Wpg Lwr's Totally "Tasteless" Contest

Ya gotta love someone who is able to turn a painful experience into a fun one for all!

1. How many more openings besides the 10" one were there, where were they, and what were they for? (Worth three points)

Let's go with two more for laparoscopy that turned out not to be feasible because of the condition of your gall bladder, on either side above your gall bladder.

2. Number of closures in total and what type they were (Worth two points)

Three, staples.

3. New Question: What "side effect" has occurred that is beneficial (obviously other than removal of the gall bladder and gallstone or stones)? (This is such a good thing, I'm going to make it worth two points!)

Actually, I'd agree with weight loss, but let's say ... um ... you no longer have to drink a quart of cranberry juice per day.

With seven points still up for grabs, and standings as follows

nohope ... 1 points
deadmunny ... 2.5 points

1. How many more openings besides the 10" one were there, where were they, and what were they for? (Worth three points)

2. Number of closures in total and what type they were (Worth two points)

3. New Question: What "side effect" has occurred that is beneficial (obviously other than removal of the gall bladder and gallstone or stones)? (This is such a good thing, I'm going to make it worth two points!)

I'm going to give deadmunny one more point for mentioning a CO2 inflation site. I am going to give pls a half point for mentioning that there was a situation where laparoscopy turned out not to be feasible because of gall bladder condition; however the hole that was anticipated to be for laparoscopy was merely lengthened when it appeared that there was a need for a conventional incision. In addition, pls gets a point for stating that the closures were indeed surgical staples.

As for the beneficaial side-effect, no one has gotten it.

With seven points still up for grabs, and standings as follows

nohope ... 1 point
deadmunny ... 3.5 points
pls ... 1.5 points

Still to guess:

There were in all, three sites where my stomach was "pierced" -- the ten-inch major incision and the CO2 inflation site have already been guessed. One other site has not yet been guessed. Name it for a point.

Everything was closed using surgical staples -- how many in all were there (and yes, they all got removed yesterday)? The right number gets a point.

As well, no one has gotten the beneficial side-effect of the situation right, and whoever does guess it is going to get two points.

Nope and nope.

An insertion point for the drain tube...
9 Staples
and side effects
The nice drugs they give you for the pain

And now, to conclude this contest...

Standings:
nohope ... 1 point
deadmunny ... 3.5 points
pls ... 1.5 points

Still to guess:

There were in all, three sites where my stomach was "pierced" -- the ten-inch major incision and the CO2 inflation site have already been guessed. One other site has not yet been guessed. Name it for a point.

nohope587 says: An insertion point for the drain tube...

Totally right. And let me tell you, the drain tube was shaped like a carpenter's pencil, and full of holes like a soaker hose, and the way to get it out is to take a deep breath and blow, while the nurse pulls it gently out, but only about 2 inches is able to be tugged out at a time, which means having to go through this four times. You really feel like you've been harpooned, trust me.

Standings:
nohope ... 2 points
deadmunny ... 3.5 points
pls ... 1.5 points


Everything was closed using surgical staples -- how many in all were there (and yes, they all got removed yesterday)? The right number gets a point.

In total, there were 22 staples -- 20 on the main incision, which resembled a zipper with all of those staples lined up across it, and 2 over my navel, where the CO2 line went in.

Unfortunately, no one was even close on this, so no points awarded.


As well, no one has gotten the beneficial side-effect of the situation right, and whoever does guess it is going to get two points.

Again, no one got this, but maybe it was a bit of a longshot anyway.

When I went into Emergency at the Hospital on 29 January, I had just gotten a new pack of cigarettes about an hour before and had smoked just one. I spent most of the evening and following morning in a room in the Emergency ward in the worst pain/on morphine until they decided to move me to another part of the hospital, where I remained for a few hours until they found me a room on the floor where those waiting for surgery wind up. They booked me into a room at about 3 AM, and all I wanted to do was sleep, and this I did off and on. They continued to monitor me the next day and I was on the short list for surgery, but it didn't happen that day, and I spent most of it flat on my back napping and sucking on ice chips, all they would allow me. The next morning, they did take me for surgery, and after about three hours in the OR and one in Recovery, I awoke; after another hour of observation, they took me back to my room; it was Sunday afternoon.

Finally back and somewhat oriented, I realized that I wasn't, for some strange reason, craving a cigarette, not that I could really get up and have one anyway, with an IV attached and a drainage tube coming out of my nose. The only thing I concentrated on was trying to get to the point where they would, after five days, feed me real food. Sure enough, the next morning, my doctor popped in and told me that he had told the kitchen to send up a breakfast tray for me. I ate with relish, even though it was only oatmeal, tea, and juice. After my meal, I still had no desire for a cigarette. Strange. However, I was more concerned over what lunch was going to be, than anything else. I was up, walking around the floor, going back to my bed for a nap, partaking of ice chips and glasses of water and juice, and the next thing I knew it was lunch time. After lunch, I did more of the same until supper came around. The next day was more activity, as was the next, when they decided I could go home.

Still have no craving for a cigarette though. It must have been the three or so days of pain/morphine/saline drips that killed the desire totally without any irritation or aggrevation.

Hey, I'll take it as it comes. At least this way, I'm saving about $10 day. I still do have that last package in my coat pocket still, only missing one cigarette, but I have not been tempted in the least to light up.

Two weeks, and counting...keep your fingers crossed!

In any event, the winner is deadmunny, with 3.5 points. Congratulations! Kindly pm me your address, and I'll get your prize out to you, and thanks to all who took part!

Ah, well, lucky me...I got both types of drainage!

Thanks, pls.

Of all facets of the habit, I find it's the psychological and physiological aspect that is typically hard to break, especially the desire to partake. I no longer get up in the morning craving a cigarette with my morning coffee; there is no desire to light up at all.

Yes, everything I eat tastes a bit different than it used to, and I'm noticing this already. Some things taste better now, and some things tasted better before, so that's a mixed bag. The other thing I've noticed is that before after having a cigarette, I mentally looked forward to the next one whenever that was going to be (i.e., next coffeebreak), but no longer dwell on the idea, because I'm no longer smoking.

The wildest thing about it is that I never really wanted to quit; I still enjoyed it. It's almost as if I've "outgrown" it or something, because it just no longer interests me.

Kind of makes me wonder how exactly this worked; the whole thing is kind of mysterious; the only thing I can think of is that perhaps subconsciously I associate it with the way I felt when I went into the hospital, and while I was in there my system was basically washed out over a period of five days and I seem to have come out of it detoxified, if you will.

It makes me wonder if the key to quitting for those who want to is this same type of process.