ready for cruising but may have to have surgery

[chevy truck crazy]

Sup everyone dosent this site rock I just got my truck out of storage this weekend it was good to bring it home to my own garage but the blazer will have to go outside with a tarp on it for a while. I have been restoring my dads 65 442 all winter and its almost done now to. The question I got for everyone isnt truck related but I think us truck guys are the smartest people out their. I got some health problems with my guts and Im probably going to have to have my colon removed and im nervous about it and I was wondering if any of you truck guys have had this done or know someone that has had it done .

[onetonk5]

I had a 12-18 inch section removed a few years ago. Diverticulitus was the problem...cant remember the exact name they called it. It took about 6 months for the Docs(they dont care about you) to figure out what my probs were. I was in the hosp 2 times....first week was on heavy IV antibotics to treat my undiagnosed severe infection. Second time was after they figured the prob out...Nursing care and some of the Docs were pretty bad. If you can always try to have someone family with you to make sure that your care is taken care of. I had more than several bad experiences...one time one of the nurses drew my pain meds...forgot to give them to me...took my syringe of meds home with her in her pocket....realized her mistake....came back and gave me the meds without checking with anyone before doing it. Really scarry crap. Luckily i didnt have to have a colostimny bag so that was one less trip back to the hosp(of death) and one less surgery.
I healed pretty well but like i said i had a lot of bad experiences. I had a 7-8" Down my stomach that was kinda uncomfortable for a while. Like i said.....ALWAYS try to have someone family who cares about you with you....because the Docs and Nurses Dont care...they have their own probs and familys that they care about. Question everyone and everything.
Im not sure if this was info you wanted to hear but I think you should know some of the things that went bad with me.
Let me know if you want to hear any more of my experience(more bad stuff/some good)
Good luck
Mark

[LUV2XCLR8]

Nope, can't relate, but I'll pray for your recovery

[Yukon Jack]

My dad just had a surgery like what onetonK5 described for the same condition. Surgery went pretty well, an infection did occur which led to more hospitalization but now he is doing great! Are they really talking about removing all of your colon - that sounds like a pretty major medical procedure.

Good luck!

Oh, welcome to the board!

[elmo]

Originally Posted by LUV2XCLR8

Nope, can't relate, but I'll pray for your recovery

+1! I had my gall bladder removed, but nothing that serious! Good Luck.

[mr64magic]

Glad my little bro is feeling better....no more party like a Rock star.

[OleSenna]

OK, don't want to add to the stress level, but you asked and I do want to pass along a little voice of experience. In June, I had a liver transplant. Yep, the real deal. Looooong story short: got infected during a blood transfusion 30+ years ago, infection stayed dormant and undiagnosed until a few years ago, then liver started to fail. Luckily and obviously, we caught it in time (at the same hospital; how's that for irony!). But that's not the point.

The point is OneTon is absolutely 100% on the money. Doctors and nurses and the hospital staff can work miracles, but the bottom line is, they are human beings and subject to all the laws of physics and Murphy and life that mess with each and every one of us every day.

Like he said, always have a trusted backup buddy or family member with you. Not because you're facing something scary and tricky, it just makes for good common sense. To the staff, no matter how special they make you feel, you are an item on the shelf, another truck on the lot to be spiffed up, sold and moved out of the way for the next one.

Question everything, every diagnosis, every prescription, every dosage, every time they give you a drug, take a sample or begin a test or procedure. Keep asking why. Why am I getting or doing this? Am I supposed to get this now? Did the doctor say this was OK? Please explain to me again why you are prescribing or doing this? Be polite but firm. Take notes. Make sure they are doing what they said they would do when they said they would do it. And don't let the staff slack off on you. If somebody screws up, let the supervisor know about it, and if they don't respond accordingly, kick it up another notch. You (or, hopefully, your insurance) might be paying for it, but ultimately you are responsible for your own health care.

Having said all that, no worries. I know two people who have done the colon thing and everything was .

[AJs72K5]

I had a complete proctocolectomy 5 years ago. They made a J-pouch at the end of the small intestines. Mine was a 2 surgery process. First was removal of the colon and making of the pouch. Second surgery was reconnecting the plumbing, if you will. I battled ulcerative colitis for 15 years. Functionally, I'm like everyone else now, no external bags, etc. Took me a long time to accept that I needed surgery...I felt like surgery was giving up the fight...I was also 29 at the time. Looking back now, it's the best thing I've ever done. I'm healthier now than I've ever been and it hasn't slowed me down at all. As a side note when the biopsied everything after the surgery, they found very early colon cancer. I "gave up" at the right time!

[Rokcrln]

Welcome to the family (blazer not colon that is) and good luck with everything.
My only .02 is not only have a family member/ friend with you but have them keep a ledger in a note book. When they gine you somthing write down what it is and how much and what time. This is for two reasons, first it lets you know all that has been done if you have questions later but more importantly it really lets the hospital know you are on top of it! It will make then double check them selfs first with out even thinking about it.

Kevin
LFD Inc.