5 days before surgery...what to expect?

: Hi Ryan. I was in the same place back.k in 2013 when my surgery took place. I will say that the anticipation was worse than the actual event. I had a Gleason 9 and was in surgery for 5 1/2 hours. I was scheduled for 8 AM surgery but did not go into the operating room until 4 PM. I got back to my room and my wife at 10:30 PM. I was not in pain as I was sitting up versus laying flat. Somewhere around 2:30 AM, a nurse came in and asked how I felt - I said ok, just not jumping around. She said when I was ready, I could take a walk - I said, how about now? I did have some pain where the surgery was done, but it was not unreasonable, and I walked up and down the hallway. By 11 AM, I was on my way out the door with my catheter and on my way home. I was on painkiller meds for 2 days, then went off with no issues. Ten days later, the cat was out, and 4 weeks later, I was back riding my bike 15 miles a day. Yes, some men have issues after surgery due to issues with extensive lymph node removal - I did not. You can get significant swelling of the testicles, but I did not. Guys in my support group had it occur. The MD told them to apply a bag of frozen peas (on and off) on the sack, put their feet up for a few days, and watch TV. All ended well. I hope this helped. Please feel free to also check out my website, www.PCaAware.org, for more information. 👍Dennis(ProstateCancer.net TEAM)

I read the comments from Dennis Golden, and agree, that the anxiety and fear are worse than the actual surgery. My husband had the Davinci robotic prostatectomy in 2008. He was up walking the halls later that day and was released to come home the next day. His pain was minimal and very manageable. He said one of the worst things was the catheter and the spasms he would have as a result of it. The cath came out within three weeks and it took a bit of time for bladder control to return but it did, fully. I know it's easy enough to say "don't worry" but I've been there with my husband's surgery and later with my own, and the words don't help. But seeing others survive and thrive does help. Keep watching this site to hear about the experience of other men - you'll find honesty, kindness and support.

Quick update, my surgery was Monday. Doctor says things went very well. I did not get an opportunity to talk to him directly, but my wife and sister did. He was very pleased with the nerve sparing process. Will have those follow-ups in the next few weeks. My biggest issue was with bladder spasms. Took a bit of OXY, and about 12 hours to calm down. I have had very little pain otherwise in the lower abdomen. Abdominal muscles have been the worst. Catheter has been otherwise not a big deal. Obviously not enjoying the process, but it comes out next Tuesday. Onto the next steps!