I know how you are feeling.  I will be having a throat biospy in the coming weeks.  I was told my appt could take up to 6 week to arrive which doesnt bear thiniking about.  Every moment of the day I am lost in thought of what may lie ahead.  I feel ike I have been carved out inside... hollow  , numb and unable to communicate with others.,, people speak to me and I am not even aware,  I am so closed up inside my own head.. 

Sleeping is so hard.  I did actually download an app for mindful meditation and relaxing, which I  must admit , it did acutally distract me and send me to a better more relaxed mindset and I fell asleep to it .  Annoyingly it is only free for 28 days so looks like I may need to invest for the long time frame I know is ahead .. if my biospy takes 6 weeks and my results 2 weeks I have another 2 months of this . :neutral:

Oh my that is such a long wait. Hope you get it done sooner, it is so difficult when they find something and I feel it's the not knowing and the wait after biopsy for results is the worst, I agree you cant function or turn off no matter how much you try. I have everything crossed for you that it is quick, good news and you have a speedy recovery x 

Hey Alan 

Odd to wake up and briefly you are your old you and then you remember , so cruel .  I am having to isolate myself in preperation for my biospy on Monday.  My youngest daughter's school was rife with covid just before they broke up for half term so she is a risk to me being back in a school of 1600 pupils and to have to cancel my biopsy due to contracting covid would be the last straw for me .. so she is now home schooling until after my biopsy, well , I basically emailed the school telling them she wont be in until next week, like or lump it  .   I am terrified of my biospy too.. a huge fear of hospitals in general , what type of biospy are you having, mine is under GA so I will be in for the day :cry:

I quite agree the appointsment to obtain results seem barbaric to me.. I think they should discuss over the phone where you are in your own home/comfort zone and hopefully with someone by your side, the waitt for one of those appointments would still be horrendous though but not as bad as sat in a watiing room  miles from home and all appointments are behind schedule.   

Like you, making any type of plans seems unthinkable for me at the moment . . how can you plan ahead when you dont know what lies ahead,  so I am a real party pooper around those around me  who are thinking and planning ahead ,I  simply shrug and say, 'we'll see"  making plans seems like tempting fate.. .. you are not alone in your thoughts ,, we are doing the exact same things 

tbh,, a inice long sleep and only being woken up when necessary for a test or appointment seems ideal to me ,, no room for thinking then ..  

Jo

Hi Jo,

My bio is under GA as well and I was told I should be out the same day. I haven't been under since I was a kid so have no idea what it will be like.....I'm a man so we have an inherent fear of Doctors and hospitals anyway! :silly:

Having said that I have overcome my fear of cannulas, I still hate blood tests tho....I have to go in next Monday for my Bio assessment and have bloods, ECG, blood pressure and all that nonsense. I'm alos terrified of losing teeth during the bio....the surgeon said he might break some of my teeth doing it!.....as if I don't have enough to worry about.....SupeC did you have any issues with teeth?

Anyway, enough negativity....I am out in London this Saturday for meal with my partner and I'm gonna have a bloody good drink regardless of my CT results......:devil:

Alan x

OMG lose teeth .. wth! i am baffled and no-one has mentioned this to me but then I  havent really had a pre assessment other than MRSA swab at ENT and BP taken,, BP was sky high (cant think why lol) and nurse asked if that was normal eeerrrm??? 'no perhaps due to the circumstances of me being here' right now filling out pre-op forms. '  

I did have a call from the hospital yesterday going through lots of questions and my medical history.  I was told I would be called on for a PCR test in coming days and I should self isolate before and after biopsy ..

I hope you have an awesome weekend ahead,  enjoy yourself and given I cant have a drink because of my up and coming tests, you'd best have a few for me too .. :wink:

Hi Alan no I didn't have a problem with my teeth luckily but they do have to give you the worst scenario just in case. Enjoy your time out at the weekend Alan.

I agree jo it would be lovely to just sleep and only wake long enough for appointments, tests and results in fact it would be utter bliss.

sending hugs x

Hi all,

Had a fantastic weekend and managed to claim my life back for a couple of days!

Just got back from my pre biopsy assessment and all went well. While I was there I asked the nurse if she could look up my chest CT scan results because it had been a week and I hadn't heard anything and was super stressed....she did and they are all clear! Phew! I blubbed...but happy tears this time.

That's the first hurdle cleared...next one is the needle biopsy of my neck lymph glands (not scheduled yet) then my tongue biopsy on 21st March.

One hurdle at a time but I feel much more positive after that little slice of good news.

Hope you are both keeping well

Alan

X

Hi Alan

So happy to hear news about the scan -

I am sat in hospital recovery ward having just had my biopsy op - my mouth is a little eeeeek ! And I can feel stitches in mouth  but all done and I should be home later today
 

Well done Jo!

Keep me updated I'm only 2 weeks behind you 

X

Absolutely I will :silly:

Oh btw they mentioned the teeth damage to me before i went into surgery but all was okay .. I cant feel any damage - all seem to be present and intact lol 

Jo

x

Hi Alan, 

that is excellent news about your scan, I've got everything crossed all your other test come back clear too. Glad you are feeling more positive and yes it's one step at a time. X

sue

Hi jo,

glad you have had your biopsy sooner than originally expected, make sure you rest up plenty and hope you heal quickly and your results come back clear. I'm still non the wiser as still waiting for appointment, I'm seeing my GP next week so maybe she will have an update and I can get some answers.x

sue X

Hi jo,

glad you have had your biopsy sooner than originally expected, make sure you rest up plenty and hope you heal quickly and your results come back clear. I'm still non the wiser as still waiting for appointment, I'm seeing my GP next week so maybe she will have an update and I can get some answers.x

sue X

Thank you Sue 

Cant believe you are still in the dark about your results .. that is pretty cr*p and no further forward .  How is your throat now ? I hope it is healed up nicely .    I had to have some morphine to calm pain .  I also seemed to be in surgery for a while , went in at 1:45 and came to in recovery at 4pm .. Consultant  said they were only going to go up through the palate , so thought I would be out in  not time *shrug 

Keep me updated Sue and lovely to hear from you 

Hugs

Jo

x

Hi jo,

it is pretty rubbish still waiting to see constant, throat still sore, hospital prescribed some anti inflammatory spray and corsodyl mouth wash to see if they would help it heal better but up to now it's not working. My biopsy was down the right side of my throat and a small bit of the underside of my tongue, apparently it takes longer to heal as the tongue rubs against your throat when you swallow. Hope you heal quickly without any complications.

big hugs 

sue x

Thanks Sue - I am being discharged but my consutant :has left so i wont get to ask what they did - my follow up for results is 22nd .  I assume maybe they just went into soft palate where the lump is - the MRI wasnt back from Saturday yet the mri unit  is just down the corridor lol  

I hope they get you sorted with pain and healing  , it has been so long for you now  

x

Hi Jo/Sue,

Sue, that sucks still not knowing. I've been impressed with the speed and effficiency of the NHS so far, having said that I would still not have had the results of my CT scan if I hadn't asked the nurse who was doing my pre bio assessment if she could check on the system. I think Doctors become so thick skinned doing this day in and day out they forget how much stress waiting and not knowing puts the patient under. I hope you have an answer soon, I have a sore throat every day which ranges from a 2 to a 5 out of 10 on the 'painometer'....its bearable but wears you down. 

Jo, I hope you make a speedy recovery without too much pain....you would think in this day and age there would be an easier way of doing a biopsy.....I'm scared about having mine which is also at the back right of my tongue but I will get thru somehow, it so comforting to share this horrible experience and know you are not alone thank you both.

Alan

x

Morning Alan, yeah it is stressful not knowing, I see my GP on Monday so hopefully she will have had something sent through and can confirm what is wrong one way or another. I agree the NHS has been really quick up until the results but I think that is more down to the booking office rather than the consultants. My sore throat after biopsy is now down to around 6-7, after surgery it was off the scale. Make sure you have playoff pain killers and antiseptic mouth wash in, hopefully you won't need them.
it does help an awful lot speaking to people going through the same thing as you, they are the ones that understand how you are feeling, thank you both so much.

hugs sue xx

Hi Alan , Yes , it is always re-assuring to see others experiencing similar and realise we all share the same thoughts , fear and anxiety .   Oddy, when I went to my 2ww urgent ENT and was sat waiting , my vet (who my cats are registered with)  was there too .. I had a hunch she too was on a urgent 2ww  as she had no paperwork like me .. all people with paperwork seemed to be on a normal track appointment .  (Playing detective in waiting room lol). Anyway, when I was in day surgery recovery yesterday from my biopsy my vet walked passed too and when I was leaving I passed her just being discharged .   Seems our timings and health issues are very similar - no doubt she will be back for her results the same day as me too .( i see her clock me but being masked up she wasnt too sure if she knew me or not) 

Before I left hospital lastnight I asked about painkillers and what to do if pain was not being controlled by paracetamol and the nurse then issued me with codiene to take home so be sure to do the same Alan..   I have several stitches to the back soft palate and a patch of palate skin has  been taken away leaving a lumpy cell like texture  .. not too grim to look at considering lol  . Tongue is bruised but  absolutely no pain , all teeth present and correct .  I had no sickness from the anaesthetic and was drinking almost immediately when I woke.  Only discomfort is when I swallow and I am sticking to soup and ice cream for meals for the next few days (planned ahead) .. I am going to get a jar of manuka honey for my tea as it is supposed to have great healing benefits , so thought it may help my wounds .  You will be fine - I am the biggest wuss there is for hospitals and my anxiety was off the scale yesterday - looking back now , I realise it was a teenie tiny hurdle and i was being my normaly anxy self unnecessarily 

Today i am having a chill day .. on sofa with my book 

Jo

x

..

Whatever happens we will have a hell of a story to tell when this is all done.

So glad to hear you are home and relatively pain free Jo.

I would like to think that I am pretty good with pain (even for a man :wink:). I have had many tooth abcesses in my life. This whole experience has already been life changing and when we do get through this nothing should ever scare us again.

I will definitely make sure I have plenty of pain killers and get some of the strong stuff from the hospital just in case.

have a nice chill day both of you

Alan

x

Hi Sue

My sister is a dental hygenist and she advised me to get some gengigel to help with trauma to gums / 'mouth - she said many of her patients swear by it - obviously our wounds are a little deeper but i bought some anyway (anything is worth a go)  and I have been applying it direct to wound and gently rubbing it in with my tongue   - I must admit , theres not a chance in hell I will be eating solid food for a while - disappointing that  this is not mentioned in aftercare by anyone - even soups I am having to blend and eat by straw away from the biospy site  

Jo

x

Aww I'm so sorry you are suffering jo, hopefully you will heal quickly, my nurse at clinic said to eat solid food asap as it helps with the healing, she obviously has no clue on how painful it is, wishing you a speedy recovery and clear results.

hugs 

sue x

Well a new turn of events - my stitches have come undone and I now have a hole in my soft palate - have emergency contact for ENT but no-one is picking up :neutral: