RP Tomorrow

[snoraste]

The debulking is scheduled for tomorrow. I will post the experience in about a week or so.

[EdMiller]

Rooting for the best.

[Dan59]

I am wishing you the best, will be thinking of you tmrw.

[Hidden]

Good luck! And a quick recovery..

[Flash64]

Good luck. I'm considering a RP myself, so I'll be interested in hearing how it goes.

Andrew

[paulofaus]

Good luck, I've had three of 4 urologists tell me there's no point, but I'm not sure the data supports that. This may also be in my future, so I'm keen to hear how you get on.

[Dayatatime]

Your about to give that SOB lurking inside you a round house kick to the face. Good luck in the ring my brother.

Ron

[JamesAtlanta]

Good luck and please keep us posted on your experience! I have my surgery scheduled for July and really want to learn from you as I get prepared for this.

Best,

James

[paulofaus]

How are you doing snoraste?

[spikem]

I was the same way, get that SOB out. With all the variables and unknowns, starting with less cells after RP made sense to me if it had spread. In my case all preop tests did not show metastasis outside of the prostate envelope. Surgery presented a completely different picture that has affected my course of after treatment. Good luck!

[snoraste]

Thank you all for your support. Let me just give a quick update that all is well, and to say that I will give a detailed update on Friday when the Foley catheter is removed.

If there’s interest, I’ll continue updating once a week/month. Otherwise I will just communicate directly with whoever is interested.( I think James has RP coming up soon in July).

[G9doingfine in reply to snoraste]

Please keep updating your experiences . There are probably more people than you know that read your posts and do not always add a comment of click the “heart.” Like me .

But we still read with interest and are hoping for the best !

Good luck to you ! Live long live strong !

[snoraste]

One Week Update:

I thought I should give a concise update of my first week experience. The surgery was done last Thursday morning. Nothing unusual or exceptional about the pre-surgical preparations. The surgery itself took almost 5hrs (general anesthesia), and I woke up 2hrs after. There were 6 incisions across the lower part of my abdomen, 5 of them 3/4 of an inch and one 2inches wide. I woke up with the Foley catheter already in place, and started walking 3hrs after I woke up with little discomfort.

Pain Management 1st Week:

I cannot say I had any significant "pain". I took the oxycodone once, only the first night, and managed the pain on tylenol and advil from then on. The pain was more of a general abdominal "discomfort", similar to being very bloated, or a severe gas discomfort. Once I had the bowel movement (day2 after the surgery), the pressure subsided and I reduced my intake of tylenol/advil from 4 times a day to twice a day, and then once at bedtime past two days.

Away from the incision, the main area of discomfort for me was the tip of the penis where the catheter was inserted. The constant friction was the source of an annoying burning sensation. I found that taking daily shower and rinsing the site under warm water, in addition to applying the lubricating gel 4 times a day helped with the irritation.

With the catheter in, I had NO sensation of urinating.

Logistics

I was given a "day" bag (to use while awake and walking and a "night" bag (for the sleep mode) to attach to the catheter. After the first two exchanges, I was very comfortable changing them around, and cleaning them. I took out the catheter myself at home today. Very easy process. Needless to say the relief was immediate.

I was also asked to walk about 4 miles a day. I had no difficulty doing that. Just make sure to put the lubricating gel on.

Side effects:

A couple of side effects: My stomach is bigger than usual (getting back to its normal shape every day). I also have some rectal discomfort similar to hemorrhoids (mild version) that's been getting better. It's present when I sit down on a chair or a couch. And lastly, I had two episodes of hotflashes first two nights that went away. After I took out the catheter this morning, I experienced incontinence, but it has already gotten a lot better after a few hours. I'll keep you posted on the side effects.

My recommendations for 1st week:

1- Shave the upper inner thighs. That's where the catheter anchor Tape is being attached. It's a very strong adhesive and will pull out whatever hair you have there. I recommend taking this tape out for replacement after warm showers when it softens up.

2- Do not force your first bowel movement. It'll come.

3- Do the walk. It helps a lot.

4- Start Kegel as early as you can. I started two months prior as per my rehab recommendation.

Happy to answer any specific question.

[snoraste]

2nd Week Update:

The main issue is really incontinence. The day I took out the catheter (April 20) incontinence started in full force. Almost 10 days later it has gotten much better. Initially I would have 1000-1200ml discharge a day, it’s now down to 200ml. So it does get better. I’m doing me Kegels any chance I get. There’s no pain anywhere, just a soft ,dull discomfort at the incision points. I’m not taking any pain killers whatsoever.

This is my last post here, so contact me directly with any questions I maybe able to answer.