Any tips on surgery recovery?

Hi Olly

I'm now 8 weeks post surgery.  The surgery itself was nowhere near as bad as I expected and I had very little pain from the wounds afterwards.  The worst pain I had was in my shoulders which is a common side effect of having your abdomen filled with gas.  I found that taking paracetamol and laying flat helped with that. It resolved after a couple of days. I was also a bit tearful the day after for no apparent reason and I know I'm not alone in experiencing that. I took movicol which was given to me by the hospital but it still took me 4 days before I could poop, everything was normal thereafter. I guess you just have to be patient and try not to worry about it. Like most people I found the catheter annoying rather than painful and felt much happier once it was removed. I didn't have to do the injections, not sure why, but possibly because I am reasonably slim and fit.  Have some stuff prepared that you can do at home to keep you occupied - I made sure I had some good books to read and a couple of jigsaws. I also made sure I got up and walked around at frequent intervals.  As soon as you feel up to it start to take some short walks outside and gradually build up. My surgeon told my wife that I was good for washing up and she made sure I stuck to that! Have some pads ready for when you have your TWOC - I found the TENAmen pads the most comfortable.  I was fortunate in not having any real problems with incontinence and am now completely pad free but everyone is different. The main thing you will probably feel is a great sense of relief that your cancer has been taken away and if you can maintain a positive outlook that will help speed your recovery.

Hope all goes well

All the best

Dave

Thanks for taking the time to talk about your experience Dave, it's really so helpful and reassuring. I'm getting nervous now with a week to go for surgery but all these shared experiences are very encouraging.

Take good care, Mark

Hi Olly60 .

I too am scheduled to have the same in approx 3 weeks . Good luck.

Day 8

Missed reporting here yesterday as I was busy all day at work and at home into the evening without a midday nap!

Might have not listened to my own advice and overdone things though. Powered through again this morning and am having an energy crash at the moment. 

No pain or issues, just feeling completely knackered. Note to self: don’t overdo it too early!  Having a lie down is helping.

Looking forward to tomorrow… catheter removal day! Will be intriguing to once again need to wee and to be able to get up in the morning without extra plumbing to negotiate.

Just read this Dave , thanks for posting - I just joined this group yesterday and am due to have my prostatectomy in two weeks , I found your post very encouraging. Thank you . 
Tim

All the best Treeguy, we'll compare notes post op(s).

Are you taking your own catheter out? I've been told that I'll be doing my own 

Nope! I went to hospital and a nurse did it. As I then had to stay there two hours and drink a lot and do 2 wees and have my bladder checked with an ultrasound scan to ensure proper emptying, I’m not sure how that could have worked at home!

Day 10

Catheter removal yesterday was fine. Took a few seconds and was weirdly “almost but not quite painful”. But VERY satisfying having a foreign object removed!

Five cups of water and 2 wees later, had the scan and passed my TWOC and was allowed home. 

The afternoon and evening was a mix of feelings as my body was like “WTF? Things have changed and you’ve had a tube here for ages, now I’m not sure what to do”. Even though I could wee normally, ended up having quite a few leaks in between and was rather disheartened by bed time after having 5 full pads and one change of underwear. Had a pile of pads next to the bed just in case.

Was up twice in the night with normal feeling need for a wee, got up both times with no leak and had a decent wee. Woke up to a dry pad!  

The missus, the dog and I then went to the beach for a walk. After a long drive, breakfast and then almost 2 hours walking (only three miles as I was quite slow over the dunes), had a celebratory drink and cake at the cafe and the pad was just a bit damp! So am very, very happy at the speedy change in function. Hopefully it’ll carry on. 

Very glad I was super strict with the pelvic floor exercises for weeks up to surgery. Definitely recommend!

Now time for a rest and possibly even a nap  

Oh that's actually easy-peasy.  OK, so I've had various people do it for me after TURBTs, and after a kidney removal too but, if you watch carefully how the nurses remove it (it's all too easy to expect it to be painful and look away - but don't; it isn't - a tad uncomfortable for a few seconds at worst!) then you can see what to expect.  Being 18 miles from my hospital, if it's only been in you a couple of days then it's not much of a problem BUT; if, like me you've had one in for a week, or 10 days, or more (last one was 15 days!), then your bladder sphincter, (if you still have one, depending upon which operation you've had), will have been held 'open' for so long that you'll find it difficult to close it for 24-36 hours or so, and even if you do, it will be very weak for a few days.  (Hence the strong advice to toughen up your pelvic floor muscles; they're an excellent substitute, although rarely perfect.)  Therefore, sitting in a car for half-an-hour (longer if it's in a traffic jam - why do they always make their appointments in the late afternoon so you catch all the traffic?), can be, to say the least, a very unpleasant and damp - not to say wet - experience.  And who wants to leave your friend with a urine-soaked seat?  Not going to get another lift from them; are you? 

On the other hand, if you prepare properly at home, (you'll need a bowl and a small, flat-bladed screwdriver to PUSH the valve when you are ready (and NOT BEFORE YOUR ALLOTTED NUMBER OF DAYS!  There are always good reasons why a surgeon will tell you how many days it needs to remain inside YOU because we're all different!), but at least you will be near the toilet whenever you need it...  Oh, and a supply of Nappies (I'd suggest a No.5 or so for the first few days...) will almost certainly be very helpful if you want to move more than 20ft from a toilet.

You will also need to be fit enough to be able to lie down (your bed is perfect for this!) and lift your legs up over your head, thus inverting your bladder.  That way, if any clots get stuck at the entry to your urethra, by turning your bladder upside down for 20-30 seconds or so, and then rushing to the loo, you ought to be able to allow the clots to move to the top of your bladder, thus letting you urinate without them getting in the way when you try again.  It's also likely that they will settle at different heights and so be flushed out singly, which is exactly what you want! 

So, with those two provisos (thoughtful preparations and sufficient athleticism to be able to deal with clot-blockages), you should be fine; but that's only my experience and it's one ususally disapproved of by medical staff.  But it is certainly a more practical proposition for someone who's had a catheter in for a week or more than to hope for good outcomes from a 'procedure' designed for one that's only been in 2 days.... 

Good luck with it, anyway, either way !