Hi Rayb

just been through this had FLOT april and may operation in june  its a long journey but stick witk it.

It may all sound a bit frightening at first i would recommend you read up on your treatment the FLOT is bearable and the operation is not really a worry although it is a major operation i will say that at no point in my journey have i really suffered any major pain and i am 90  percent recovered as of today if i can offer you any help or advice please contact me as it is always good to hear from someone who has been through this procedure recently , our NHS will take care of you by far the best care you can get ,trust me.

do you know what a plo is in an operation? 

would be grateful if you have any idea

sorry to hear about your diagnosis x

Laparascopic surgery is the dream!! My little boy had laparascopic surgery to fix a PDA in his heart in May, and typically Google was my closest confidante and worst enemy in the run up to it! I was awful, and him only a couple of weeks before his 3rd birthday was so chipper after like nothing had ever happened. Just "Muffwin pwease" when he came round. Completely unphased :grin:

Hahaha when does rest ever happen? Deliberately avoiding my emails because I know I'll have loads off the consultants as they don't understand the concept of working Monday to Friday. Monday morning will be fun :P 

In reality I'm curled up on the sofa sucking pieces of a bar of Cadburys since I can't properly swallow it with a hot chocolate and dreaming of a long hot bath later. And then getting excited about starting university in 2 weeks. Determined not to let anything stop me. 

Thankfully grandparents picked up the home schooling of the eldest, I was still working albeit from home for half the time (really not easy phoning patients when you've got 2 screaming kids in the background), so the ups and downs of this year or so haven't been as bad. Little boy is starting school a year late though due to his learning difficulties so he won't go into reception until he turns 5. Thankfully grandma is a special needs early years practitioner so he gets a lot of one on one with her. She's even built him a Sensory room.

Awwww no feeling mentally **** is not the best place to be though I totally get it. Always good to have somewhere to vent in private though! X

Hi Andi,

My husband used pillows after laparoscopy and said an elevated bed would have made it easier and it will help after the 'biggee' too. The surgeons are very skilled and the nurses and staff are brilliant . We are so lucky to have the NHS and dedicated staff.

keeping the faith

Milly

Couldn't agree more Milly - NHS are just amazing. I know I'm getting the best treatment available. Have ordered pillow xx

hi leo25daisy

you will find there is a wealth of knowledge and support scattered throughout the 40 odd pages on this forum , as you are at the start of your journey you might find it helpful to look into this archive , some of us have been posting for over a year and have covered everything from pre diagnosis to recovery bearing in mind none of the advice is clinical , everyone is  happy to share hints and tips however trivial  the problem might seem at the time ,  nothing is hidden on here you can tell it like it is , anyway just ask anything you like on here and we are all glad to help if we can , take it easy.

regards

Douglas

Hiya Douglas

Much appreciated :-) these are literally the two longest weeks of my life, hoping the waiting list officer for Endoscopy can give me a date tomorrow as at least I'll know what's happening then.

I know we've lost a lot of our theatres at work at the moment due to a rise in covid cases, so not sure if that'll have any effect on when my dates going to come through.

Slept 17 hours last night and still feeling exhausted now, considering as my coughs getting worse maybe taking tomorrow off work and booking  a pcr test just to be doubly sure it's not covid related. It would be just my level of luck that I've thought this was a chest infection due to negative Lateral flows for it to be covid instead 

HI again Lo25 daisy 

Sorry to hear about your delayed endoscopy which is the crucial first element in diagnosis as a procedure it is not stressful at all , when i got mine in January 2020 i watched the whole thing and actually looked at the source of my problem , fingers crossed at your age you have a different ptoblem i had suffered from swallowing disorders from my early 20's which were not cancer related so here's hoping you are the same , otherwise once the NHS machine kicks into action it's a real whirlwind affair and before you know it your where i am today 20 months down the line hopefully cured  and left wondering what all the fuss was about , you take care now , any questions just ask 

Regards

Douglas

Well some good news at least. After me chasing the Endoscopy department (the waiting list officer for 2 week waits is on annual leave til the 28th), they've booked me in for an Endoscopy on Sunday morning. I'll be isolating from Friday evening as soon as I finish my shift and have a PCR done. 

I understand if they need to take biopsies they do this at the same time? 

Hi Leo25Daisy,

My husband had biopsies taken at the same time. He did say he wished he'd had the sedative for the procedure. He did do during the second ultrasound endoscopy. It's a straightforward procedure but he felt more comfortable with the sedative.

Hope this helps.

keeping the faith

Milly 

How long does it normally take for biopsy results to come back? I'm definitely taking whatever sedation is on offer, if I remember rightly the lady on the phone earlier said it was IV sedation.

The swallowing is definitely bad at the moment, it took 6 attempts to get a small fork full of noodles down at lunch! The girls at work are trying to make a joke of it going think of the weight loss. 

Admittedly I did manage to fit into a pair of size 6 Work trousers today (haven't managed that since pre pandemic times) and I was a 12-14 before this began. 

Keeping the faith

Chrissy

Hi Again  Leo25daisy

thats good news , i never take the sedative for the endoscopy as you get home quicker afterwards , as for the biopsy its such a small sample they are taking you don't feel it , i suppose it all depends on the person , i am asthmatic but was relaxed and managed without the sedative which allowed me to focus on what the consultant was doing and to watch the procedure on the monitor , the consultant then explained to me what we had seen , as they have done tens of thousands of these procedures they can usually give you a fairly accurate opinion on the day in my case it was a tumour , this was confirmed officially via my GP a few days later , after that all your other scans are external so don't get to worried and good luck for Sunday , we are all hoping for good news from you , take it easy.

Regards 

Douglas

, 

Hi Again  Leo25daisy

thats good news , i never take the sedative for the endoscopy as you get home quicker afterwards , as for the biopsy its such a small sample they are taking you don't feel it , i suppose it all depends on the person , i am asthmatic but was relaxed and managed without the sedative which allowed me to focus on what the consultant was doing and to watch the procedure on the monitor , the consultant then explained to me what we had seen , as they have done tens of thousands of these procedures they can usually give you a fairly accurate opinion on the day in my case it was a tumour , this was confirmed officially via my GP a few days later , after that all your other scans are external so don't get to worried and good luck for Sunday , we are all hoping for good news from you , take it easy.

Regards 

Douglas

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