Day 1 after prostatectomy: spouse here

Happy to know he is on the other side and on his road to recovery. I had the procedure 16 plus years ago and recall some blood in the bag. It should get clearer soon. After you empty it, hopefully it gets back to a normal color soon.

Surgery recovery is not quick, there are lots of odd things for a few days like blood in urine followed by some bruising, swelling, etc. Most are not things to get worked up about and they pass with time.

The catheter is its own problem. Lots of stories on the site that you can try to search for. Keeping everything clean is important, using ointment where the tube enters is a good idea, too late for me to go into great detail so ask more questions. Summer weekend can be a little slow.

Hello,

I'm at 91/2 years since surgery. As I recall the urine in the bag was pink for the first 2-3 days. It sounds like he's drinking plenty of water, which is really important. It should clear up in a few days. Some men get painful bladder spasms with the foley in, did you get a medication for that? I had it, and never needed it.

The catheter regime works like this (at least, this is what I did)
Drink lots of water. Way more than you think you need. It keeps things flushed.
I had a little bucket I put the bag in to carry it around and trap drips.
I had a tube of triple-antibiotic gel that I regularly put around the catheter where it comes out, to keep it lubricated and prevent infection.
Also, alcohol wipes for the tube.
Be very, very careful walking. I stayed away from stairs while the catheter was in. I really didn't want to get tangled up. There are horror stories.

When he goes in to get the catheter removed (they did my surgical staples on the same visit), make sure he takes at least 1 thick pad to put into his underwear, because he may leak--possibly a lot. The first day after the catheter comes out, there may be blood then too. Or little black specks--those are the dissolving sutures from inside somewhere.

Gia - He cannot drink enough fluids. It is important to keep the system flushed out as healing is going on as halbert noted. The good part is he does not have to get up to go to the bathroom. I had to empty the large bag in the middle of the night so just part of the drill if he is drinking plenty. In fact, I would wake up around 3am worrying that the bag was full and would backup in my system. The blood part can ebb and flow a little with physical activity so not quite as linear as you may think.

Bladder spasms and gas pains can happen in the first few days also so his health equilibrium takes some time to stabilize. Some times of day he will feel ok, other times not so good. I had surgery on a Tuesday, released on Weds morning, and it was Friday before I felt like talking with anyone due to gas pains, etc.

The catheter routine is learned quickly when he snags it on something and keeps walking. He will not do that again and solve the problem. My wife was a great help in the mornings getting showered and dressed. I would put the small travel bag on and she would take the large bag down and clean it and so on. After a some days of this, she returned to work and let me continue on by myself.

Hi Gia777, Nothing unusual, just normal variability most likely. Good inputs above. For the long haul, I also am a perfect 4+4 Gleason 8. Had surgery in ‘09 and still here, 15 active and wonderful years later. Best to you and your husband… Bill

Thank you all SO much! Your answers have put my mind at ease, and you are absolutely right, it's gotten better by today! He continues to make progress and now it's just praying for a clean path report. Thank you again and I wish all of you strength, peace, and much good health!

Mumbo said...
ps. Caution him on risk of hernia, bleeding, etc if he overdoes it the first month or so. There are a lot of reasons to take it slow, even if he is 52 and feeling better. Once the catheter is out, he will feel like a new man and free, free at last. That is not when you go out and resume all previous activities. Slow and steady wins the race.

THIS!

I was 56 when I had my RALP. I really didn't feel GOOD for probably 6 months. I felt OK. I went back to work at 3 weeks, and regretted it. I mean, I needed to get out of the house--it was mid-winter and miserable weather, but I wasn't ready. At around 4 1/2 months I thought I was fine--until I fell asleep driving and had a bad accident.

So, yeah, it takes time. Not weeks.

Oh, a hint for the spouse: He may have some ED issues--it may take a while for that function to come back. You have a part to play in this: Be willing to do things, and try things, and if things don't work up to expectations, find a way to take it in stride, and even with good humor. Make sure his Dr. starts him on Viagra or Cialis promptly--and if things start stirring in that area--be willing to take action. It will be extremely important to him. (and to your relationship)

It is not a trivial surgery, you can expect some diverse minor, though bothering issues, along the way. Blood in the urine bag is normal the first few days. When it desapears, it means he is ready to go home, at least in the procedure followed with me.

Hey Gia, welcome to the forum.
As others have said, no cause for concern. I had a similar experience, it's not linear. I had occasional blood clots in my pee even 8 weeks after surgery, I recall calling the Surgeons office, and they told me perfectly normal, eventually it disappeared.

As was mentioned, make sure he doesn't overdo it too soon. It takes time to heal especially on the inside. His age is in his favor. Good luck with the path report, please keep us posted.