Posted 2/15/2021 4:50 PM (GMT -5)
I’m relatively new to this forum and this club. I first started down the path of rising PSA levels last summer, having an MRI in the Fall, then a biopsy on XMas eve, then the confirmation of the biopsy results the first week of the new year. To me, it seemed prudent and desirable to (hopefully) get this issue in the past, so to have surgery sooner than later, so I could recover and be ready for action this summer when (again, hopefully) the pandemic will be subsiding. I’m 61 years old, but in fairly good shape. I was training for a marathon, but had to bail out of the training one month early due to the surgery. I was running up to about 18 miles and was otherwise healthy. I had my surgery on 2/17, six days ago. I was super impressed with the staff at the hospital and how kind and caring they were. I’m new to this type of medical thing, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I remember getting wheeled into the operating room, where everyone welcomed me, then I woke up 4.5 hours later in the recovery room, surprised that it was all over. I had my surgery starting at 7:15AM, and was released at about 4:30PM. I go for a cystogram and a post-op follow up in a couple of days, which would be 8 days after the surgery. I am hoping I’ll have healed enough to have the catheter removed at that time. Before surgery, I learned a lot by skimming this forum and few other web sites. I wish I had paid a little more attention, mainly to the little details. I didn’t even know what a catheter was until a week or so before my surgery. The things I learned were: The first day of recovery, I felt pretty bad and getting up to empty the “leg bag” was a nuisance: Next time I should just use the overnight bag until I am more mobile. At first I was wearing flannel pajama bottoms and my wife had the nice and cozy flannel sheets on the bed, which made it practically impossible for me to roll over or slide sideways: Next time, I’ll skip the flannel. With the catheter, I find I sleep most comfortably wearing cotton boxers with the tube running down the leg, then wearing surfing “board shorts” over those, because they are slippery and have a little structure which directs the tube down my leg so I feel less “tugging” when I roll over or move around. I found that wearing the loose hiking pants with the zip off calves works really well: I can leave the calf off while at home for easy bag emptying, then zip the calf on for walks out in public. I have an Apple Watch, and setting a silent alarm (just buzz, no sound) every four hours reminds me to take the Tylenol. I find that if I don’t regularly take the Tylenol, different things get sore and it is better to preclude the soreness by taking the pain reliever methodically. (Each day, it is something different: the first day, it was my ab muscles and ribs. The second day it was my incisions. The third day, it was my t-shirt rubbing on my incisions. Etc.) Due to the catheter, there is no urge to pee or need to resist peeing, therefore drink plenty of fluids. Each day gets better and better, incrementally. The first day, I walked around the house, then next day I’d walk to the end of the block, then next day I’d walk around the block, today I went for three half-mile walks. Make sure to empty the leg bag before you leave the house or fall into a nap: The first day, when I wasn’t too mobile and had any idea as to how long the leg bag would take to fill up, it filled up during a nap. Fortunately, I woke up and was able to empty it without making a mess or causing any apparent damage, but it was a rude awakening. I do use a bucket for carrying the overnight bag around the house. When I take a shower, I hang the bag off the soap holder. Taking a shower is surprisingly easy, and it feels good to feel clean after each morning shower. (They used glue instead of stitches for my incisions.). Without having yet had the post-op follow up, I don’t know anything definitive, but my feeling is that everything went well and that I am on track to resume “normal” life. Another interesting thing about the surgery is the appreciation that I have for the support I have received, whether from the medical staff, friends or acquaintances, or just random people that I know that have contacted my to wish me well and hope that I have a speedy recovery. It is nice to know that everyone is on your team.