contracted when I read that.

That aside, I appreciate your sharing on this forum... makes us all stop and reflect and, just as important, it is therapeutic
 
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CouchCoach said:
The gall bladder isn't critical but we need our bile ducts even though they have a terrible name and do a really nasty job.

So, I have to give the stent back, and was really getting attached to it after only 4 days, and keep the bile duct. The same bile duct that has turned my life into a unending circle of itching and scratching and at least that is gone but my post op nurse told me I looked like I'd been in a cat fight and lost. I have a feeling with two docs that refer to each other as Goose and Maverick, my stent is ending up in some holiday punch bowl.
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Ask for a store credit next time. There's got to be better stuff than stints for a gift. From the nurse's comment, I take it you lost your danged mind and scratched everything that looked like it might itch in the near future. Like me with poison ivy, it felt good too, didn't it? Just nod, we already know.

As for sphincter conversations, there's nothing quite as unappetizing as eating with doctors and nurses who enjoy shop talk over what would normally be considered food. I tried to wall my mind off and picture myself somewhere else. Fortunately, those friendships went the way of the ex. I heard about spinkters galore until my eye spinkters glazed over. Anyway, we've all got spinkters! I mostly feel mine during the Cowboy's season.

It's good to hear from you and everyone else.
 
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