How Painful Is It?

I have had 2 hernia surgeries and one hemmoroid

 surgery. I was wonder if anyone can compare the pain in these surgeries to a RP.

Post subject edited to remove all capital letters.  All caps indicate shouting or danger, neither of which is normally applied to this forum...l

Post Edited By Moderator (James C.) : 10/5/2010 4:40:42 AM (GMT-6)

I had robotic a month ago, there was no pain at all...You feel a little uncomfortable for a few days but for me it was pretty much painless...

no pain at all post op, then I was very surprised when they sent me home with instructions that if I felt pain take 2 extra strength Tylenol, which I never needed to take. I figured in a few days I would feel something but nothing

I went home the next morning after my Robotic removal, it was quite uneventful actually

I had open surgery, not much pain at all. I also skipped the pain meds when I got home after 4 days.

zippers and toilet lids must cause PCa.

he he

about pain

It was pretty manageable for me but I used the pain meds for the first two days to be sure I got enough sleep.

For coughing (or sneezing) a nurse taught me to hug a pillow -- a great help.

If you do have pain, take your pain meds -- stress hurts your healing process.

Pain really is a subjective thing.

We have guys on here who wanted general anesthesia for a biopsy.

Plus, each surgery is a little different, anatomys can be a little different, muscle tone is a little different. I have heard guys talk about gas pain in their shoulders, swollen and black and blue testicles, rectal pain, etc, etc.

Just be assured it is very bearable. Usually simple analgesics can take care of it, or a Tylenol #3.

How did you take the biopsy? Some people think it's horrible, others don't mind it. I was in the latter group. I had open RP, minor discomfort, and my nurse complained that I never pushed the morphine drip button. I'm a wimp. Way worse pain for me included a sigmoidoscopy, straining a rib muscle from a bad cough, and a cystoscopy with a local anesthetic.

AotR

I would say RRP pain was definitely bearable. And not sure that I'd describe it as pain, more of an ache. Any pain was short and associated with coughing sneezing etc (as well as sudden movement when I forget to take my time to stand up or turn over in bed etc.) Holding a cushion against my belly during coughing made it much less uncomfortable. Walking (regularly and slowly) helped make thing much better.

Medication dealt with just about everything. In hospital they look after you. In my case checking if I needed pain relief at regular intervals. I was able to stand up in my bathroom and wash and dress about 20 hours after surgery.
Once at home paracetamol/Tylenol was enough.

I am one of those who had pain at biopsy, but that was like being at the dentist: the pain was very intense and it lasted about five seconds for each needle jab. I was in no pain from the biopsy once it was over (The problem was that I felt a bit nauseous for the rest of the day I also took two tylenol/paracetamol to pre-empt any pain and they must have done their job) At no point was the post-RP pain level as high as the biopsy pain.

I am now 14/15 months post surgery and surprisingly I still have occasional sharp pain by the big scar by my navel, but it has become a keloid scar. There are also odd aches inside me (especially now that I have had SRT too), but given that others in my family have had aches for years after surgery I believe there may be a genetic aspect to how much pain abdominal surgery causes.

Alf

I am one of those guys who had gas pains in my shoulders.  It was far more painful than the surgery but a good heating pad made it bearable and the pain killers to sleep.  After 5 days the gas pains went away suddenly. 

Ed

I've had two hernia surgeries and a DaVinci. Hernias were 9 out of 10 on the pain scale. DaVinci was a 2 or 3. But there was a weird feeling from the catherer that I don't want to feel again. Not pain, more like getting goosed in the bladder.

Perhaps it's worth mentioning that there are usually two types of gas pain.

One is wind in your gut and relates to your fasting before surgery and change of diet etc and will go away when you are eating normally and have had a few good BMs and f*rts etc. Light exercise also helps get the gut working properly.

The other gas issue relates to the CO2 used to inflate your belly to make space for the robot's arms inside you. Some of this gas will get left inside your body cavity after they sew you up.
It takes your body about a week to deal with this CO2 gas. It will start to collect in various places inside you, and this is why you can experience pain in the area around your diaphragm and shoulders. Walking and moving is the best way to deal with the pain.
When I pressed my hand against my ribs I could actually feel and hear the little bubbles moving about just under my skin; when I went to have my catheter removed they were intrigued by this.

Alf

thanks for the replies. I don't plan on having the robotic surgery. So gas shouldn't be a problem- although my wife disagrees. LOL How is the open surgery pain and recovery???