Hi Stephen. Thank you for your well considered comment and don't worry about having an opinion, I put it out there for precisely this reason! Very interesting viewpoint and I take your points on board. A pill a day is a small thing to worry about compared to other issues. I'm still trying to decide myself, but I must admit the Salmonella concerned me, but its different for each person and it doesn't follow that I will immediately get this if I have my spleen out.
Food for thought, thank you very much!
Stephen - 11 years ago
Hi Marcus,
I've never gone through anything like you are right now so it seems a bit of a cheek to have any opinion whatsoever. All i'd like to do is offer my thoughts as an outsider who has seen people go through things that have similar consequences.
My brother has a terminal but treatable disease (he is 32). He has been living with it for about 18 months now and as long as he keeps taking his tablets at the same time everyday he should have a relatively normal life. Although this sounds like a real burden and something to dread (and indeed I think all of us would like to avoid being in the situation as long as possible) he manages it really easily and it is a much smaller problem than a lot of us on the outside imagined it would be. Having to take antibiotics for the rest of your life therefore should be a relatively minor consideration if the health benefits are real and substantial.
I have other relatives and friends who have to take substantially more than one tablet a day because of their health conditions and, while these tend to be older, if it reduces pain and makes life a more pleasant experience, why wouldn't you.
One of these relatives has gone/is going through lymphoma and has constantly beaten all estimates the doctors have given him about survival. His CD4 count has been below 50 for close to a year now--so he is pretty susceptible to infection. But he rarely catches them and when he does the doctors are great at treating them. Salmonella and Pneumonia are nothing to sneer at but, again, i think the risk is small and the burden to your life of living in a way where you are unlikely to fall victim to them is not so bad as you might think.
That is my (lengthy) 2 pennies worth and why i voted for you to kick the spleen to the curb.
Stephen
Hi Stephen. Thank you for your well considered comment and don't worry about having an opinion, I put it out there for precisely this reason! Very interesting viewpoint and I take your points on board. A pill a day is a small thing to worry about compared to other issues. I'm still trying to decide myself, but I must admit the Salmonella concerned me, but its different for each person and it doesn't follow that I will immediately get this if I have my spleen out.
Food for thought, thank you very much!
Hi Marcus,
I've never gone through anything like you are right now so it seems a bit of a cheek to have any opinion whatsoever. All i'd like to do is offer my thoughts as an outsider who has seen people go through things that have similar consequences.
My brother has a terminal but treatable disease (he is 32). He has been living with it for about 18 months now and as long as he keeps taking his tablets at the same time everyday he should have a relatively normal life. Although this sounds like a real burden and something to dread (and indeed I think all of us would like to avoid being in the situation as long as possible) he manages it really easily and it is a much smaller problem than a lot of us on the outside imagined it would be. Having to take antibiotics for the rest of your life therefore should be a relatively minor consideration if the health benefits are real and substantial.
I have other relatives and friends who have to take substantially more than one tablet a day because of their health conditions and, while these tend to be older, if it reduces pain and makes life a more pleasant experience, why wouldn't you.
One of these relatives has gone/is going through lymphoma and has constantly beaten all estimates the doctors have given him about survival. His CD4 count has been below 50 for close to a year now--so he is pretty susceptible to infection. But he rarely catches them and when he does the doctors are great at treating them. Salmonella and Pneumonia are nothing to sneer at but, again, i think the risk is small and the burden to your life of living in a way where you are unlikely to fall victim to them is not so bad as you might think.
That is my (lengthy) 2 pennies worth and why i voted for you to kick the spleen to the curb.
Stephen