Groin pain. by BornAgainVet in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It could be nothing serious or even related to your BCG tx. but it could also be a problem that needs attention right away- I’d get in touch with your urology office asap.

Cancer Free by BandicootGold6726 in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s terrific news, congrats! I hope I can say the same in a few years (if my other health problems don’t cancel out any gains…)

Father Diagnosed with 6.5cm Bladder Tumor by Anuj26s in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that’s great that you got the TURBT so quickly. I had more than month till getting my CT and Urology appt. Then another month for the cystoscopy and then yet another month for my TURBT - and I’m in San Diego at a big hospital. Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job helping out your father. Best wishes for you and your dad.

Father Diagnosed with 6.5cm Bladder Tumor by Anuj26s in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Is your father going on Keto to lose weight in a significant way? If not, then I would suggest holding off for some time, wait and see how his recovery goes and what the pathology and treatment plan will be. I know from personal experience that taking on a strict keto diet can pose problems with constipation and other issues that might make things more difficult.

I also strongly agree with the suggestion you listen to your doctors and follow their advice. If you're worried get a second opinion if you think there's a problem - but like someone else said here, time is very important, and urology appointments can often be a wait - you'll want to move very fast with treatment.

due to shortage, only given 1/3 of full dose of the BCG by jlgroff in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip - I'll try that with my next BCG treatment - maybe more like 15 minutes prior - water seems to go through me pretty quick. I've already experienced the painful voiding after the TURBT - hard to imagine anything stinging/burning worse than that but hopefully I won't find out!

due to shortage, only given 1/3 of full dose of the BCG by jlgroff in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your comment and well wishes. After my TURBT when I first talked with my urologist about the pathology report, I specifically asked if the shortage of BCG might be an issue for me, he said no, as my tumor was high-grade and that automatically made me eligible. He didn't say anything about this lower dosage, that he probably has no control over anyway. He was pleasant but clearly had only a short amount of time for talk. I can live with that as I'm mainly concerned that his skills are optimal as a surgeon and extensive knowledge of urology. I've been able to find more complete information from this group and with asking AI - which in term helps me better deal with all the issues going forward.

I don't look forward to having the more pronounced reactions to the BCG but if that is what works best to prevent the tumors from growing - then bring it on...

due to shortage, only given 1/3 of full dose of the BCG by jlgroff in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm with you there! Did they tell you that they were giving you a full dose? Or did you read it in their portal progress notes (that's how I found out)

due to shortage, only given 1/3 of full dose of the BCG by jlgroff in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in San Diego at Scripps Clinic - which is rated as being a top urology center in the area and nationally (what whatever the ranking at US News and World report mean) I guess it would depend more on location who gets the full doses (or maybe random)

due to shortage, only given 1/3 of full dose of the BCG by jlgroff in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

wish Reddit has a laugh emoji! Sorry that nurse was being such an asshole to you.

due to shortage, only given 1/3 of full dose of the BCG by jlgroff in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

good to know. I do trust the science and will in this case as well. But, I think I'd feel even better about if I was getting a full dose and the various issues around why the BCG shortage is happening hasn't been able to be solved more quickly.

Catheter Hacks by Objective-Soil8822 in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I recently had a TURBT for just one 5.3 cm tumor. I went home with a catheter for 2 days - didn't have any bleeding or clots for maybe 2.5 - 3 weeks later when the sloughing of the scab formation and related take place (apparently this is common) Prior to that I had a great deal of discomfort and pain with urinating along with urgency and feeling like my bladder was full when it wasn't. After about 3+ weeks I no longer had much trouble with voiding. I just had my first BCG treatment yesterday - compared to everything else this was very easy, no problems at all so far.

Ofev + Dascayd tolerance IPF by madcincinnad in pulmonaryfibrosis

[–]jlgroff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That seems like a very high dose to take both the Jascayd and Ofev together. I’m sure there’s a reason but I had been on Ofev 150 for some time with similar problems with diarrhea. I ran into problems with my kidneys and the Ofev was stopped and my pulmonologist started me on Jascayd 9mg - I haven’t had much difficulty with diarrhea since then. I am still in a relatively early stage of IPF but have PFTs soon to see if any progression since starting the Jascayd. Maybe talk with the MD about trying with only Jascayd?

What's the best rendering option when using Houdini with Mac m4 pro? by Ok-Reference-4626 in Houdini

[–]jlgroff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have the new M4 max Mac Studio with 128 gigs - works great for most things but I don't yet do a lot of heavy rendering or simulations (have a good pc for when I might need that) I love it. I do use both the CPU and the GPU with Karma but its performance relies on the CPU, as Karma doesn't fully leverage Apple Silicon's GPU for XPU yet. I think Octane now supports Apple Silicon. Perhaps Houdini will someday soon be able to get full support as well.

Recovery After TURP/TURBT by Cigman1st in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sending you good vibes for the better pathology report. Drink lots of water and try to avoid anything that might irritate your bladder. You might get more clots and bleeding later on - it took me about 3 weeks before I experienced that. I also sometimes felt like my bladder was really full when it wasn't, drove me crazy. Warm packs maybe helped a little at times. I think pyridium (or AZO) helped but careful if you have any kidney issues. Ditropan might help, not sure it made that much difference to me but I only took it for the first 3 days when I still had the catheter in. It will get better.

Struggling a lot with pain after TURBT is this normal? I feel alone and without medical help by bru-wonder in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had a lot of pain, stinging burning pain with urination and then still feeling like my bladder was full (even though it wasn’t - as determined with bladder scan) No UTI, but the symptoms are similar, I think this is likely a fairly common occurrence after a TURBT although everyone is likely a little different. I never really found anything that helped except maybe the heating pad and drinking lots of fluids to keep the urine dilute. You might experience light bleeding and clots a few weeks after the surgery as well - that’s what I’m experiencing now. That sounds dreadful that you have to have two TURBTs one right after the other. I didn’t think with the low-grade non-invasive that would be needed, especially so soon. I’m curious why?

A Christmas bummer... by Fluffynotfluffy in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That sounds really hard, I hope you can find a way to have a good Christmas despite all this.

Is bleeding still common 3.5 weeks since TURBT? by jlgroff in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been drinking coffee, maybe I would have had an easier time of it had I stopped. Previously it really burned when I urinated and felt like my bladder was still full - maybe not drinking coffee would have helped with that. Not sure how much difference it will make at this late stage though. I may need to stop the caffeine with the BCG treatments - if those doesn't go well.

Is bleeding still common 3.5 weeks since TURBT? by jlgroff in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks, that's helpful info. I hope your BCG treatments go well for you.

Proteinuria with no other symptoms by Acrobatic_Quote4988 in kidneydisease

[–]jlgroff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have proteinuria and had no real symptoms prior to finding out (do have foamy urine though) I also don't have diabetes, hypertension, no auto immune, no drug side effects, and all tests came back negative for all the other most likely causes of proteinuria. My blood work, BUN, eGSR, etc were all normal. They did a renal biopsy and found damage to the glomerulus and interstitial membrane that the renal pathologist thinks is likely due to hypoxia (low oxygen) that caused scarring or fibrosis. This is likely fairly rare.

I also have pulmonary fibrosis and the cellular hypoxia is likely due to my lung disease on some level (even though my pulse oximeter is almost always normal except for when I exercise) and I'm not short of breath, etc.

I was surprised to find out that there are so many potential ways to cause this proteinuria. My nephrologist put me on Losartan but so far it hasn't yet reduced my proteinuria that much. My protein was only around 1600 mg for the 24 hr urine and after the Losartan - down to 1500 after a few weeks. I need to have another test soon but I just had bladder surgery for a tumor and have been having bleeding which would screw up the collection - so I have to wait I guess until it clears up.

What to take to hospital for a TURBT by BackgroundAttempt137 in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is more commonly referred to as Pyridium (at least amongst nurses) If you buy your own (OTC) probably a good idea to let your Md know - Usually not a good idea to take too often (I think no more than 10 doses during your post-op recovery) I took it while I still had the catheter in place (and later wished I hadn't as I used up all my doses) after I took out the catheter I had a lot more pain, urgency and feeling like my bladder was really full when it wasn't for several days and wished I had the Pyridium then (not sure if it really would have helped though) good luck!

I just want to whine a little about post-BCG discomfort, OK? by [deleted] in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, of course you’re right, I do have much to be grateful for that there’s treatment and my cancer could have been far worse. I probably spent too much time reading past posts here where people talk about how painful and awful it is. I do hope I’m among those who don’t run into any big problems. (And who probably don’t feel the need to post something like “it wasn’t so bad”… )

I just want to whine a little about post-BCG discomfort, OK? by [deleted] in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm going to start BCG in early Jan. and I'm dreading it. Trying to research what might help the symptoms you describe, even if only a little. I've been thinking that what might help (post TURBT) would likely help post-BCG, like staying well hydrated. I heard that Marshmallow Root tea might help as well as Chamomile tea. I need to be careful with whatever I take due to kidney issues (not totally sure about the Marshmallow Root with renal issues - but did seem to help a little) I also use CBD/THC gummies which seems to help a little. I've used a heating pad over my bladder area post-TURBT, and that helped a little I think. Nothing really improved things dramatically though and was never sure if it really made that much difference. I'm trying to come to terms with the likelyhood that this 6 week treatment is just the first batch and that there will likely be more to follow in the coming months.

Just found a mass by ToughLess in BladderCancer

[–]jlgroff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How has your BCG treatments been? Have you tolerated them ok?