I will be seeing the surgeon Monday to schedule my trach. I cant take it any longer. I'm really afraid of dying
after fighting this demon for almost 20yrs. Can anyone share thier experience with having a tracheatmomy?

Brgrds,

John in Pearland, TX

Try to PM crazhrse...haven't seen him around in long time but he had his trach done about 7 months ago.


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Yes exactly what Barb said.  PM that userid -- crazhrse -- his gal looks in here from time to time for him and will get your PM to him.  It might not be right away, but eventually she'll respond.   (You will have to register here in order to PM.)

Also, if you haven't already, look up all of the posts under crazhrse ID, he detailed his experience with a trach from the initial scheduling right through his healing and beyond.  You might find his posts very helpful.

Blessings,
--pseudonym

John,

I hope that you will keep us updated on how you are doing. Good luck to you!

Anonymous wrote:

John,

I hope that you will keep us updated on how you are doing. Good luck to you!

Thanks to all for thier kind words. I have sent crazhrse a note.

Best Regards,

Sleepless in Pearland, TX

John we will be glad to answer any questions you have or if youjust want someone to talk tobefore your surgery i will pm you our email address and peewee's telephone number if you wanna talk

Good luck hope to hear a update soon
Lisa and Peewee

crazhrse wrote:

John we will be glad to answer any questions you have or if youjust want someone to talk tobefore your surgery i will pm you our email address and peewee's telephone number if you wanna talk

Good luck hope to hear a update soon
Lisa and Peewee

Thanks, I responded to the private forum you sent. I go in Tuesday morning for the trach...cant wait,
but very nervous.....

Thanks,

BigJohn

WELL ITS D-DAY....SURGERY IN 3 HRS......WILL ADVISE WHEN I GET HOME. HOPEFULLY BY THURDAY.

BIGJOHN

Good Luck John!!!!!  Come back and tell us how it went for you.

Blessings,
--pseudonym

First if all Thanks to everyone who offered their thoughts and prayers.
 
I had my first surgery Tuesday morning. The procedure took about an hour and all went well. After recovery and a 5 hr wait for a room, I need up in ICU. On Wednesday, during a coughing attack, (which is common after this type of surgery) I pushed the trach tube out of my windpipe. Apparently the length of the trach tube wasn't sufficient to stay inside the windpipe.
 
My Surgeon come up and within a matter of minutes transferred my room into an OR. They knocked me out and removed the original trach tube and replaced it with a longer one. The downside of this is that it started the recovery clock all over again.
 
I remained in ICU until Thursday night. At about 11PM they decided to move me to a room. Here I continue to sit and try to cough up all the good stuff. They come in every 6hrs for breathing treatments etc...  
 
I haven't seen my Surgeon in 2 days. I have no idea what the heck they are doing with me. I hope she gets in here shortly. I have yet to be told when I can leave here. The coughing at times can be quite exhaustive. Trying to get used to breathing out of a different hole can be quite interesting when you awake in the middle of the night.
 
I do feel that I'm getting a much more restful sleep. My mind already feels sharper. (no laughing). I yawned this morning and realized it was the first time all week I had yawned.
 
That's about all I know at this time. When I learn more I will advise.  

BigJohn

Hi John,

I hope you get more information on where you're at in this journey, and soon.  And of course get to go home as soon as you can do so safely.

I'm glad to know you are already feeling some benefit despite the recovery setbacks   Hopefully it is all downhill from here now for you.

Thank you for taking the time to come back in here and let us know your experience so far.  Please keep us posted?  Anyone considering this surgery, will benefit from reading both crazhrse's and your posts on having taken this step.

Here's to a good night's sleep   Cheers.

Blessings,
--pseudonym

Hang in there John!  I know you want to get home....don't rush it though!

John
That is quite a step you took.  Take care and remember.. one step at a time. Thinking of you!
Barb


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BigJohn wrote:

I will be seeing the surgeon Monday to schedule my trach. I cant take it any longer. I'm really afraid of dying
after fighting this demon for almost 20yrs. Can anyone share thier experience with having a tracheatmomy?

Brgrds,

John in Pearland, TX

Before you go to such drastic lengths, are you sure CPAP doesn't help you? Before I would consider such a procedure, I will try EVERY different kind of mask, and EVERY differnet kind of Pressure.

Can you tell us about your current CPAP therapy? Etc?

EDIT: Oops, I didnt 'realize you just had the surgery. Good luck with that! Hope it works for you.


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Owner of Remstar Auto A Flex M series
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Integrated Heater/humidifier
Prescribed setting: 7-10 Cm

Well I was released yesterday afternoon. I'm still haing a great deal of trouble speaking. I think this will continue until I get my permanent trach in.
My wife said I slept like a baby last night. Normally when I sleep on my back my oxygen level would drop to as low as 72%. She said I never snored or made a peep. YEEHAW.....

I've lost 10lbs during my hospital stay. Not surprising with a jello diet. I hope to get my new temp trach next week. This one will allow me to cap it
off during the day so that I can go back to work. I'm still coughing up pflem , I didnt realize hoe much that stuff resembles super glue...damn

Home HealthCare came by this afternoon and said everything is looking fine. Im cleaning my canula tube 2-3 times a day as needed. I'm in the process of ordering the diposible tubes so that I dont have to clean them.  Lets see what tomorrow brings...

Thanks again for all the nice responses.

BigJohn