Upper right lobectomy for stage 1 adeno 1.8 x 1.3 x 1.3 cm anyone?

Posted by silvergirl29 @silvergirl29, Nov 14, 2023

So I met with the surgeon and he feels confident that a lobectomy is the way to go as it is only stage one and this sounds great to me especially given that I was afraid it wouldn't be an option as there are nodules in all the lobes but now I'm a little scared 🙂 can anyone advise on what it is like to go through ?

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@pb50

Bless your heart. I’m glad you tried prednisone. It helped me a lot on the four days I was taking 20mg. Once I started stepping it down, the benefit stepped down as well. Not as bad as it was but not as good as those four days on 20mg.

So. I’m seeing the positive that the prednisone effect means it is some kind of inflammation. Could be bone or muscle but I want to conquer the inflammation. I see my Rheumatologist the first week of December and I’m going to inquire whether the inflammation could be RA related and can I do another round of Prednisone. There shouldn’t be any source of continued inflammation, so my uninformed hope is that if I can quiet it down, it may not return.

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Also just reading about side effects of Prednisone....there is a reason they tell you to take it in the morning!!!!
I am also taking Bactrim with it. I tend to have low potassium, so I am on prescription potassium (20mg/day) to stay in a healthy range. I check everything and discovered that Prednisone reduces potassium and Bactrim increases potassium. I informed my doctor, and we adjusted my daily dose to half for potassium, did blood work and I am in range. I wonder how many medications people take without consideration of other implications. Nobody brought it up, not the pharmacy ....one has to check things.

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Yea. It’s not a maintenance drug. I was only on 20mg max so I happily accepted the energy boost but I took it before 6am and it had worn off before bedtime. Over 16 days I went from 20 mgx4 days to 15 to 10 to 5 to 0

I’d like one more round to see if I can get lasting reduction of inflammation in rib /diaphragm.

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@vic83

Also just reading about side effects of Prednisone....there is a reason they tell you to take it in the morning!!!!
I am also taking Bactrim with it. I tend to have low potassium, so I am on prescription potassium (20mg/day) to stay in a healthy range. I check everything and discovered that Prednisone reduces potassium and Bactrim increases potassium. I informed my doctor, and we adjusted my daily dose to half for potassium, did blood work and I am in range. I wonder how many medications people take without consideration of other implications. Nobody brought it up, not the pharmacy ....one has to check things.

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Bactrim? Do you have an active infection?

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@pb50

Bactrim? Do you have an active infection?

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No infection, my Mayo pulmonologis prescribed Bactrim as protection against Prednisone (20mg or higher) which could cause a fungal infection in my lungs.
I am thinking, at least I am in a great energized mood with prednisone and not sad......it could go either way and I am not gaining weight.
Could you describe your rib/diaphragm issues? When I want to take a big breath, I feel a stiffness and like the muscles don't want to expand, or things stop halfway down. It feels unnatural so I breath out of my mouth a lot when active. No problem if I am just sitting down and then oxygen levels fine even up a point with the Prednisone.
I am taking before 8am, and wisely with food!!!!

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@vic83

No infection, my Mayo pulmonologis prescribed Bactrim as protection against Prednisone (20mg or higher) which could cause a fungal infection in my lungs.
I am thinking, at least I am in a great energized mood with prednisone and not sad......it could go either way and I am not gaining weight.
Could you describe your rib/diaphragm issues? When I want to take a big breath, I feel a stiffness and like the muscles don't want to expand, or things stop halfway down. It feels unnatural so I breath out of my mouth a lot when active. No problem if I am just sitting down and then oxygen levels fine even up a point with the Prednisone.
I am taking before 8am, and wisely with food!!!!

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My pain is as you describe. Neither diaphragm or rib cage seem to want to move sufficiently without effort. I suppose it could be pleural pain because I do have some scarring from the surgery, per the recent CT report
In the first 3 mos after my surgery I couldn’t naturally sneeze or yawn because that required deep quick breaths. I sort of swallowed them
Instead. Now I can but sometimes it seems I am only grabbing air from the top half of my lung. I had the lower lobe removed, so technically I am breathing from top half - though I believe that lobe descends into the space left behind. Sort of stretches out I believe.

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@vic83

No infection, my Mayo pulmonologis prescribed Bactrim as protection against Prednisone (20mg or higher) which could cause a fungal infection in my lungs.
I am thinking, at least I am in a great energized mood with prednisone and not sad......it could go either way and I am not gaining weight.
Could you describe your rib/diaphragm issues? When I want to take a big breath, I feel a stiffness and like the muscles don't want to expand, or things stop halfway down. It feels unnatural so I breath out of my mouth a lot when active. No problem if I am just sitting down and then oxygen levels fine even up a point with the Prednisone.
I am taking before 8am, and wisely with food!!!!

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Have any of you tried the slow stretching for you abdominal area and sides? Very slowly you stretch and bend. Mayo Clinic has videos for Yoga and the like. I did them and the tightness has gone away.

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@cmcguire10

Have any of you tried the slow stretching for you abdominal area and sides? Very slowly you stretch and bend. Mayo Clinic has videos for Yoga and the like. I did them and the tightness has gone away.

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thanks so much for the suggestion, I have been meaning to try something like that

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@pb50

My pain is as you describe. Neither diaphragm or rib cage seem to want to move sufficiently without effort. I suppose it could be pleural pain because I do have some scarring from the surgery, per the recent CT report
In the first 3 mos after my surgery I couldn’t naturally sneeze or yawn because that required deep quick breaths. I sort of swallowed them
Instead. Now I can but sometimes it seems I am only grabbing air from the top half of my lung. I had the lower lobe removed, so technically I am breathing from top half - though I believe that lobe descends into the space left behind. Sort of stretches out I believe.

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I only had a wedge resection upper left lobe and it feels like the lower lobes are not doing something. They have interstitial disease/scarring so that could be part of it. But I feel theproblem onthe outside. I had an issue with pleurisy in Nov 2022 from first VAT surgery RUL. Fortunately, it resolved with no help and is not a problem.

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@cmcguire10

Have any of you tried the slow stretching for you abdominal area and sides? Very slowly you stretch and bend. Mayo Clinic has videos for Yoga and the like. I did them and the tightness has gone away.

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Wow do you have a link?

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@pb50

Wow do you have a link?

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It’s Mayoclinic.org
Just type in Yoga. Here is a screen shot:

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