January 29, 2009
Surgery Information
Welcome to the new readers to Stumpff.net. I've had a lot of people asking about what is going on and why I am having surgery.
First let me send this word of warning to the new reader of Stumpff.net. What you are about to read may cause tears of sympathy, laughter of stupid things I do or say, but the biggest warning is what the readers of Stumpff.net already know. If you come to Stumpff.net to get the latest information and cutting edge, moment by moment commentary, well, I am not the fastest of bloggers or the most current. But I might make you laugh once every 6 months!
Now that you are fair warned, as Paul Harvey would say, this is the rest of the story.
I have a tumor on my pituitary gland that has grown to roughly the size of a golf ball or a tiny unborn kitten or puppy. This tumor and its location cause the pituitary gland to malfunction and allow the tumor cells to produce a hormone called prolactin. Pro meaning highly tuned, well trained, and handsomely paid athlete (I don't see the proceeds though). And Lactin meaning hormone that produces lactate. That is what nursing mothers do to produce breast milk. No, before you ask, I didn't recently, nor am I expecting a baby, I am just husky. I don't produce milk but according to some research I've done on the internet it can cause guys to do that. And as you know the internet is full of nothing BUT truth. As you can imagine that type of hormone is not healthy in men. That's why I take a drug to counter act that hormone and stops the production of it. This drug is tiny but packs a punch enough to make me sick for a few days. I only take one half pills every 3 days.
The tumor is not cancer.
I've known about the tumor since 2005 and tried to control it with the drug mentioned above. The drug should work as long as I take the drug. I didn't like the way the during made me feel and I didn't like paying 90 dollars for 12 pills after insurance picked up the other 3000 dollars for those 12 pills. Had I known what I know now I would have stood in line to pay 3000 for it when I stopped.
The tumor had not grown since March 2005 through January 2007 even 1mm. That was the last time I took the dostinex drug and the last time I had an MRI.
Some time in the last 2 years the following happened.
I was flying back to Oklahoma fro California one afternoon on a business trip. We had reached altitude and were about 20 minutes into the flight when I felt a stabbing pain in my sinus area around my left eye. It hurt so bad it brought tears and I though about telling the flight person that I thought I was going to pass out in pain. I didn't want to be that guy that caused everyone else to land in Nowhere, New Mexico so I just sucked up the pain and by the time we landed I was better. I didn't think about the tumor or what was going on other than I figured it was sinus pressure from the flight. About a month later I started getting headaches on a regular basis but nothing I did seemed to trigger the headache or cause it to stop hurting. That is until my left eye started to get blurry and I could see dark spots in light colors.
I told the neurosurgeon this story and he paused and asked me, "How did you even make it off the plane? That was a 'mini-stroke' in the tumor that had it bleed out instead of back into itself would have killed me before we would have landed."
The bleeding caused the tumor to triple in size to where it is today.
I am back on the Dostinex to stop the prolactin so the tumor is stable but it isn't going anywhere without surgery.
I was told this week that the surgery would be on Monday, Feb 2nd but on Wednesday I received a call saying that the ENT guy was not available until Friday, Feb 6th.
I saw the ENT today and he told me about his part. He will make the approach to the tumor through the nose and pay that way too! The doctor is going to make the septum straight so he said that I will benefit from that alone and it will help with snoring. Bonus! He said that my left nostril is blocked and this will help that.
After the surgery I will spend 24 hours in the ICU to monitor my water intake. I will be out of the office for 3 weeks and part time for 4 weeks after that. I cannot have caffeine, chocolate or sugar for 4 weeks and I cannot blow my nose for 3 weeks after the surgery (my brains might blow out my nose!). I could cause some damage after the surgery if I blow my nose.
That is about it.
And now you know the rest of the story.
Paul Harvey, Good Day!
Bird
Comments
Jay, take care of yourself. You and your sweet family are in our prayers and thoughts. Sounds like it will be very difficult, but I know that you will manage it all very well.
Posted by: Vicki Paks at January 29, 2009 02:36 PM
Jay:
I hope all goes well with the surgery. We are praying for you and will continue to do so. May God allow your pain to be minimal and allow your family's mind to be at ease. Love you man
Posted by: Jeaux at January 31, 2009 11:18 AM
Jay, we are praying for the surgery to go well and that you will never again have any problem there. Appreciate your humor, but even more your faith in a Sovereign God. We love you.
Posted by: Cindy Shead at January 31, 2009 04:53 PM