Now That It's Over

User

Posted 03 Sep 2016 at 10:34

Glad that the op went well and that you are feeling good. Hope the recovery stages will be OK for you but take it a step at a time and don't overdo it.

You can relax and chill for a bit.

All the best

Kevan

User

Posted 03 Sep 2016 at 10:45

Good to hear things went well. I was given oxybutynin for bladder spasms. Don't spend all day in that reclining sofa, keep active but no marathons.

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 03 Sep 2016 at 13:03

Hi Glen
Glad you are ok and well done mate. Sounds like you are doing well.
Chris

User

Posted 04 Sep 2016 at 18:15

Sounds like everything is going well so far, it truly is important to rest and not to tackle anything more than a crossword puzzle, game of scrabble, reading the paper, watching telly or even dreaming of stealing helicopters!

Just becuase you are not in pain and everything seems fine you must remember the surgery snipped and took away, snipped and reconnected all sorts of bits I never knew men even had and even a robot has a good old prod around whilst in there! All these things take about 4 - 6 weeks to heal sufficiently to do anything much more.

No harm in day dreaming or wishing though ha ha

Best wishes for a complete and speedy recovery

User

Posted 04 Sep 2016 at 19:35

Update:

Had to go back to hospital this morning; catheter stopped draining and I was in a bit of pain and bleeding a bit.

Got to the hospital and while I was there, had severe bladder spasms; never felt pain like that in my life. Had my whole system flushed through with saline and given anti spasm tablet. Was also given a suppository as I hadn't had a poo for five days and felt quite "pregnant". Together they worked fine and now I am back on the road to recovery. Have a supply of tablets just in case.

Had a problem when I sat down and the top strap securing my bag loosened so it put strain on the tube and I ended up a little "wet", lol.

All is good now and am enjoying a glass of wine. Will need to get up more and do walking several times a day rather than just reclining on the sofa and watching telly. A very steep learning curve!

Oh well, it's better than being dead! Lol.

Glen

User

Posted 04 Sep 2016 at 21:13

That brings back memories of being 4 days post op , paramedics, 30 mg of morphine and my first trip in an ambulance. Mine was all down to constipation and like you never experienced pain like that before. My experience post op was as the days went on the debris and clots became more frequent and the bypassing became more frequent. Were you given any advice on how to deal with blockages and bypassing ?

Sounds like your bag may not have been pushed into the catheter enough. When I shower I let the bag hang from the catheter and it has never come disconnected.

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 05 Sep 2016 at 19:00

Hi Glen,

Aah surprise returns to hospital! All part off your new life's rich pattern.

Your first attempt at escape lasted longer than my first attempt. I was back in in 4 hours with a leaking like a sieve catheter. Some of the longer standing members here may recall my blog account of watering the flowers and cable ties.

Don't rush anything, your body will do what it needs to do, as and when it is ready and willing to do it.

But I do suggest you exercise, gently at first then more vigorously.

atb

dave

All we can do - is do all that we can.

So, do all you can to help yourself, then make the best of your time. :-)

I am the statistic.

User

Posted 05 Sep 2016 at 20:43

All the best Glen.

I tended to drink a fair bit of extra water. To keep the whole system flowing. Not sure if it made much difference. I had no med's or pain after about couple days other than a massive bladder spasm about 30 seconds after emptying. This was weeks later. I was returning from a walk and the bladder was reaching its capacity I think. The pain dissipated slowly after 3 or 4 minutes. Encruciating. Never was told this could happen. I find I have a much better flow and only need to go 4 or 5 times per day. Nothing at night. Unless I have a cider or 2 late evening or caffeine. I probably treat my bladder much more kindly now.... lol... all the best

User

Posted 09 Sep 2016 at 14:47

Update folks:

Back into hospital today to have the catheter removed and to test the plumbing. All OK so am home now. District nurse coming tomorrow to take out staples.

A bit of leakage when standing up and sitting down again but that seems to be getting better by the hour.

All in all, it hasn't been too bad. Had a bit of a temperature for a day or two but the paracetamol seems to have fixed that. No more bladder spasms, thank goodness, but I did take a couple of Oxybutynin tablets when I thought one might be on the way.

So, next is PSA test in about four weeks then post op chat with the consultant a couple of weeks later to see if all the cancerous cells have gone and where we go from there.

So from now on it is onwards and upwards.

Glen

User

Posted 09 Sep 2016 at 16:17

Well done - so pleased that things are going well but don't be tempted to overdo things because you are feeling well. Great news!

User

Posted 09 Sep 2016 at 16:35

Really pleased for you that things have finally worked out. May your weekend be spasmless
Chris

User

Posted 10 Sep 2016 at 00:42

Hi Glen

Things should start feeling more normal now. Hopefully you get through night dry. I only had issues. Excuse the pun. when standing up quickly. I tended to try steadily to hold on a little more and it seemed to work. Obviously the bladder has more room and sits differently. All the bundles of nerves have to 're-sync'.

May I ask. What staples...? I just had superglue material. In fact no one ever looked at my wounds.

One weeped clear fluid one night. Loads .. It wet the bed. All healed very well and apart from the larger central one practically invisible. I kept them dry as much as I could. Did you get given Fragmin ??

All the best.

User

Posted 10 Sep 2016 at 07:26

Hi and yes, I have Fragmin and I feel a little prick every day, lol.

First night at home having catheter out and it was dry! I did get up twice though. It's the same with me; if I think and then tense before moving my body vertically then I don't get any leakage at all.

I am SO glad it's all over; now I can get back to "normal", whatever that was, lol.

My wounds have been stapled together; I heard that it's an alternative to superglue.

I hope to start feeling stronger soon and I'm still a little sore down below but when that has gone, I'm going to look at very gently exercise; short s and perhaps some light Pilates again. I started Pilates years ago and would highly recommend it to anyone who suffers from back pain, or in fact any other physical/mechanical issues. I hope to be running a half marathon within six months.

Best wishes to all who have had the op, those who have yet to have it and of course, all you wonderful supporters.

Glen

User

Posted 10 Sep 2016 at 09:32

Morning Glen,

Excellent news for you regarding a dry night, you are very fortunate.

I hope all else goes well, but take care not to overdo anything even though you may feel outwardly fine.

Have a great weekend.

dave

All we can do - is do all that we can.

So, do all you can to help yourself, then make the best of your time. :-)

I am the statistic.

User

Posted 25 Sep 2016 at 12:12

Just an update.

It is now two weeks since I had my catheter out. Things are going really well as not only am I totally dry every night, but I am also 98% dry during the day, the pads are dry all the time and they have hardly any colour change. I do have to be careful though to ensure I tense before I move suddenly. Moving slowly seems to be the key.

Now, Pelvic Floor Exercises . . . . do they work or not? I know there has been quite a lot of debate about it with some saying that it helps and others saying it is a waste of time. So let me give you my take on it.

I started doing PFEs six weeks before my op. I already knew how to do them because a few years ago, I suffered with back pain; I took up Pilates and within a month my back pain was gone. Now, the first thing you are taught when stating Pilates is how to do a "zip and hold". This is basically a pelvic floor "pull up" and the theory is that if you have a strong body "core" then the rest of the body tends to work much better.

Since I had my catheter out, I have been doing eight sets of ten PFEs every day without fail. I have an app on my phone which reminds me to do them.

Now, I don't know if it's the result of doing the PFEs which has enabled me to progress so quickly or if it's perhaps that I've been lucky. However, I believe that we make our own luck and therefore I shall carry on doing them until I am 100% dry.

So, my advice to anyone who has had or is going to have a radical prostatectomy, START DOING PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES NOW! You've nothing to lose but an awful lot to gain.

Glen

User

Posted 25 Sep 2016 at 16:00

I think the issue Glen is what has caused the incontinence. PFEs will help men with stress incontinence because their pelvic muscles simply need to recover from having been cut, stitched and pulled around. They will make no difference at all to a man whose urethral sphinctre has been permanently damaged or whose valves have been removed, or has had their urethra punctured during the op. John's uro was very clear that in his opinion PFEs would make no difference at all, but John had had both valves removed along with the bottom of his bladder, and then one valve re-inserted in a new position. As it turned out, all he needed was time for the new joins to heal and for his brain to relearn how to control his bladder - a bit like a toddler being potty trained.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 25 Sep 2016 at 21:14

Hi Glen

Glad things are progressing well. Yes. PFE must help. I did many before and only occasionally after. Maybe luck or a skilled surgeon I was dry a day after catheter out. Yes I would get a very small leak if I got up from chair quickly for a few days. I think at your stage you can actually very gradually wait a little longer before going. I found that listen to body etc. As obviously the brain/ nerve signals need time to readjust. Incidentally it was my digestive system took about a month to get back to normal. I think it was about 1 week after catheter out I had a major spasm after emptying a very full bladder. Are you back driving and working now ?

User

Posted 10 Oct 2016 at 08:40

Yes, onwards and upwards for me.

It's now four weeks since I had my catheter removed and the news gets better every day, to the extent that I am now 99% dry during the day. I can handle normal activity without the slightest "dribble" but fighting with a nine year old little girl yesterday did cause a slight leak, lol.

I have my post op consultation at the end of this month and have been referred to the ED clinic by my GP.

The "little fella" has occasionally stirred from his coma, but nothing to write home about. I've tried Viagra and Cialis but no deal. I spoke to the guy from iMedicare who supplies the pumps that the NHS provide and I'm hoping that the ED team can provide me with one, if only to try and keep the "memory muscle and tissue" from totally forgetting that occasionally he is required to "stand to attention", lol. Makes sense, but at £198 I may even buy one if I think it's going to help. I really do miss waking up to seeing a "tent" in the morning, lol.

Glen

User

Posted 23 Jan 2017 at 15:05

Right folks, how are you all?

It's been a while since I posted on here so I thought I'd give an update.

It's now four and a half months since my prostate was removed and I have only good news for you all.

I've been for my first check-up and my PSA level was undetectable; I have another in March. I was loaned a vacuum pump to try and I got on with it pretty well. I did get a bit scared after the op as "it" had shrunk to the size of a button mushroom! But, the pump did it's job and at least now I can see it again, lol.

I went to see the ED nurse last week and she has booked me into the ED clinic ASAP so I can trial the injections as while the pump and rings is all very well, it's not exactly spontaneous and needs at least five minutes to get anywhere. But it does the job of exercising the bits and I've been told that I must keep using it on a daily basis. Nothing at all is happening naturally yet and I'm told that it could be anything up to two years before a photo of Ann Widdicombe is able to "turn me on"!

The really good news is that I am now very nearly totally dry. I've been dry at night since Day1, but now I'm dry also during the day, apart from maybe a small "dribble" if anything unexpected happens e.g. cough, sneeze or someone bumping into me; but if I can prepare my body for it, then all is well.

Now, to the sometimes thorny subject of PFEs (Pelvic Floor Exercises). Some people say they work and some say they are a waste of time. I started doing PFEs about two months before my op and I've been doing them daily ever since (six sessions of ten contractions). No matter what other people may say, I AM CONVINCED 100% that my progress is linked to me doing the PFEs on a regular basis. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

I wish all men who have had the op or who are waiting to have it the very best wishes. Yes, having a prostate removed and the after effects are not something I would have wished for . . . . . . but it's much better than being dead!

Best of luck to you all.

Glen

User

Posted 23 Jan 2017 at 15:12

Another success. Really really pleased for you. Don't give up on the pump ever for daily exercise. It will pay dividends. Things looking much much better here but 19 months post op !!
Good luck

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