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Posted 5/13/2011 9:52 PM (GMT 0)
pain meds.

It will take him 8 hours to get used to it. He will feel as if he has been holding his pee in for hours upon hours and is ready to explode. In reality he will have a catheter in so it isn't about peeing. It's about his brain getting used to the sensation of a balloon in his bladder ( for catheter ) and the stiches. Pain meds will help a little at first and then a lot by the third dose, but try to get him off of them and on to tylenol extra strength after 12-16 hours because the pain meds can constipate him which will be another hurdle in the process in a few days.

The nurse in recovery room will tell him about the bladder pain but if he's like me he won't believe her and assume something is wrong, it isn't. It's just a sensation he has to deal with for some hours.
Posted 5/13/2011 10:06 PM (GMT 0)
everyone here,,, thank you so much for the support now I do not feel like I am alone in the family waiting room , aawwwww :)
Posted 5/13/2011 10:08 PM (GMT 0)
Here is something good to read that can prepare you for tonight and the coming week. Your nurses will be telling you much of the same but no harm in knowing ahead of time.

www.med.umich.edu/1libr/urology/postcare/rprostatectomy.htm

you're not alone.
Posted 5/14/2011 10:20 AM (GMT 0)
Well, the doctor came out to talk about 7. He said they had some complications with the anestesia, He also has acromegaly , in which makes to much growth hormone, and has a pitutary tumor. With this his whole body is enlarged. Hands, feet, head , toungue..etc. Because of the enlarge tounge, ( In which I mentioned to the anestisia doctor in the beginng) he assured me they had everything they needed to handle this situation. He needed to keep the breathing tube in . They just took it out this morning at 4. I just talked with him and he is feeling well. Does not even feel the cathiter. And the suprising part is his through is fine. Drinking water and I will see him in a couple of hours. The doctor said his surgery went well, it was a bit challenging with his size to get the prostate, but " just took a bit longer than anticiated" due to his size and enlarged prostate. I will keep you all posted , And I want to thank everyone here yesturday. You really helped alot get through the day a bit easier. :)
Posted 5/14/2011 10:23 AM (GMT 0)
must be the pain meds in the iv drip as to why no discomfort? Plus he's a tough cookie
Posted 5/14/2011 11:34 AM (GMT 0)
besides the bladder issue initially and the general felling of having been worked over by Mike Tyson in the abdominal area there isn't too much severe pain. I'm glad to have seen your post this morning, I was hoping to see it. Your nurses should tell you everything now and teach you how to empty catheter and clean the tip. Your husband should already have started walking a bunch around the hospital halls. Carefull what he eats as he probably hasn't passed gas yet. And ask the nurses, but I think it's wise to get off the heavy duty pain meds asap as he will need to have bowel movement within a few days and those can interfere. You must be exhausted. It's all downhill now.
Posted 5/14/2011 11:47 AM (GMT 0)
He has called me 3 times already this morning. The last call was to say bring his glasses to watch the history channel and "cant wait for breakfast, should be good" I will be heading out to see him very shortly
Posted 5/14/2011 11:52 AM (GMT 0)
Hopefully you are taking a well deserved rest. Surgery day is definitely harder on the support person. The patient get a dose of sleep juice and Versed and it's lights out. The short term memory loss is a blessing.
Thankfully it makes it easier to find the humor in a not so humorous situation.

Make sure to take note of the prostate size. We have a contest for the largest one. (A certain moderator is going to be tough to beat.)

Good Luck to you both.

Jeff (Previously packing 56 grams of putrefied prostate.)
Posted 5/14/2011 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
Glad to hear he is comfortably on this side now. He needs to be getting up and around now, and really keeping the water flowing.
Posted 5/14/2011 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
So glad that all went well. Welcome both of you to the other side. will be thinking about you guys.

Cajun jeff
Posted 5/14/2011 2:33 PM (GMT 0)
Glad he is safely through the operation.

For the bladder spasms, ask the doctor about ditropan. I lived off of the stuff for nearly 2 years, it helps a lot, and its cheap.

He should stay on the pain meds as long as he needs them, don't let the fear of constipation (which doesn't always happen with pain meds) leave him in pain.

David in SC
Posted 5/14/2011 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
Have him be careful with the morphine drip. Being an old ex-hippie, I wasn't, though it helped the first nite, the next day, I had a complete meltdown, anxiety, leg compressors, driving me nuts, crying jags, if able stick to the Tylonal.
Posted 5/14/2011 3:43 PM (GMT 0)
Congratulations to both of you, and good luck on the pathology.  I imagine he's covered with medical appliances today:  nasal canula, abdominal drain, IV tubes, catheter, pulse/oxymeter and who knows what else.  One by one those will come off and he'll rejoice with each removal.  My hospital hallway was exactly 300 feet long and I walked back and forth many times, dragging my IV pole.  Hope you're both home soon, but don't be in a hurry, and don't overdo it.
Posted 5/14/2011 3:45 PM (GMT 0)
logo, they set those things so you cannot take too much. I didn't use it or the percocets really. Had 2 percocets right after and then switched to tylenol.

David - all the nurses and a few of the docs suggested the strong pain meds could constipate me. That is a known side effect of those pills. Since bowel movement is a critical part of th eprocess, and we feel so delicate anyway at that stage, it usually advisable to stay on them for as little as possible. Others here have confirmed the same. Of course we don't want anyone in agony, but I've never heard of anyone who was in agony after this operation. It's not like we are giving birth or having a c section.
Posted 5/14/2011 3:56 PM (GMT 0)
I was taking stool softeners throughout the process (prescribed previously and agreed with the surgeon). The docs felt like the risk of constipation (although present and real) was not so much as to intentionally suffer. I used the button, and once off that, took the pills as needed.

I was in the hospital 4 days, ate normal food after breakfast (it was liquid)the day after surgery, and did have the first BM before leaving.

Some mineral oil will resolve constipation, but being on your back in pain for hours is not so simple.

Each must decide for himself.

Posted 5/14/2011 5:40 PM (GMT 0)

Worried Guy said...

Make sure to take note of the prostate size. We have a contest for the largest one. (A certain moderator is going to be tough to beat.)


Mine was 337 grams. Go ahead, prove me wrong.

Whadda I win?
Posted 5/14/2011 5:48 PM (GMT 0)
David:

I would not be so cavalier about the pain medications. When I had inguinal hernia surgery in 1988, I took just a few vicodin. Yeah, they helped. But the resulting constipation made me miserable for 10 days. So, it's a balancing act.

Mel

Posted 5/14/2011 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
not being cavalier. just relaying what docs and nurses told me, which was taht if I wasn't in too much pain to switch to tylenol extra strength over the narcotics because the narcotics "can" constipate you and it was critical to have a bowel movement within a few days of surgery. It was a whole process, walk a lot, drink a lot of water eat only broth, sorbet and jello until you fart, eat a little while taking stool softener before bowel movement.

As for the pain itself, speaking strictly of robotic, it really isn't that big a deal. The concern about the process itself ( walk, fart, poo, deal with catheter, remove catherer ec) was the bigger deal for me. Pain went away completely after 3-5 days pretty much but it was never the type of pain that had me hurting. I've heard same form almost all I've seen/read.

Not saying anyone should not deal with pain if they do indeed have it.
Posted 5/14/2011 6:36 PM (GMT 0)
DavidG:

I was referring to Purg.

I agree with you.

Not trying to start an argument.

Clearly pain is a big concern as is the constipation SE.

Mel

Posted 5/14/2011 6:43 PM (GMT 0)
David is a very common name...

worst story I heard was about a guy who didn't listen and ate like a pig not long after surgery before bowel movement and was in serious pain because of it.

Btw, I don't think I will ever eat broth, jello or sorbet again. I remember how sweet that mango sorbet was in the hospital and it was vile. I kept asking why they wouldn't have chocolate or coffee sorbet instead but none was available.
Posted 5/14/2011 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
GTO Dave, I just saw an abstract of a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (2005) that said, "Men with smaller prostates had more high-grade cancers and more advanced disease and were at greater risk of progression after RP. These results suggest that prostate size may be an important prognostic variable that should be evaluated for use pre- and postoperatively to predict biochemical progression."

I was greatly surprised by that.  At 88g, I thought my risk of future problems would be greater, not smaller, but there it is, in black and white, suggesting that a larger prostate can pose less risk.  Weird.  It's a six-year-old study, though, so may no longer be relevant?  At 337g, yours must have been the size of a grapefruit!

Posted 5/15/2011 10:23 AM (GMT 0)
I think his happy meds have wore off. I went to ICU yesturday , his hand was very Swollen. ( thats the one were they put 2 ivs in ) they were checking for clots, seem to think none. They were to given a untrasound to be sure, still waiting for that ( weekend staff not so good) They did give him a shot for clotting. They left the iv jacks in , then thought maybe if they take them out that will help with the swelling. That did not. Not sure if they are giving him oral pain meds now. But something changed dramatically, shortly after leaving icu to go to his room, he did quite a bit of walking. ( I think to much ) His mood is misserable, like they are trying to kill him there. So in the course of a 2 hour spread, he went from  telling everyone hi, and his name, even to tell our daughter " have a good day at school " ( on a saturday) to " I think they put something in my water".
Posted 5/15/2011 1:00 PM (GMT 0)

clocknut said...
I was greatly surprised by that. At 88g, I thought my risk of future problems would be greater, not smaller, but there it is, in black and white, suggesting that a larger prostate can pose less risk. Weird. It's a six-year-old study, though, so may no longer be relevant? At 337g, yours must have been the size of a grapefruit!


Yikes, I spoke in jest, and attempted to cite a gland size that would clearly be ridiculous. At 337g, I thought "softball" size, a grapefruit is similar.

What was the prize I now must forfeit? :-)
Posted 5/15/2011 3:52 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the other side! Hopefully things improve quickly and you have a good pathology report. All these first day snafus will soon become distant memories.
Posted 5/16/2011 4:06 AM (GMT 0)
klains, sounds like your husband had a bit of rough go, and obviously you too. I hope that he gets to go home soon and the fact that he is walking must mean that he is making good progress and will be happening in a day or two. Maybe the pain meds are making him a little off ,and considering what he went though not unexpected. I hope both of you can get some rest and continued progress. Hang in there and keep the reports coming.
Ron
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