3 weeks post op

Dave,

Sounds like your recovery is coming around normal and fine. You should do fine.

David in SC

GTO,
Like you I had my da Vinci on 3/4/2011, at Pennsylvania Hospital, exactly 3 weeks ago. I had my catheter removed 2 weeks ago on 3/11/2011 and have been 99% continent since. I wore a pad during the first 4 or 5 nights. Now I get up about 2X a night to pee (something I almost never did pre surgery).
The Incontinence issues that I have are:
I need to be real careful when I stand up after sitting for a while.
I need to urinate a lot more than I used to (especially this past weekend when I had 3 beers).
Laughing or farting (with my grade school sense of humor, they usually happen at the same time) can cause a very small spurt.

When we met with my surgeon pre-op on 2/14/2011 the only thing he said for me to do to prepare for the surgery was Kegel, so that day I started training for the Kegel Olympic team (first place is a Yellow Medal). Also, I had been hitting the gym 5X a week since the beginning of the year. That intensity increased when I received my DX on 1/25/2011. 2 weeks prior to surgery I worked out 2X a day, weights in the morning, cardio in the evening. I even did a chest routine the morning of my surgery.

ED – Fortunately I’ve had erections since the day after my catheter was removed, with no meds, but the surgeon said to abstain until 3/29/2011, 2 weeks after my post-op visit. He gave me a 2 week sample supply of 5 mg Cialis and a script for the same at that post-op visit. My prescription plan will only minimally cover the script he gave me, so I’m not sure if I’m going to fill it.

I worked from home the 2 weeks following the surgery, and I went back to work (30 min. commute, desk job) this past Monday. I’ve been walking every day since 3/6/2011 and started using the elliptical trainer on 3/15/2011. The only problem that I have with incisions is the one near my belly button which was weeping until a few days ago.

My wife and I were concerned about the one + margin that I had, although the surgeon was not; he said it was caused by a tear during the surgery. I had my final path slides sent to Johns Hopkins this past Wednesday for a second opinion.

I tribute my success thus far to my loving wife of 26 years, my skilled surgeon, and my pre-surgery training regimen.

Diamonds, great news from you as well. I was hoping you'd report back in, as we both seem to be on identical journeys and recoveries.

One of the experiments I tried was to open up a small vitamin E capsule, and rub the oil over the main incision, just above the belly button. That incision healed almost immediately, the others still have scabs. The experiment worked as promised, or perhaps it was merely coincidence.

Bronson....you continue to amaze me. You have kind words and encouragement for everybody. There were days a month or so ago when smiling seemed impossible, until I read your posts. You're a good guy and your contributions make this site the remarkable one it is.

Dave

Little GTO, you're really lookin' fine.......the coolest thing around
Little buddy, gonna shut you down
When I turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO

Good goin', GTO Dave!

Glad to hear all you recent surgery guys are doing so well, wish you all the best as you continue to recover.

david in sc

Dave,

I had open surgery on February 14.  I have had essentially full continence since catheter removal.  Passing gas can cause a little leakage, so I now only do that in the bathroom.  I also have to make sure that when I pee that I massage the penis to milk out the remaining urine after I go to the bathroom.  If I don't do this, I may have a little leakage after I pull up my pants.  This seems a little of strange, but I have come to accept it.

My doc has me on 5 mg of Cialis every other day.  This is producing some soft erections with lots of manual stimulation.  These are not very useful, but seems to be progressing. 

I am walking several miles a day and about to talk myself into a light jog.  Hard chairs are uncomfortable after 30 or 45 minutes.  I drive an hour and 15 minutes to work.  This is not such a big deal in the morning, but by the time I am driving home, my incision is uncomfortable by the time I get there.  I had been placing a small pillow between the incision and the seatbelt.  This can be helpful.  I will also sometimes drive with my pants unsnapped.  Both the pillow and the unsnapped pants might have been embarrassing 3 month ago.  After this experience, it seems not to bother me a bit.