RALP on Tuesday

Haven't posted here in a while, hope everyone is doing well! Been busy transitioning between two jobs.

The day is almost here (Tuesday, May 17th). Will be having my RALP and hoping for the best. Pathology meeting with the surgeon is on June 2nd. Thanks to the many good suggestions here, I'm mostly ready to go (including the 5 gallon bucket for the cath bag). At this point I'm looking at the pathology report as the "critical moment", with the RALP the path to get there. Hoping this thing was caught early enough that maybe, just maybe, I can put a lot of this behind me.

Sounds like you're prepared. Good luck!

We're all rooting for you, AZ! Be sure to post your post-op pathology report when you get it.

Djin

Somebody said...
but I think this will be a rough week.

Oh hell yes. It is some serious surgery, no matter how well hidden it is behind a few small incisions. Treat yourself to some TLC. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. Be patient, and keep your eye on the long term prize, not the short one.

Best of luck, AZ!

Practice your Kegels. I was on pain meds for 3-4 days. The 1st post op day, 1st night at home, was tough. Don't be stingy when starting. With the small catheter bag, you can easily get up and move about. Good luck.

For me, the pain from the surgical cuts was short lived. I had a high level of discomfort from the gas they use to inflate your abdomen. That lasted about 36 hours. The pain pills didn't help so I stopped taking them.

Felt like I needed to take a big, big poop, but nothing was there. You're experience may be a lot better.

I had my RALP in Santa Barbara in February 2021, checking in at 5AM and being released at 4:30PM the same day, which seems common here. I was glad I didn’t have to spend the night. The gas that was mentioned was quite painful for me, seeming to have worked its way into my shoulders. The only hiccup in my after surgery routine was not realizing how quickly the small catheter bag can fill up; One time I emptied it, laid down for a nap and woke up with it almost bursting. I was afraid I had screwed something up internally due to the “back pressure” but fortunately hadn’t. From then on, when at home, I used the big bag.

Best of luck, and move around as soon as you are (reasonably) comfortable doing so.

RE Pain meds:

I had my surgery around noon, and a night in the hospital with release the following afternoon. The night shift nurse gave me a dose of Dilaudid IV during the night. I took a single dose of something strong for the drive home (2 hrs in the car, in mid-winter), and I think I took one more dose the next day. After that, Advil did the job.

The key is to get up and out of the chair at least every couple of hours and walk around for 5 minutes. Drink lots of water (yes, you'll be dumping the bag a lot, deal with it). Take metamucil and stool softeners (Dulcolax or it's generic). It's ok to sleep in the chair the first night or two.

Az, my daughter has kidney disease and lost one kidney many years ago. She gets kidney stones about every three months in the remaining kidney. I had one kidney stone a few years ago and it tops the list for pain that I have had throughout my life. She was always given narcotics for the pain. She would always get nauseous and dizzy on them. The last kidney stone she had the doc gave her Tramadol and she said it not only took away the pain, but no nausea. See you on the other side.
Jack

Jack64 said...
Az, my daughter has kidney disease and lost one kidney many years ago. She gets kidney stones about every three months in the remaining kidney. I had one kidney stone a few years ago and it tops the list for pain that I have had throughout my life. She was always given narcotics for the pain. She would always get nauseous and dizzy on them. The last kidney stone she had the doc gave her Tramadol and she said it not only took away the pain, but no nausea. See you on the other side.
Jack

Hey Jack do you know about this plant for kidney stones?

body of post deleted. I'm sure intentions were good, but you are offering an alternative treatment, not as a complement to standard of care treatments, but instead of, or at least it seems that to me.
Judgement call, but the post doesnt feel like it would serve anyone well so i've deleted it. Feel free to discuss with Jack offline via email if you choose.

Thanks for understanding

Post Edited By Moderator (Pratoman) : 5/17/2022 8:35:19 PM (GMT-6)

Congratulations! Great to hear!

DjinTonic said...
Good job, AZ! Follow all your discharge instructions, including lifting restrictions, and avoid constipation. Stool softeners and walking are your friends

Thanks for the reminder about the stool softener -- I'll take one or two right now. Am getting up and walking every now and then -- actually, the discomfort is less when I'm standing, but I don't want to over do it, either. Going to try to sleep in a bed tonight, but if it's too uncomfortable I'll shoot for the recliner. Fortunately this Airbnb has a nice recliner in the living area!

DjinTonic said...
Yes, don't overdo the walking either--you're body will let you know what's enough.

Djin

Definitely getting blood in my urine -- trying to drink more to flush it out and water it down!