My Prostate Cancer Surgery experience

HI Pauly

Fantastic to hear this news about your PSA which mirrors my own . My next follow up is in January

I wish you and everyone else who have contributed to this thread a good Christmas and Happy New Year and hope like Pauly C that you all have positive outcomes.

Best wishes 

Paul 

Hi Guys,

Thank you so much for your positive support, really makes a difference to me and I am sure others feel the same way knowing they are not alone in facing this whether it's being diagnosed, deciding which treatment plan to follow, sharing post treatment experience and then being to celebrate good news and support others when facing further challenges.   

Sites like this are really great but it's the real people with real experiences who make it so special. 

I am sure we will be here for years to come and hopefully able to show that this disease doesn't have to be the winner every time, with the right support and good specialists doing great work we can all hopefully survive and thrive.

All the best to you all

Sincerely

Pauly

Just think, tomorrow, you’ll have a three hour nap and when you wake up you’ll be cancer free. Happy days!

Do let us all know how it all pans out.

Best of luck.

Cheers, John.

Hi Steve,

I am sure will be in great hands tomorrow, fingers xxd all goes well for you.

From my own experience, they will keep you in for 1 or 2 days and you will have various drips/tubes attached along with the dreaded catheter.

Try to get out of bed as soon as you can just to get moving around the ward, awkward with all the attachments but it really important to get mobile.   Physio will come to you to see how mobile you are and walk with you.

Catheter was not a nice experience for me but should be coming out @10 days post op and it will be a great relief when they take it out.

Best advice I got about lifting was nothing heavier than a filled kettle for the first week or two and then you will know if you can a manage anything more.

Use the laxatives they give as you will be bunged up for a few days, took me almost 5 days for my first bowel movement, just have to bear with it.

The self jabs are pretty easy but always make sure you pinch at least an inch of skin in your hand, nothing less otherwise you can get bruising and soreness + use different sites each time.

Eat light meals, cereal and soups etc.    After a week or two treat yourself to some non-alcoholic lager (bud or heineken are actually quite good but need to be very chilled).

Sleeping is something that I found tricky as I nervous about stretching the catheter tube so experiment with different positions and you can use a pillow under your legs if that helps.  Good idea to keep your legs elevated anyway. 

Get up and about when you are home even if it just pushing a shopping trolley your the shops you must get as mobile as you can and stay active every day.

Once the catheter is out, try and avoid drinks like coffee/tea as they will make you pee more due to the caffeine.

Driving is a tricky one, my docs said none for 6 weeks, but I was driving very short journeys after a week and back at work after month which involves 30 mins driving each way.   You will know if/when to start.

Finally, don't over do it, get plenty of rest as sleeping for me was tough once the catheter was out, in the bathroom almost hourly and it wears you down.   Hopefully you  might get longer gaps between bathroom visits.   Accept you may get some mood swings, good and bad, all perfectly normal but just be aware for those around you.

Hope to hear from you soon and look forward to hearing how you progress.

All the best

Sincerely

Pauly

Thanks for taking the time to type that very comprehensive reply. Very useful and encouraging advice. Now looking forward to the challenge of beating this cancer with more enthusiasm.

Regards

Steve

Point well made and accepted although just to clarify advice was verbal only not given to me in writing . Always worth checking with your insurance first.

I parked a car the day I was discharged (day three), and drove again on day four.

They say don’t drive until you can press the brake to perform an emergency stop, but as I was I no pain anyway, it was no problem. I can honestly say I have had more pain from a sore throat.

When the consultant came to see me next day, post-op, with a gaggle of acolytes, he asked me: “How are you?” I truthfully told them: “I’ve never felt so well”, despite being connected to multiple drips and pipe-work.

When an understudy (fully-qualified consultant surgeon) came to see me on the morning of day three I asked him: “Why am I not in pain?”

“Ah, that’s the benefit of minimally-invasive surgery”

I was lucky enough to have one of the top surgeons in Europe.

I hope you enjoy a similar outcome.

Cheers, John.

I hope you’ll have as a skillful surgeon as I had. The operation itself is a cinch - you go sleepies - recuperation is the important part.

I feel very privileged as I had a wonderful surgeon and a virtually pain-free procedure. I still can’t believe it.

Get those powdered drinks down your neck now, and come back when you’re cured!

Cheers, John

Steve

All the best for tomorrow, I had RARP just over four and a half years ago. The blurb at the time was back to work in 2 to 6 weeks, l think the two weeks is very optimistic, I probably could have been back at work in three weeks but I was back after four weeks, sat behind my desk for two weeks then back to my role as a contracts manager part office based and part visiting construction sites and retail premises driving around 750 miles a week. It is not a race and we all recover in different ways, take it easy but not too easy. Operating times have supposedly come done with op times of less than two hours being quoted. If I was to give you only one tip it would be  don't get constipated.

Thanks Chris

Thanks everyone for the best wishes. Today is Thursday 6/12/18 and my first day at home. Had to stay in for 3 days due to low BP but ok now. The op went well and now comes the recovery. I think I had under estimated just how tough the recovery is going to be, but I am sure with all, the help from friends and family, not to mention the NHS I'll do ok. 

I think the trickiest bit is getting the hang of this blasted catheter! 

Seven days since my op. Getting on better with the catheter, I have found it easier without a thigh strap, which pulled the pipe to one side with any leg movement and caused leakage. It is coming out on Tuesday.

Not sleeping too well though, suffering from headaches and restless legs at night. Headaches despite still being on the paracetamol.

I stopped the Ibruprofen today, so maybe that was giving me headaches?

Feeling stronger everyday, but it is tough trying to sit around all day not doing anything apart from showering and going for short walks! 

Getting there though.

I was told by doctor,just short drives at 3rd week post-op,and at four to use common sense.and drive as far as I wanted as long as I felt comfortable

Hi,

Glad to hear things went well and you are improving.

Hoping to have my op in the New Year.

Thanks for the insight into the op and after effects.

Paul

Got a good supply of pads and knickers!

Got back driving this Tuesday just gone.

Have you got a date yet for your op Trixiebelle?

Hi Steve, 

Great to hear you are going on OK.

Just had a bone scan and CT scan and I am awaiting the results.

I have had a pre-op assessment date in February and a operation date in March. However this may be brought forward if the consultant adds more lists.

Hope things continue to improve, keep in touch.

Paul

Steve

Sorry to hear your results.

Hope the tests go well.

Keep in touch.

Paul

Steve

Really sorry to hear this.

I hope they may offer spot RT or more to see if that kills the bandit for you or at least knocks it into the long grass.

PP

A visit today to my oncologist and after several more scans it looks like I might be cancer free hooray just got some hormone treatment now to deal with my PSA count which is up. don't quite understand that as I haven't got a prostate anymore but the doctor who did explain it but didn't really understand that. Of course I'm still recovering from the operation with the pelvic floor exercises, but apart from that all Tickety-Boo so it looks like it's been a success. thanks for your comments everybody and hope you're all doing well yourselves. keep in touch.