Look! The Pain!! The Pain!!!
How does a cancer patient feels? I cant speak for others, so
I will just tell you my experience.
It started with a deep muscle ache on my left shoulder. This goes away to be replaced by persistent dry cough. No pain. Then when the pericardium effusion (pericardium is the sac surrounding the heart) becomes big, I have difficulty breathing and fatique. The heart was trying its darnest to pump! If the fluid are not drained, cardiac arrest could occur. The drainage is done by poking a rubber tube from your chest into the pericardium. Then a syringe is attached to the external end of the tube to suck out the fluid. Very pleasant indeed.
When the 2nd attack occur, I had neck and shoulder pain. Not too bad, tolerable. Persistent dry cough continues. The throat are just so itchy that only coughing could relieve it. I am also having night sweat.
Now, after the heart surgery, of course there is pain at the point of insertion, and also pain where they have poked a tube to drain the fluid(which has since been removed). The surgery opened a small 2cm window at the pericardium so that the fluid wont accumulate there but will drain directly into the pleural of the right lung. The effusion may still happen but draining or tapping the lung is easier than the heart. The lung capacity is higher too. Yea, like that is any consolation! :P
The neck pain is still there; may be due to the C6 ventral (spine bone at the neck). After the surgery, the pain vanished, I thought "hallelujah!!! the herbs worked!!!". Actually I was on painkillers then!!! Now I am off the pain killers, the pain has come back...drats!
The pain is tolerable, but makes me reluctant to get up from prone position. Good thing my sis has bought an automatic inclinable hospital bed. So I dont have to stress my neck too much.
After the surgery, phelgm seems to collect at the end of the thorax, so it really irritates if not coughed out. Man, I am like coughing my insides out. But it only comes occasionally.
Another symptom is numbness in my last and forth fingers after sleeping. Can't feel anything at all; as if those fingers don't exist. Some nerve must have been pressed while sleeping. Sometimes on one hand, sometimes both. It goes away as I move around.
So, there you are: pain at the neck, shoulder, incision point, drainage point, whooping cough, night sweat which keeps me awake and numb fingers.
I will just tell you my experience.
It started with a deep muscle ache on my left shoulder. This goes away to be replaced by persistent dry cough. No pain. Then when the pericardium effusion (pericardium is the sac surrounding the heart) becomes big, I have difficulty breathing and fatique. The heart was trying its darnest to pump! If the fluid are not drained, cardiac arrest could occur. The drainage is done by poking a rubber tube from your chest into the pericardium. Then a syringe is attached to the external end of the tube to suck out the fluid. Very pleasant indeed.
When the 2nd attack occur, I had neck and shoulder pain. Not too bad, tolerable. Persistent dry cough continues. The throat are just so itchy that only coughing could relieve it. I am also having night sweat.
Now, after the heart surgery, of course there is pain at the point of insertion, and also pain where they have poked a tube to drain the fluid(which has since been removed). The surgery opened a small 2cm window at the pericardium so that the fluid wont accumulate there but will drain directly into the pleural of the right lung. The effusion may still happen but draining or tapping the lung is easier than the heart. The lung capacity is higher too. Yea, like that is any consolation! :P
The neck pain is still there; may be due to the C6 ventral (spine bone at the neck). After the surgery, the pain vanished, I thought "hallelujah!!! the herbs worked!!!". Actually I was on painkillers then!!! Now I am off the pain killers, the pain has come back...drats!
The pain is tolerable, but makes me reluctant to get up from prone position. Good thing my sis has bought an automatic inclinable hospital bed. So I dont have to stress my neck too much.
After the surgery, phelgm seems to collect at the end of the thorax, so it really irritates if not coughed out. Man, I am like coughing my insides out. But it only comes occasionally.
Another symptom is numbness in my last and forth fingers after sleeping. Can't feel anything at all; as if those fingers don't exist. Some nerve must have been pressed while sleeping. Sometimes on one hand, sometimes both. It goes away as I move around.
So, there you are: pain at the neck, shoulder, incision point, drainage point, whooping cough, night sweat which keeps me awake and numb fingers.
posted by Hee Boon at 12:29 am
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