Pain Management After Prostate Surgery

Just after my father went through his surgery, the next step was to manage his incision and to make sure that he successfully recovered from it. Doctors gave us a whole list of do's and don’ts while his surgical wound healed properly. It was a difficult time for all of us. He was on a catheter for 2 weeks.

He had pain in his bladder due to it. I was aware that he was having spasms in the bladder due to the catheter needle. This was something that had to be done; it was part of the surgery. But it was very difficult for me to watch him in so much pain.

Using pain relievers

I asked his doctor to prescribe him some pain reliever, since he was not sleeping properly due to pain. For that he allowed me to get any over-the-counter medicine for this purpose. He told me it would be great if my father only takes it when in pain, otherwise there is no need.

After taking a few pain relievers, he would feel sick, which was not good for his condition. I was told to have him take them after meals. It would help his sickness, too.

Getting up and moving

With all the medicines and care, what I also did was made sure that he moved around occasionally to allow his wound to heal and get air. I sought to take him out in the morning for a short walk and gradually added a couple of minutes to his time. We would take breaks during the walk, too, just to make sure that he did not get tired, or it was not too much for his body.

He was still working at 72, so I begged him to take a few months off from work, to make a healthy recovery.

Cleaning the wound

As his daughter, I had to have someone come in to make sure his wound was clean and bandaged properly. His wife made sure he was eating fresh homemade foods rich in fiber. This was very important for his recovery. I used to give him food of his choice so he would stay happy.

One day his caregiver at the time found a wound on him. It was a little bruised with a fine layer of pus. When he told me about this, I freaked out. It was giving him so much pain. I immediately contacted his doctor's office for some guidance.

Help from the healthcare team

I was told to bring him in immediately. The nurse cleaned his wound with slightly warm water and advised me to avoid using any alcohol-based liquids, saying they slow the process of healing. She said the wound recovers faster naturally and to just make sure that it is not getting friction from his clothes.

The caregiver started putting a piece of gauze in the area, it helped, and he noticed that my father was healing rigorously. He started cleaning him with saline water.

My father did recover very well with the help of his medical team. They made sure that he was getting everything that he needed. They also told me that whenever anything seems unusual, to contact them right away. It is important that your health team knows every detail. Thankfully, he recovered and is in safe hands with me.

Stay in contact with your doctor and have faith. My father will be 90.