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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 | @pb50 | Nov 19, 2023
In reply to @cmcguire10 "Have any of you tried the slow stretching for you abdominal area and sides? Very slowly..." + (show)
@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?

REPLY
1 reply
vic83 | @vic83 | Nov 19, 2023
In reply to @pb50 "My pain is as you describe. Neither diaphragm or rib cage seem to want to move..." + (show)
@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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vic83 | @vic83 | Nov 19, 2023
In reply to @cmcguire10 "Have any of you tried the slow stretching for you abdominal area and sides? Very slowly..." + (show)
@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.

Jump to this post

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

REPLY
cmcguire10 | @cmcguire10 | Nov 19, 2023
In reply to @vic83 "No infection, my Mayo pulmonologis prescribed Bactrim as protection against Prednisone (20mg or higher) which could..." + (show)
@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!!!!

Jump to this post

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.

REPLY
2 replies
pb50 | @pb50 | Nov 19, 2023
In reply to @vic83 "No infection, my Mayo pulmonologis prescribed Bactrim as protection against Prednisone (20mg or higher) which could..." + (show)
@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!!!!

Jump to this post

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.

REPLY
1 reply
vic83 | @vic83 | Nov 19, 2023
In reply to @pb50 "Bactrim? Do you have an active infection?" + (show)
@pb50

Bactrim? Do you have an active infection?

Jump to this post

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!!!!

REPLY
2 replies
pb50 | @pb50 | Nov 19, 2023
In reply to @vic83 "Also just reading about side effects of Prednisone....there is a reason they tell you to take..." + (show)
@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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1 reply
pb50 | @pb50 | Nov 19, 2023

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.

REPLY
vic83 | @vic83 | Nov 19, 2023
In reply to @pb50 "Bless your heart. I’m glad you tried prednisone. It helped me a lot on the four..." + (show)
@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.

Jump to this post

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.

REPLY
1 reply
vic83 | @vic83 | Nov 19, 2023
In reply to @pb50 "Bless your heart. I’m glad you tried prednisone. It helped me a lot on the four..." + (show)
@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.

Jump to this post

From my reading I see that RA can be a big factor in lung issues.
I started with 40mg Prednisone for two weeks then down to 30mg for 2 weeks and then 20mg for 2+weeks. 40mg had an effect within 6 hours. It does stimulate you! I am running like crazy trying to get things done, always talking to people. I am super charged. Nice to have energy but at night I cannot sleep as well, I wake up and my mind is busy.... morning comes and I don't want to stay in bed. I will be happy to get back to a little more normalcy.
Unfortunately, Prednisone is a double-edged sword. A few months can cause big loss of bone, and it suppresses the immune system... the bottle says stay away from contagious diseases!

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