5 days before surgery...what to expect?
I was positively diagnosed with Gleason 3+4 in December of last year after 3 years of slowly increasing PSA (4.86 at last test). MRI Showed like cancerous lesion in November and Biopsy confirmed this in December. Surgery is scheduled for next week. I have been lurking here and elsewhere for a couple of weeks absorbing and learning from all of you. My urology group has a great education plan with pre-surgery, SIMS, and VED classes completed or scheduled. One thing that was not covered and that I have not seen here was what to expect right after surgery...? Surgeons are confident that my PC is contained, but will be taking lymph nodes, etc. to evaluate. Having Di Vinci surgery.
I'm seeing issues with leg swelling from lymph node removal, hearing from a couple of folks that the abdominal pain following surgery and distension of the abdominal cavity were significantly painful as well...
Please share what to be mindful of following surgery, do's and don'ts... unexpected experiences post surgery??? Pain Med's or other tricks used, etc.
Thank in advance.
Ryan
: 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) - 4 weeks post surgery and cycling? Wow! I fear my cycling days are done as before PC, I suffered from genital numbness no matter what I did fit wise. Likely pudendal nerve compression so while I deal with ED, I will not take that chance. Perhaps down the road, I will go to a hybrid versus my road bike. I also know that pressure in that area will be bad as this seems to be my most sensitive area. Just sitting too long in the car does not feel great.
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!
Hi
. Glad to hear things are going well. You may have covered much of this with your doctor, but want to share with you this article on treatment related urinary incontinence and treatments: https://prostatecancer.net/living-coping/incontinence. Hoping the recovery continues to go well and the incontinence improves (it is a good sign that nights are going well). Please feel free to keep us posted on how you are doing. Best, Richard (Team Member) - Any updates? I am wondering about your surgical margins. Has your leakage improved? I had my surgery 5 weeks ago and, for me, the best news was negative margins and negative lymph nodes. That is the point of it after all. There is no guarantee that means I won't have recurrence but the odds of being done with PC are much better. For me, leakage is minimal and ED is a reality. Overall abdominal sensations are changing and I remain hopeful despite unilateral nerve spare. Giving it the college try with pelvic pt, VED sessions, and tadalafil.
Thanks for the ask. Have my second blood test in 2 weeks. Nerves are starting up again already. My wife is a 2 time survivor I can now appreciate her anxiety before her appointments. First at 3 months was 0.0. Leakage is much better. Did one session of PF PT and it really helped. Found that I was not doing the Kegels accurately...close, but needed a tweak. ED is a lot better...with 5mg daily Cialis and 60 mg of PRN Viagra I can achieve "naturally". Otherwise it is the pump, which is also working well. Climax is completely different, and much harder to achieve... but we keep trying!!! Lots of love and appreciation to my wife!
