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How to relax
Being bombarded with information about BC has made it exceedingly difficult for me to relax…Anxious about the future, wondering if I can handle the pain, worried about catching fire during my next surgery (it really happened recently to a woman, her face caught on fire!) It really is unnerving at night because I know how important sleep is and that seems to be my brains’ optimal time to stress out. I am generally a cheerful person but this past week has been very difficult. The Dr.’s office was supposed to call with surgery date and related info and they didn’t call, so I called them and it felt like I was annoying them. Surgery time was set for 1pm and I didn’t think I could last that long without water or food (instructions are not to eat or drink from midnight the previous night) so I called with my worries. They basically said tough luck you’ll have to do it and they said the day surgery office would contact me…which they haven’t. My mom always said that I was a worry wart and I know there is a line between being a well adjusted self advocate and being a pain in the ass…Any tips or Rx information will be helpful. thanks Annie
p.s. I don’t know why this posted three times!
T1
N0
M08 Replies-
Annie,
Take it form me…. the worrywart. Still finding a way to wake up in the middle of the night. But as people have said here…. Put the things you can control out front and push the things you have no control of to the back……. Hard to do, but sometimes you succeed.George
Light a man a fire and he is warm for an evening.
Light a man ON fire and he’s warm forever.08/08/08…RC neo bladder
09/09/09…New Hip
=
New Man! [/size]
I have ruined more furniture with my steel toed slippers!! But no toe pain!! WOO HOO!!!! :lol: :silly: :woohoo: :laugh:
T1,NO,MO battling bladder cancer since 2005
Annie,
Glad you are getting sleep. To prevent that toe stubbing, you may want to check out some steel toed slippers. :D
Sorry…just couldn’t help it. :D :woohoo: :silly:
Mike
Age 54
10/31/06 dx CIS (TisG3) non-invasive (at 47)
9/19/08 TURB/TUIP dx Invasive T2G3
10/8/08 RC neobladder(at 49)
2/15/13 T4G3N3M1 distant metastases(at 53)
9/2013 finished chemo -cancer free again
1/2014 ct scan results….distant mets
2/2014 ct result…spread to liver, kidneys, and lymph system
My opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of ABLCS or anyone else. I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.
Well…thank you once again for the practical advice. I did go back to my PCP and got a low dose of anxiety pills that I take just before bedtime. It puts me right to sleep and yet I can still wake up at 2am to tinkle (and stub my toe). I also asked my PCP for an alternative pain medication to the hydrocodone that the urologist prescribed. The countdown is on to the next TURBT and I am sure I’ll be fine. I’ll probably have more questions about the next phase of BCG and dosage and alternative routes once I get through the surgery. I haven’t gotten any of the paperwork or diagnosis for my own personal records yet, but I know that is important. I haven’t ruled out MD Anderson for a trial…thanks again for the encouragement. Hope everyone has a good holiday too!
xoxoxo
Annie
T1
N0
M0
Hi Annie , Sorry your so worried . I have had the surgery several times over the last several years and for me the worst part is what it does to my pocketbook. I have always figured that The good Lord has given me a certain number of days and no man can give me anymore or take away what he has given so I have a peace about the outcome of my life.
As for the sleeping part, sometimes I take a benydrl and that helps me sleep. For the getting hungry part the day of surgery this what I do. A couple of days before the surgery I eat lightly and don’t let my stomach get way full. It seems like it shrinks it so I don’t get as hungry the morning of surgery when I have to fast. Maybe you can try this the week before your surgery to see if it will work for you.
When I think of the catching on fire stuff , I just figure I have a much greater chance of wrecking trying to get thru rush hour traffic in Baltimore than catching on fire !
It is sometimes hard to have peace about the events that are happening in our lives,but my prayer for you is that you do find peace and a good dose of courage to get you where you and the good Lord want you to be in this life. Blessings for you , Rocky
Just something to think about. Have you ever stubbed your toe on a piece of furniture in the dark? The pain from the surgery probably will not be that bad!!!!
T1,NO,MO battling bladder cancer since 2005
Hi Annie… I know exactly what you mean about not being able to get the “C” word out of your mind. I was not able to think of much else for several months, but eventually, I adjusted to the fact I had BC, but it is now out of my body. I like to remember Mike’s advice that I am cancer free until someone tells me differently! There is no reason not to plan your future as you would have before this happened.
I see you have updated your siggy line to your dx of T1NOMO. Did you get a copy of your path report, and if so, what type of tumor did it say yours was?
If I recall correctly, you had your TURBT just before Thanksgiving. I don’t remember your mentioning a second surgery in your prior post (which doesn’t mean you didn’t but my memory is sketchy at best). Is the upcoming one for a second opinion and dx confirmation? If so, is someone else doing it?
So sorry the surgery center is making you feel like a bother. They sometimes tend to be very clinical and I suppose they have to be. My TURBT was early, and when she called the day before and said to be at the hospital at 5:30, I blurted out before I could catch myself “In the morning???” since I’m not a morning person.
As Cynthia suggested, you might ask your primary doc for a low-dose anti-anxiety med for those nights when you just can’t stop the madness in your head. You do need your sleep and try not to let BC take that away from you.
Best wishes… CatherineTURBT 1/21/10 at age 55
Dx: T2aN0M0 Primary Bladder Adenocarcinoma
Partial Cystectomy 2/25/10
Vanderbilt Medical Center
Nashville, TN
Annie, Take a big breath, I know it is difficult but the truth is you have never changed a thing by worrying about it.
1. Worrying about catching fire while in surgery is like worrying about being hit by a falling star it could happen but the odds are against you. It is kind of like flying once the door closes to the plane you are in their hands. You either trust them to do the best they know how or you don’t, but trust is a big part of this.
2. Be happy that you are on at one in the afternoon the do the big surgeries in the morning generally. I have had to wait as long as seven in the evening for surgery while I was not happy it is the luck of the draw and you will make it. If you feel your blood sugar is getting low tell them and sometimes they will let you suck on ice, ask.
3. Talk to your health care provider to give you something to sleep or something for anti anxiety to get you through the surgery. In the right dose it can’t hurt and it sounds like you need something to take the edge off until you know what you are dealing with.
4. You should not have a lot of pain with a reTURB I am the queen of them and the worst part for me was having the IV put in and some discomfort while urinating for a while after. If you are worried ask you doctor for something for pain.
5. Find ways to keep yourself busy and your mind off of this as much as you can as I said earlier sitting around worrying does not change a thing. Take a walk, have coffee with a friend or volunteer at the food bank.
6. Be kind to yourself take a long hot bath,read that book you have been wanting to,do things that make you happy.
7. Remind yourself that your friends here at this community have been where you are and made it through time and again. That should help you know that it is doable and is done.
Good luck and hang in there
Cynthia Kinsella
T2 g3 CIS 8/04
Clinical Trial
Chemotherapy & Radiation 10/04-12/04
Chemotherapy 3/05-5/05
BCG 9/05-1-06
RC w/umbilical Indiana pouch 5/06
Left Nephrectomy 1/09
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