Back to the Doctor

Well, after a problem with secretary who forgot to put my appointment in the computer for April 5, I made it back to see Dr. Moul at Duke today.  I had a few questions for him and he said I really looked good with my weight loss.  We scheduled a surgery date of June 4th because this was the first date he and his team could operate on me early in the day.  He likes to do his surgery when he and his team are fresh in the morning with his patients who have health problems(diabetes and sleep apnea). He tried to do the post op today but they will not schedule that more than 30 days from surgery.  Dr. Moul was very positive and we had a good talk, and said the delay would not be a problem for me.  The only problem I will have with the June date is that I may not be much help with my car club for our July 4th car show.  It takes us the month of June to get things ready for the show.  I couldn't help last year because I broke my are in two places getting ready for the show last year.  The other members are probably thinking what will he do next year to get out of working.  But I am feeling real good about setting a date.  Was really having bad feelings about it last night in the hotel.  I have developed shingles since I have been diagnosed and they were out of control last night too and that didn't help matters either.  But I am now ready to (Do It)

Good to hear that you got your surgery date set. How far do you have to travel to get to Duke?

We had to wait a while for our surgery too, and the waiting part was kinda ancy for us. We just focused on keeping exercising, doing the kegals, reading other's experiences, etc.. Although there comes a point where i felt oversaturated on info and research. and felt like "ok" nothing more can do except forget about it. Taking a vacation helped break up the waiting though! Would definitely recommend if you can swing it :)

I am sure your car club will understand if you can't help out as much as you would like :)

Best wishes on continued weight loss. Sorry about the shingles,what do they do to treat it? Don't know much about it, is it brought on by stress?

Tanya

Hi all.  I wish I could get it done tomorrow, but setting a date was a big relief.  Shingles are related to Chicken Pox which I had when I was a child.  My wife had them when she was was expecting with our first child.  It can be caused by stress too.  Going to see my personal Dr next week and hope to get something for it.  I have a million things to think about, like getting things together for the surgery.  If anyone has a list of things to have or how to prepare for surgery I would like to hear about them.  Also we live about 3 hours from Duke.  It is driveable in one day, but after having experienced the traffic parking lot in Greensboro in the mornings, I think it is better to spend the night in a hotel

Hi ~ mvesr,   You will likely go in and out of emotions so get ready to deal with them.   It is a normal process… so don’t be alarmed.   Just remember to take one-day-at-a-time and you will have a lot of Helping Hands reaching back to you as you continue to reach out to all of us.   There are several threads with lists of supplies that different folks have put together.   I’m adding several links at the bottom from the Helpful Hints page…    will It will really help you!!!   Knowing what to expect is really important… so there are no surprises.   Why re-invent the wheel.   We can all add our “spokes” to make a wonderfully smooth ride.   I see that IzzyBlizzy just added her list to your thread also!!      Don’t forget to ask your family doctor for a mild sleep-aid for those nights your mind starts to really get going in the wrong direction.   This helped us the last 2 weeks before surgery and had no affects once we stopped them.   Have them handy because you really want to be rested going into your surgery.   Will you be having the open or the lap surgery??   Smart decision… to stay overnight.   Don’t put any more pressure than you have too during this period of time.   There’s been a lot of members who have traveled…   Pull from their experiences…. To help you prepare for your drive home.   I can honestly say the best thing we had for our 1-hour drive home was the reclining seats in the Jeep and the neck pillow!!!!!!   That was my biggest concern and turned out to be so easy in the long run.   SO ~ read, read, and read more…   Don’t overload but take in as much as you can.   You’ve made your decision and it’s the best decision for you!!!!   Don’t go backwards…. Continue to move forward!        In response to your shingles…~   painful rash of blisters.   I truly hope you get your appointment on Monday…. Because the longer you leave it the more pain you will experience.   And you might mention to your doctor that your daughter is pregnant (not sure if this is a problem but worth mentioning).   I know this virus is easily spread by direct contact with a blister and will cause chickenpox in a person who is not immune to the disease.   Medication helps to reduce inflammation and helps you cope with the pain associated with it.   Our neighbor had this and found cold compresses helped tremendously…   Hopefully you can get this dealt with quickly so you can move forward.   It will probably zap your strength… so work with it not against it....   Continue on your road to weight loss!!!   This is such a positive for you!   And don’t forget to start kegels….   We can’t say this enough.   We truly feel it’s what helped us in our urinary control so quickly after the catheter was removed.   Make sure you re-read your posting to help you get in a good “positive” mindset!!!!!   The car show… will be here in 2008 ~ right!!   Plan to put your all into that showing…   This year it’s time for “YOU”!   Once you’ve had your surgery you do not want to cause any extra concerns once your on your healing/recovery stone.   So ~ plan now ~ not to have any duties that will cause you any extra stress or injury…..   Lift a hood and bam you’ve got a hernia…   You don’t want this!!!!   So ~ plan to give yourself the right amount of time to heal properly…   this is major surgery and it needs major attention to HealingWell.   Keeping you close in thoughts and prayers as you move forward in your journey to become prostate cancer free!!!!!   We invite you to visit our personal thread below. In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy

Hi MV,

Congrats on getting a date set. My wife and I were much relieved when ours was set. The decision was behind us and we didn't look back or try to second guess ourselves. Waiting for surgery was hard but we stayed close to the people on this forum and got much needed support. We can do this thing together...

Jim