Texas - Cuda2k - off the bike: 4/25 - 5/15!!!... and 10/10 - 10/30

Here we go again. :( Tomorrow I'm going in for two more removals, and likely two more biopsies on two other spots that I am concerned about. Guessing 3-4 weeks total off the bike, might be able to get on the trainier a little towards the end... but we'll see.

---------------------------- Original Post -------------------------------------------------------
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P5052247.JPGIts official, I will be going into the docs for additional excisions on a number of moles that I had biopsied 2 weeks ago. The first round will be Wed afternoon for the two on my calf. A week later I go back in for the one on my temple and one on my lower thigh. So that’s 4 of the 7 spots in 2 week’s time, the max that the doctor can do. The stitches on the legs usually come out 2 weeks post excision, head usually 10 days. So it looks like a bare minimum of 3 weeks worth of stitches. After that, I have the decision of doing the other 3 spots (at least 2 more visits) either now or waiting till cooler weather to arrive (and prime riding weather to end!)

I’ll keep this thread updated with my recovery progress. Thanks to all of those who have already expressed their well wishes as I go through this. I hope to be back on the bike soon, but must ensure that the excisions are healed enough to do so first. I don’t get paid to ride a bike and with my history of bad scaring the last thing I want to do is risk damaging the wound by going too hard too soon.

edit: round 1 pictures -

http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302231.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302232.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302234.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302235.JPG

Part II:
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P5052251.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P5052252.JPG

round2 pictures part I -

http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P5032236.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P5032237.JPG

round 2 pictures part II

http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P5052247.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P5052248.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P5052250.JPG

I'm amazed at the need for such deep incisions. Most are cut off at just below skin depth and need nothing more than a band-aid. Not cacnerous, I hope?

Best wished fo a speedy recovery.

I did the just below skin depth round 2 weeks ago which were the biopsies. These are a complete removal since they are what they call dysplastic, which are atypical and have a higher likelihood of developing melanoma in the future. 2 of these 'noted' as being more atypical as the other 5 and were recommended for immediate complete excision.

I had a malignant melanoma when I was 18, back in the summer of 2000. Which means when a mole biopsy comes back dysplastic, it's better off completely removed than sit around and find out if it's going to go bad down the road. Especially those two that were noted. Thanks for the well wishes.

Best of luck. You are doing the right thing being cautious with dyplastic nevi. Take care and there will be plenty of riding when you're up to it.

If you bikes get lonely, let me know, I will come ride them! Might even talk to you if you have beer or if someone else makes some pineapple upside down cake with ice cream like last night!!!

good luck Cuda....I'll keep you im my prayers...and here's to a full and speedy recovery!!

:beer:

You know, Cuda, that bike will be there for you when you are all recovered. Your health is of upmost importance (as is your healing), so I think you are very wise to take it easy. Perhaps, if your doctor says it's okay, you can hike or take spin classes (easy going) or jog (lightly) or weight lift (whatever won't interfere with the stitches) so that you can keep your fitness and spirits up. You'll come back strong and ready to ride once you've healed. I wish you the speediest recovery.

I know UTD has a pretty good gym, go work on the upper body! ;)

what, you had cake and didn't invite me?

what, you had cake and didn't invite me?
It was awesome. Happyfeet made pineapple upside down cake, and served it hot out of the oven with vanilla ice cream on the side. I may have to go check up on poor old Cuda everyday, maybe two or three times a day.:D

Take care of yourself, Cuda. Like others have said, you're doing the right thing by being cautious.

Hello everyone. Just got home from round 1. Two new very nice long stitched incisions on the back of my right calf. One is just about centered on the back, the other to the inside about 1/8 of the way around. Both are well covered in bandages so no war wound photos any time too soon.

I've gone down this road before so I knew what to expect. My appointment was at 2:15, and I'm home less than 2 hrs later. Local anestetic was used, and that took more time than anything to do. So now I'm home, no way that I could possibly climb on a bike regardless of how much I'd like to. With the leg stitched up, even though they run long ways down my calf, the skin feels very tight and the leg doesn't want to straighten out all the way. If history repeats itself, it will likely stay that way for about 5 days before the induced limp is gone. The doctor even mentioned how tight the skin was after stitching, contributing it to my cycling. I kinda laughed, after seeing the 'leg thread' in road cycling last week there are plenty of cyclists out there with bigger and firmer calfs than me. I guess for now, that isn't a bad thing, and I won't be working towards bigger ones for a while.

I go back in a week from today for round 2. This will be the thigh and my right temple. Those will likely be more troublesome due to their location. The temple especially I'm a bit concerned with being in my hairline and right in a rather tender area of the head. At least they're giving me some good pain killers. :D

I hope you have a speedy recovery. Hang in there, you will be back on the bike before you know it.

Hang in there. Since your not riding them, can I borrow your bikes? You will get them back...all componants replaced with acera but you get the bikes back... Scouts honor! :D

There's plenty of time for riding; take care of your health first. Here's to a speedy recovery:beer:

The temple especially I'm a bit concerned with being in my hairline and right in a rather tender area of the head. At least they're giving me some good pain killers. :D

Hey, at least you have hair.

Sorry to hear you will be off the bike, but anticipation can be a great thing.

Take your time in your recovery, spend some time on other interests, and then hit it with a vengeance when you get medical clearance to ride again.

Hang in there brotha.

Hey best of luck and :beer: to a speedy recovery!

Get to the weight room and get some work on that upper body.

Also, does this guy do general mole removal? I have a couple I want/need taken off and have been looking for a decent doctor.

+3 on giving those lonely bikes some loving while you're out of commision ;)

Stray Cat - give Dr. McGuiness at Plano Dermatology a call if he's in your network. He'll do that no prob. I'll PM you the phone number.

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. :)

Dr. McGuiness

Uh-oh. Wouldn't trust a name like that. Have you checked any of the stitches for lopsidedness?

Hey cuda, glad to hear that everything went relatively smoothly on the first round. I think this means that you will have plenty of time to get all those vintage rides in excellent working order now :) . Hmm, if I ship all my bikes to you, can you work on them during your downtime?

As always, I'll send some good thoughts your way.

East Hill

Gah, note to anyone who isn't sure, throbbing pain in calf isn't a fun way to wake up in the morning. I go to bed thinking that the local anestetic had worn off and the pain wasn't bad at all, heck I could walk pretty well with just a little limp. :rollleyes: Not so much. Half hobbled to the pain meds after rolling out of bed and I've now got the leg on ice as well. Still nothing in comparison to the pain from jaw surgery, but certainly brings the realization that I had my leg filleted yesterday. And yes, there was more than one fillet o fish jokes going around the office yesterday before I left. :lol:

Bike maintaince list for when I'm up and moving a little better:

1) finish the 'cudas wheelset. rear wheel needs more dishing and truing. front could probably use a little stress relieving and a final truing.

2) cuda needs new brake cables run and pedals put back on.

3) Gazelle needs another cleaning. Amazing how fast the condensation from the water bottles and road grit make the bottom braket area a mess. The pearl white paint sure gets dirty quick.

4) tubulars... need I say more? :lol:

5) Serotta... soon.

suck it up, nancy-boy! :) Where's my dang jersey at? :) (I love ending sentences with prepositions)

Gah, note to anyone who isn't sure, throbbing pain in calf isn't a fun way to wake up in the morning. I go to bed thinking that the local anestetic had worn off and the pain wasn't bad at all, heck I could walk pretty well with just a little limp. :rollleyes: Not so much. Half hobbled to the pain meds after rolling out of bed and I've now got the leg on ice as well. Still nothing in comparison to the pain from jaw surgery, but certainly brings the realization that I had my leg filleted yesterday. And yes, there was more than one fillet o fish jokes going around the office yesterday before I left. :lol:

Bike maintaince list for when I'm up and moving a little better:

1) drink scotch and look at flyte

2) drink rum and look at gazelle

3) drink tequila and look at barracuda

4) drink vodka and look at serotta

5) stop drinking and wonder why I can see eight bikes now......

Updated and accurate list above!

Jeff he doesn't need vodka, he has pain meds.
The scenario goes more like this.

look at Serotta, drool, wipe chin
Look at Gazelle, drool, and fall asleep
look at Barracuda, drool and ponder depth of paint.
fall asleep
look at Flyte, drool, mumble and fall asleep.

Jon, hope you get to feeling better soon. you'll have plenty
of time for riding once the drool dries. . . .

marfty

Jeff he doesn't need vodka, he has pain meds.
The scenario goes more like this.

look at Serotta, drool, wipe chin
Look at Gazelle, drool, and fall asleep
look at Barracuda, drool and ponder depth of paint.
fall asleep
look at Flyte, drool, mumble and fall asleep.

Jon, hope you get to feeling better soon. you'll have plenty
of time for riding once the drool dries. . . .

marfty

I like your list. Except I'd have to drive down to David's to see the Serotta. And yes, my pain meds + vodka or etc wouldn't be a smart idea. ;) I picked up a couple new computer games that I"ve been playing most of the morning to keep myself busy. This weekend I'll probably work on my website for a while.

Back to work this morning. Leg is feeling good as long as I don't stand up for too long. TGIF, got the weekend to relax and take it easy. Ya'll get some good miles in for me though on what is shaping up to be a fantastic weekend for riding.

Will do. I gotta ride Sat and Sun if I want to break the 450 mile mark this month, but that shouldn't be a problem with the Muenster Metric tomorrow and the new titanium and CF lowracer that oughta be delivered today :)

Will do. I gotta ride Sat and Sun if I want to break the 450 mile mark this month, but that shouldn't be a problem with the Muenster Metric tomorrow and the new titanium and CF lowracer that oughta be delivered today :)

Lucky SOB. :p

Down to one pain pill today after icing the leg started to cause a bit of stinging. Probably could have gotten away with a couple Tylenol, but the vicodin was closer. :D Was tempted to take some photos of the war wounds to post when I was cleaning and redressing the spots earlier today, but decided to spare you all that sight.

Haven't been spending too much time on BF's the last few days, it was making me miss not being able to ride a bit too much. I do plan on getting the wheel set finished up tomorrow afternoon perhaps. I've been playing a fair bit of computer games, something I haven't really done since I started cycling. It's certainly a good way to kill 4+ hrs fairly easily when you don't want to get up very often.

Thanks all for the well wishes of fast healing. I'll update as there is something worth updating.

Ok, for those who want to see the carnage - here's a few photos of the incisions as they are now. They still have the pressure strips over the stitches which hides a bit of detail, but you can see the size fairly well. I'm just going to link them instead of hot links for anyone who cares not to see. ;)

http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302231.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302232.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302234.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302235.JPG

dude, that stinks. i was off my bike for a whole summer after i broke my collarbone in a mtb accident. i bet it won't be that long for you, but i know how you're feeling.

Damn Jon, hope you feel better soon.

Its official, I will be going into the docs for additional excisions on a number of moles that I had biopsied 2 weeks ago. The first round will be Wed afternoon for the two on my calf. A week later I go back in for the one on my temple and one on my lower thigh. So that’s 4 of the 7 spots in 2 week’s time, the max that the doctor can do. The stitches on the legs usually come out 2 weeks post excision, head usually 10 days. So it looks like a bare minimum of 3 weeks worth of stitches. After that, I have the decision of doing the other 3 spots (at least 2 more visits) either now or waiting till cooler weather to arrive (and prime riding weather to end!)

I’ll keep this thread updated with my recovery progress. Thanks to all of those who have already expressed their well wishes as I go through this. I hope to be back on the bike soon, but must ensure that the excisions are healed enough to do so first. I don’t get paid to ride a bike and with my history of bad scaring the last thing I want to do is risk damaging the wound by going too hard too soon.

Prime riding weather never ends.

Good luck with your medical procedures and I hope you're back on the bike soon!

Don't know how I missed this thread Cuda, sadly it must have gotten lost in the sea of Ryanf nonsense. Now that I've found it, I hope you heal quickly and that you never have to face the prospect of melanoma in the future. Can't wait to hear about your first ride on the Serotta!

Get better real quick Jon. You wouldn't want a Pennsylvanian getting in more miles this year than you. :D

May the force be with you.

To be fair I had this thread in the Southwest Regional forum for a while. But moved it in here for a while to spread the news and give a different topic than botto and ryanf. ;)

Whoa, way to get the body work done Cuda! Take care :beer:

We wanted the ones of the open wounds before suturing! Where are they? When is the next round of pineapple upside down ice creamy goodness being served? I need to know so I can stop by and see Margaret, I mean check up on you!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. The bikes will be there when you become healed. For now, just concentrate on becoming a higher level dungeon master on your video games. ;)

^ ^ ^ :lol: Both games are Real Time Strategy games set during the medieval ages. Great fun building and marching armies against each other. Especially playing against other people.

Update - the doc's office just called and said that the first two (aka: round 1) lab results came back. All is clear and good. They removed the mole completely and will require no additional work. Two down... five to go.

Yikes! Missed this thread. Good luck!!! (and now I know what you meant by your comment on my blog)

Update - the doc's office just called and said that the first two (aka: round 1) lab results came back. All is clear and good. They removed the mole completely and will require no additional work. Two down... five to go.
Good. Good luck with the rest. Hope you're back on your bike soon.

Yikes! Missed this thread. Good luck!!! (and now I know what you meant by your comment on my blog)

Yep. ;)

Good news is that I should have my next project back in my hands within a week. So hopefully between the computer gaming and slowly and methodically building up a bike I can fill up the time between now and when I'm able to get back in the saddle. As soon as the doc gives me clearance I'll be on the trainer doing some very light spinning at the very least.

Ok, for those who want to see the carnage - here's a few photos of the incisions as they are now. They still have the pressure strips over the stitches which hides a bit of detail, but you can see the size fairly well. I'm just going to link them instead of hot links for anyone who cares not to see. ;)

http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302231.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302232.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302234.JPG
http://jonpfischer.com/UploadPhotos/tn_P4302235.JPG
of course i would look;)

Im glad you're feeling a bit better :)

Best wished...speedy recovery.

Appointment for round 2 is at 3:15 tomorrow afternoon. From then through Sunday, if I seem a little out of it when I post - that just means I'm back on the pain meds again. :D

It'll be good to have this behind you. No use taking chances with stuff like this.

Hang in there, Cuda! We're all pullin' for ya! :)

Appointment for round 2 is at 3:15 tomorrow afternoon. From then through Sunday, if I seem a little out of it when I post - that just means I'm back on the pain meds again. :D
I had one of those removed from my right cheek Cuda, ( face that is:p ) it was a beauty mark as a kid and it grew into a mole, a plastic surgeon took it off last year, I have a small scar on my cheek instead, but now I see it as giving me caracter :)
I now look like a toughie:p