Hurts when sitting- surgery 4 wks ago- Normal? was No Subject

Trouble sitting. I have had my cath out for 2 weeks had my surgery almost 4 weeks ago. It hurts when I sit the doctor said it was not normal? anybody else? How long does it go on? Pillows help some but not all together.

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Post Edited By Moderator (James C.) : 7/12/2009 1:51:05 PM (GMT-6)

hi Timmy77,
Welcome to HealingWell. Wow, I don't know Timmy, you might clear right up soon, or it can take longer, I remember being a little bit sore but only for a week. I was pretty much good when the catheter came out. But I did do quite well with the healing from the surgery. I know I did a lot of walking and I believe that helped me heal quicker. Can I ask what your pathology numbers were?

Peace, and welcome,

Tony

Hello, I to have rear end pain or at least discomfort. At work, I sit on a partially deflated donot. It really helps, but I still can't sit but a short while without needing to get up and move around. My RRP was on May 27th so it has been a little over 6 weeks for me. I do feel improvement so don't give up. I guess we are all effected and heal differently.

Hi Timmy77:

One thing PCa has done for me is introduce me to areas of my anatomy I never new existed, or cared much about before. One such is a delightful spot called, I'm told on the authority of my nurse wife, the perineum. This has been provided by The Great Ga, best I can tell, as a filler for unused crotch space between the scrotum and the anus in men. Newer male models may well contain an adaptive Darwinian update, but for the moment this area can hurt like Billy Be Darned after prostate surgery when sitting on anything less soft than a rubber donut. At least, that's my experience.

But, The Great Ga has also provided an excellent solution, which I am taking advantage of as I type. This is a summer chair, with aluminum frame, that tilts back, raising a foot rest while you recline on a canvas sling held to the frame with threaded cord. This has two great advantages. First, you 'sit' really 90% lying on your back allowing the perineum to be free of any pressure and you free of any pain. Secondly, once you are tilted back it looks far more difficult than it really is for you to get up which means a, "Dear, would you please bring me ....?" is far more likely to result in a glass of water, dish of ice cream, or your book from where you left it than the traditional, "You lost a prostate, not your legs. Exercise is good for you."

And, at out local department store this afternoon my "Victory Garden" (I kid you not, that's what it's called) Zero Gravity Lounge Chair, at 70% off (thanks to the abysmal failure of Global Warming and one of the coldest summers on record --- where's Al Gore when you need him?) was $45 and that included the services of Jordan to carry it to the trunk of the car. It was light enough I could have managed easily, but there has to be some advantages to recovering from surgery, right?

So, Timmy77 I suggest you seek out one of these magical Zero Gravity Lounge Chairs. And don't you dare tell my wife I really could get out of it easily to refesh my rum and coke.

Hi timmy77,

my pain began at about 3 1/2 weeks, right when I went back to work - desk job. It was the worst from 4 weeks to six weeks and has gotten better steadily since then. It really doesn't bother me much any more,

Keep healing,

Dan

ps: any stats to post in a signature?

I had incredible pain in my perineum before dx and surgery. This pain would completely take me off my feet while waiting for the 4 or 5 extra strength tylenol to kick in. I've had this same pain several times since surgery. Although it seems to be more in my rectal area than between scrotum and rectum, it is still a 5 alarm event. I'm glad to say it is subsiding and has an awful lot to do with what I'm sitting on for extended periods. With the donut pillow, I'm OK sitting for a couple hours working. Without it, it could be anywhere from 10-20 minutes before I would have to swallow a handfull of tylenol and seek relief on the toilet seat (no pressure on the perineum).

The worst for me was 3-6 weeks post-surgery. I am now at a high level of physical activity, which helps. It will get better.

Mike

 

Thanks all of you I am trying to get as much info to try and manage my recovery. Like everyone says everyone is different. My doc said that some people just needed Tylenol 3 after surgery. I told him I was not a brave soldier I just wanted drugs. the more the merrier I am no hero. I told his nurse what he said and she said she would like to meet that patient? He is young and I do not believe most Drs listen to their patients they are always in a hurry to move on to the next. I am looking into a support groups to talk to people about what to expect and what to do. So thanks for your input it really helps

I am new to this forum and unfortunately also new to prostate cancer which was diagnosed last fall. I hesitate somewhat to contribute to this particular thread because I know we all have enough to worry about, but sitting pain is something I know a lot about. Twenty-two years ago, long before my prostate problems, I developed pain when sitting that was so severe that I was in distress basically 24 hours a day for a year until I took the drastic step of deciding not to sit any more. All forms of clinical investigation and intervention were unproductive. So for the last 22 years I have done no sitting in the conventional sense – I have not driven a car, gone to a movie, sat at a desk. I work lying down and recreate standing or lying down. As long as I don’t sit, I have a tolerable level of mild pain that flares and subsides depending on what I do. about 10 years ago I finally learned by way of the internet that I was not alone. There aren’t a lot of us but at least the disorder does have a name – Pudendal Nerve Entrapment or PNE. There are at least two forums devoted to the topic. There is no consistently effective treatment and while there are a couple forms of surgery being done, I have yet to see convincing evidence it is helpful. The overall topic is too complicated to go into here, but one hallmark of the condition has been that the pain is relieved to a considerable extent if the person sits on a toilet. I don’t want to suggest that it is a hopeless situation because I have known two persons who developed the disorder and got over it spontaneously within about a year.

When I had my prostate surgery I was concerned that they might aggravate the pudendal nerve in the process, and I made a point of talking to the surgeon about it. He said the pudendal nerve runs at an angle where they do not have to touch it and they wouldn’t. I nevertheless came out of the surgery with some enhanced pudendal pain probably because of the position they put you in and the ways they have to press on and manipulate you. Prior to the surgery I had asked some M.D.s involved in PNE whether they had heard of anyone with PNE having it aggravated by prostate surgery, and one doctor said he knew a patient in France (France is the center of PNE investigation) who developed PNE as a result of prostate surgery.

I offer this information not to add concern for those of you who have sitting pain post surgery, but to enhance your store of knowledge so that if you think something mysterious is going on, you can at least feel that you are not in the dark. Being in the dark for 12 years was almost as bad as being in pain.

PNE is a rare condition (I have heard one estimate of 1,800 cases in the whole world) so the odds are that is not the problem if you are having sitting pain.

RP 3-1/2 years ago and I remember the pain trying to sit AND supervise the setting my new double wide.  A stack of coushions.  Called my uro three times about the pain.... normal.  Okay after about 6 weeks pain subsided over a period of a week.

CHECK WITH YOUR DOC!

 

Still trying to find a satisfactory erection.  Too young for this crap.

Ditto here with the sitting pain. I've talked with another and they did not have this experience. He suggested I drink tons of water to expedite the healing process. I also an four weeks from surgery, I bought a donut - Some help but not much.

I had this issue (PNE) on right side somewhat before surgery. Due to long bike trips on a hard seat, plus lots of long sitting at I.T. jobs for thirty years. (I think these were the causes). I never got a firm diagnosis of PNE, but I am really sure it's what I had.

But it ramped up big time after the surgery. Interesting what Gear said about operating tables. Could be...

I finally located a type of cushioned pillow made exactly for this. Choose the appropriate one for your weight. I found they lasted about 6-8 months of daily sitting before the foam squashed down enough that the pain would come back. So I would reorder.

/www.icnsales.com/chair-cushions/

The covers are removable for occasional washing. Now retired, I still have one in my car seat to drive, esp. for longer trips.

Also, started biking again about three months after RALP. I bought one of the bike seats that has two separate pads, one for each butt cheek, with about 1-2 inches between, so there is no pressure on the pudendal nerves or groin. That helped a lot, too. I think this was the source or there are others like this on the web--you get the genera idea:

www.derriair.com/easyseat-deluxe.htm

Hope this helps some.