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So so unhappy

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User
Posted 20 Feb 2021 at 23:22

Had a radical prostatectomy just before Christmas sadly during the op my bowel was damaged and I woke up with a colostomy bag as well as a catheter, catheter has gone now and leakage is maneagable, still got the colostomy bag just under my ribs and it really really isn’t pleasant, it can be reversed though not at the moment, I just feel so so disappointed, I trusted the surgeon and he said he’d done 300 ops without incident... guess I was his first ! Don’t know what the future holds, getting my PSA results soon, really really don’t understand all the medical numbers and stuff that people mention, I just want to get this horrible bag of s*** off my side and have nothing to do with doctors, surgeons or treatments anymore, I feel so so let down, wish sometimes I’d just let nature take its course. Sorry if this post upsets anyone but I’m sure other people may feel the same.

User
Posted 22 Feb 2021 at 07:26
I was one of a "top 10" surgeons 1% failure rate, cost me a lost week in intensive care and 2 weeks fighting a hospital acquired infection scared half to death on a general ward.

I wish I had discovered this forum before all that, I might not have changed anything but at least my eyes would have been open and I may not have been so accepting of the symptoms of sepsis or so accepting of ED for 2 years after!

User
Posted 21 Feb 2021 at 01:30
Hi Norrie,

A Prostatectomy is a very delicate operation and very occasionally something goes wrong with terrible consequences. We had a member some time ago whose Prostatectomy was carried out by a surgeon listed as one of the top for this operation in the UK and sadly the operation left him permanently incontinent. Clearly, the chances of a bad outcome are less with a highly experienced surgeon but it can happen. So sorry for you and hope you can get the colostomy reversed. You really need to research this and what are the chances of success in your case.

Do let us know how you get on.

I see you have previously started a thread on this subject and it would be easier for continuity if you condensed this into your previous one so members are not hopping from one to the other.

Barry
User
Posted 21 Feb 2021 at 01:34
So sorry to read your post Norrie. You do not need to apologise for writing it; it is really important that newly diagnosed men have a realistic view of the potential risks.

You were knocked down by a cancer diagnosis but you picked yourself up - you have been knocked again by the colostomy but you will pick yourself up a second time and have better days ahead.

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

User
Posted 21 Feb 2021 at 10:23

Norrie 

Three years post RARP I gained a temporary suprapubic catheter and leg bag ready for SRT. The bag is now for life, the bladder has been severely damaged and the chance for a urostomy is between pretty slim and nothing. 

It is amazing how we as humans can adapt to a new normal. It's not great carrying your waste products on the outside of the body. I have an attitude to most things in life, can I do something about it ? If yes then get on and do it, if no then don't waste time worrying about it. It doesn't always work, but I try.

  Hopefully your bag will only be temporary and you can get almost back to your old self. During non covid times my neighbour and I walk our dogs, my neighbour has had a colostomy for 17 years due to Crohn's. He leads an active life and always has a cheery disposition. He will gladly talk to you if you want a chat.

As suggested do some research and if possible get the best surgeon to do the reversal.

As already said a realistic view is important, but quite often I see on here the risk of side effects being brushed aside. On balance our experiences are thankfully not too common.  

Hope all goes well and keep going. Hope your PSA result is low.

Thanks Chris

 

 

User
Posted 21 Feb 2021 at 21:18

Hi Norrie, I am so sorry to hear your surgery wasn’t as straight forward as you’d expected.

Patients going for elective bowel resection with stoma formation that have had time to come to terms with it can still struggle post operatively and beyond. You weren’t expecting it so even more difficult for you.

Feel free to vent anytime.

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User
Posted 21 Feb 2021 at 01:30
Hi Norrie,

A Prostatectomy is a very delicate operation and very occasionally something goes wrong with terrible consequences. We had a member some time ago whose Prostatectomy was carried out by a surgeon listed as one of the top for this operation in the UK and sadly the operation left him permanently incontinent. Clearly, the chances of a bad outcome are less with a highly experienced surgeon but it can happen. So sorry for you and hope you can get the colostomy reversed. You really need to research this and what are the chances of success in your case.

Do let us know how you get on.

I see you have previously started a thread on this subject and it would be easier for continuity if you condensed this into your previous one so members are not hopping from one to the other.

Barry
User
Posted 21 Feb 2021 at 01:34
So sorry to read your post Norrie. You do not need to apologise for writing it; it is really important that newly diagnosed men have a realistic view of the potential risks.

You were knocked down by a cancer diagnosis but you picked yourself up - you have been knocked again by the colostomy but you will pick yourself up a second time and have better days ahead.

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

User
Posted 21 Feb 2021 at 10:23

Norrie 

Three years post RARP I gained a temporary suprapubic catheter and leg bag ready for SRT. The bag is now for life, the bladder has been severely damaged and the chance for a urostomy is between pretty slim and nothing. 

It is amazing how we as humans can adapt to a new normal. It's not great carrying your waste products on the outside of the body. I have an attitude to most things in life, can I do something about it ? If yes then get on and do it, if no then don't waste time worrying about it. It doesn't always work, but I try.

  Hopefully your bag will only be temporary and you can get almost back to your old self. During non covid times my neighbour and I walk our dogs, my neighbour has had a colostomy for 17 years due to Crohn's. He leads an active life and always has a cheery disposition. He will gladly talk to you if you want a chat.

As suggested do some research and if possible get the best surgeon to do the reversal.

As already said a realistic view is important, but quite often I see on here the risk of side effects being brushed aside. On balance our experiences are thankfully not too common.  

Hope all goes well and keep going. Hope your PSA result is low.

Thanks Chris

 

 

User
Posted 21 Feb 2021 at 21:18

Hi Norrie, I am so sorry to hear your surgery wasn’t as straight forward as you’d expected.

Patients going for elective bowel resection with stoma formation that have had time to come to terms with it can still struggle post operatively and beyond. You weren’t expecting it so even more difficult for you.

Feel free to vent anytime.

User
Posted 22 Feb 2021 at 07:26
I was one of a "top 10" surgeons 1% failure rate, cost me a lost week in intensive care and 2 weeks fighting a hospital acquired infection scared half to death on a general ward.

I wish I had discovered this forum before all that, I might not have changed anything but at least my eyes would have been open and I may not have been so accepting of the symptoms of sepsis or so accepting of ED for 2 years after!

 
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