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Da Vinci surgery 7/17, any last minute help appreciated

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Posted 7/14/2012 4:01 AM (GMT 0)
Well the wait is coming to an end. Driving up to Celebration, FL Monday from Palm Beach County, FL for my surgery Tuesday. Dr. Vip Patel will be my surgeon. He has done over 5,500 of them!

I found this site 2 weeks ago and have been trying to cram in as much info as possible. I am grateful to all of you for your time and advice. I am much better prepared now than I would have been without the information I have read here.

I have been sober 23 years and I would not have done it without God's help and many people who shared their stories. It showed me that others felt like me, went through times like me and found a solution that worked.

This site has helped me like others help me stop drinking. Only another cancer patient can know what we are going through, how we feel, how scared we are and the questions we will have. That is how it WORKS here as it does in 12 step recovery groups.

I don't know why I was given prostate cancer. But I found trusting in God in early sobriety led me to better place than where I had been. Now with this new journey, I again turn over my life to Him and it will be okay. For some reason I am suppose to walk down this path at this time in my life. I look forward to the years I have ahead.

Didn't mean to get sappy but that is where I am at today.

Any way, if any of you brothers or sisters out there have any last minute advice for me, bring it on!

I will try to keep you posted this coming week with my progress. Catch you all on the other side!

Bill from Florida
Posted 7/14/2012 5:04 AM (GMT 0)
Bill -- Welcome to HW, glad you found us - but sorry you have reason to be here. You probably have already found this list on the site, but in case you didn't here it is ...    "The Really Useful List made by HW people for HW people"               https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=1717641   I found this information extremely helpful when I was facing my surgery.   Best wishes to you for a successful surgery and a quick and full recovery! Prayers heading your way. |  
Posted 7/14/2012 5:45 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Bill,
I have no advice on your upcoming surgery....but I think 23 years of sobriety is an amazing feat and shows what a truly strong individual you are....wow.

I will be thinking of you and sending a prayer that your surgery goes well and you recoup at warp speed. lol

Please keep all of us informed.

Best wishes,
Kathy
Posted 7/14/2012 9:29 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Bill, I had my robotic surgery less than 2 weeks ago on 7/2 so it's all pretty fresh and I'm still recovering. All I can say is that you will begin to heal a bit everyday.

My biggest issue was diet, I started eating foods that caused gas and internal bloating, this was worse than anything else. I was determined to change my diet now to a healthier one which I will but a lot of healthy vegetables are bad for gas.

Ask your Dr. For a list of what to eat and what to avoid.

Good luck,
Dave
Posted 7/14/2012 11:13 AM (GMT 0)
I am just celebrating my 1 year anniversary of surgery. There were two things that stick in my mind as the worst part of the whole deal. Number one is the wearing of the catheter for 9 days, and number two is the anticipation of and actual performing of the first bowel movement. The catheter requires a lot of patience and endurance. It sucked. Just make sure to follow the instructions on cleaning around the tube and penis head so you don't get an infection. They should also give you an oral antibiotic to help. The bowel movement is another tough thing to get through. They told me to take a stool softener or drink prune juice to help. I did both and took metamucil, and it still took 4 days to happen, and when it did, it was tough and scary. Once through these two events though, it gets better notwithstanding the incontinence and ED issues that follow. Best of luck with your surgery.
Posted 7/14/2012 11:29 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Bill,

My RALP was a year ago and as time goes by it didn't seem like that big a deal. Compared to the effort it took you to have 23 years of sobriety the RP will be a piece of cake. Tigerfan gave a great link on what to do and expect after surgery. The stool softener is very important as that first BM will be a pain if you do not take them from day one. The last thing you want to do is sit on a toilet and strain one small bit the first few days after your surgery.  Also get some very comfortable elastic leisure shorts or pajamas to wear home and for the first week with the catheter. Cotton shorts are good in the hot climate of FL as you may have night sweats for the first few nights while sleeping as I did here in Alabama

However there is one unwritten rule in this forum make sure when you return your prostate that its tank is empty and the tires are flat, if you know what I mean.

Relax and enjoy your last few days before surgery, we hope to hear from you on the other side.

Terry

Posted 7/14/2012 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Bill!  Welcome to our group.  It has been almost 2 years for my husband.  One bit of advice, when you take your first shower, be sure to have someone help you out.  You may be a little shakey.  Also, Ron followed the advice given by 142 (Moderator).   He used only one bag (the large one) and didn't switch back and forth.  Also, I purchased an oval bucket and he used it to hold the catheter bag.  You will be told to walk for a short period of time twice daily, so what he did was to walk around in the yard and the driveway.  Luckily, it was summer and the loose basketball type shorts (or pajamas) helped. 

I wish you the very best with your surgery.  Please come back when you get to the other side.  Please remember you have strength and this wonderful support group.  You will get through this!

God bless you,

Aimzee

Posted 7/14/2012 12:55 PM (GMT 0)
Big Mac, you'll do fine with the surgery, I slept right through it all! I was more worried about my wife in the waiting room which I found out later she had a clown keeping her company.I'm glad he wasn't performing the surgery.As they say here after surgery,"see you on the other side".
Posted 7/14/2012 1:01 PM (GMT 0)
EMPTY THAT PROSTATE ! As often as you can! Start right now!

(I wish someone would have told me that before my surgery.)
Good luck to you!
Jeff in NY
Posted 7/14/2012 1:12 PM (GMT 0)
Bill, I hope it's not too personal, but will you have someone with you the first couple of days?  My husband ended up sleeping on the couch with the bucket on the floor.   Also, please remember lots of water - keeps the bladder clean and reduces the infection possibilities.  Tigerfan's link is so helpful!

Your faith and beliefs will get you through this!

Much blessings,

Aimzee

Posted 7/14/2012 1:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the comments from all so far. Stool softners, check. Oval bucket for catheter, check. I must have missed that chapter in Walsh's book. These are the things they just don't tell you in books and the doctor's office.

I bought break away basketball pants last night to wear with the catheter. Unfortunately, I will be staying in a hotel across the street from the hospital after the surgery so I will need to hide the catheter when I do my walking. I will stay close to the hospital until the catheter is removed rather than drive the three hours home.

My wife and I honeymooned at DisneyWorld 15 years ago. Since the hospital is 5 minutes from DisneyWorld, we decided to make the most of a bad thing and stay near there. No, we won't be visiting Mickey this week.

Keep the suggestions coming, even the uncomfortable ones. I can take it.
Posted 7/14/2012 1:25 PM (GMT 0)
Bill... 2+ years out myself.

You will simply awaken and realize the surgery is done. There will be some local pain but you'll be medicated.

Unlikely to be any "surprises" from the surgery itself... they cut out the walnut and hopefully the pca was contained.

If not, you choose the next step. If you did nothing you would likely live with pca for another decade, but you are doing something. My point is, pca will not be threatening your life anytime soon, and most likely never will.

The bad news about the surgury itself is that stupid catheter that they talk about... walking around with the bag or urine. And then trying to control the faucet afterwards. But do your kegels and walk alot, and you'll feel and do better.

The good news is, the surgery itself shouldnt and wont be as frightening as you imagine it!!! It will be over before you knew it began.

Best of luck to you ! You're a fighter, you WILL be alright!
Posted 7/14/2012 1:28 PM (GMT 0)
catheter can wrap around your leg, under your pants. You wouldnt buy an extra bus ticket for one :)
Posted 7/14/2012 1:29 PM (GMT 0)
Yes Aimzee, I have a case of water. The hospital will let my wife spend the first night in the room with me. They have a hide-a-bed in the room. Will check out the next day and move across the street to a hotel that has a seperate bedroom, living room and full kitchen.

Bill
Posted 7/14/2012 1:50 PM (GMT 0)
Bill, hopefully the hotel room has a comfortable couch. I could not sleep lying down in our bed until the rubber snake was out. That first night at home I tried to get into the bed and the pain doubled me over. I slept on the couch for that first week pretty much sitting up with the bag on the floor in a bucket. about the pain, get off the scrip pain killers as soon as you can, they will constipate your terribly. I was off them the first day at home with just Ibuprofen use every 4-6 hours. My URO told me it was ok to take up to 4 of them every 6 hours.

Sounds like you will be returning your prostate empty for sure. yeah

Posted 7/14/2012 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
Bill,

All good advice but, and I cannot stress this enough, it's Saturday afternoon, get off the computer and hop in the bed! There is not a surgery guy here who will tell you differently.

If you need an excuse say you are doing it to speed your recovery: muscle memory, forming better nerve connections, improving blood flow, ....anything. Just do it.

Three years ago I was in your shoes. I wish someone had forcefully given me the same advice.

Relax the surgery day is a piece of cake. They'll give you a sedative, you'll fall asleep, and when you wake up, your penis prostate will be gone. ;-)

Jeff
Posted 7/14/2012 4:12 PM (GMT 0)
Jeff,
I just read you post. I am at work this weekend so I won't be able to lay around. Business as usual today and tomorrow. Will put in a couple of hours tomorrow then I am done working for awhile. Thanks for your help.

Tigerfan, thanks so much for the link to English Air's wonderful thread. I printed it off and will bookmark it to help others after I get over my surgery.

Water Guy, Hotel room does have a sofa, I believe it is leather but not sure about how comfortable it will be. I am bringing my own bed pillow and blankie!

This is great everyone, it is what I need to hear.

Bill
Posted 7/14/2012 6:56 PM (GMT 0)
Bill, my wife and I spent several days in a hotel room after my surgery three years ago. I think it the perfect place to recover. Elevators, room service, clean sheets and towels and a big TV and free internet. Best of all, no family and friends coming to visit sure what you really want most is to spend endless hours listening to them!

While many complain about the catheter I had no problem with -- a bit inconvenient, but no big deal -- and in many ways I thought it was great. First time in years I could drink as many cups of tea at bedtime that I wanted to and sleep for 8 hours straight. Amazing!

The three biggies in my book: walk, drink, take your pain meds, walk, drink, take your pain meds, walk, drink, take your pain meds.

Looking forward to saying hello when you cross over to the other side!

Sheldon AKA Sleepless
Posted 7/14/2012 7:37 PM (GMT 0)
Bill, It's impossibe to predict what your recovery will be like, but the answers provided so far offer a range of experiences.

As for my experience, I didn't use a bucket, just placed the large bag on the floor next to the bed, and slept like a baby, with no pain.  I went into the hospital weighing exactly 200 pounds and came home weighing 220 (lots of IV fluids).  The first night, I nearly filled the large bag and lost a little more than 5 pounds.

I had surgery on a Friday, but stayed in the hospital until Monday morning because I had some bowel adhesions that the uro repaired during the prostate surgery.  We live just 20 miles from the hospital, but the drive home seemed longer.  Tuesday morning, I walked up and down the block and then went to our favorite restaurant for breakfast with my wife and my youngest brother. On Thursday of that week, we went to the funeral home for a wake, and no one was aware of the hip bag under my loose suit trousers.

I was really grateful for that small leg bag and switched back and forth, using it during the day and the large bag at night, no problem.  It was late August and early September, and my wife and I walked at least a mile every day, with me wearing the leg bag underneath baggy basketball shorts.  The walks were mostly on bike paths, so the fact that the bag was a bit visible belowthe shorts wasn't really an issue. In fact, I walked a mile in the hospital on Saturday and again on Sunday.

I didn't use much pain medication in the hospital, and none after getting home, though I did have a brief issue with bladder spasms.  Even though I was catheterized, I felt as if I had an urgent need to urinate, and then I could feel myself urinating, which was very odd, since with the catheter the bladder never really fills. The uro ordered some medication that stopped the spasms right away.

One big mistake I made was trying to rush the first bowel movement.  I was mistakenly under the impression that I wouldn't be discharged from the hospital until I had a BM.  As a result, I strained way too hard.  Not a good idea.

The worst part of the whole experience was the gas pains during the hospital stay.  My uro ordered simethicone, which helped, but the stupid nursing staff didn't tell me it was a standing order and that I could have, and should have, had it every four or six hours.  This was a bad oversight on the part of the nursing staff, and it earned vocal criticism from my own R. N. wife.

Good luck to you, and I hope your experience is as problem free as mine was.  Be sure to let us know how it goes.

Posted 7/14/2012 7:39 PM (GMT 0)
Bill,
Lots of good advice here. I had my Da Vinci on 1/27/12 and my biggest issue was staying on the pain meds too long which then got me constipated. That first BM, I thought I'd given birth! I hid the cath bag under some sweat pants. No biggie. Keep walking and you should do fine. Best of luck. It sounds like you're in good hands. Oh, I just remember one other thing. Be prepared to sleep a lot once the cath comes out. I was sleeping ten to twelve hours a night for quite a few weeks afterwards.
Posted 7/14/2012 8:49 PM (GMT 0)
Lots of good stuff here, thanks.

Clocknut, I have been exercising and eating much better the past 2 months and went from 210 lbs to 200 lbs now. I can't imagine going back to 220 lbs in a couple of days.

Sheldon, we are bringing our IPads, Ipod and portable DVD with movies and music dvd's. If it is too hot, I'll just do my walking up and down the hall at the hotel with A/C on. I like hot tea at night also. Bringing a Keurig coffee pot.

I plan on taking others advice and get off the pain meds asap. Being in recovery, I have an addictive personality.

This has helped a lot brothers and sisters. My plans are to try to report back daily this week to let you all know how it is going.

Regards to all,
Bill
Posted 7/14/2012 11:20 PM (GMT 0)
Bill – A lot of great advice on your thread (ain’t HW wonderful! Helped me tremendously – and still is). Btw, I traveled for surgery and stayed in a hotel for 2 weeks after discharge: your kitchen – living room – separate bedroom setup sounds just like mine; it really worked out great, well worth the extra cost over a standard room. Reading through the posts reminded me of a few things. At night while sleeping I put the catheter bag in the hotel trash can just in case of a leak (never happened). Also, My wife had to drain my bag before it was time to get up, to keep it from backing up into the tube into my bladder. It is an unpleasant feeling – it happened the first night, so after that we set the alarm each night to empty the bag and went right back to sleep. At first I walked up and down the hall at the hotel, but soon I felt better and was walking outside. When it was too hot I went to the hotel exercise room and walked on the treadmill. I used the ankle bag a good bit under pants and also under basketball shorts (it peeked out a little, but so what). I also did this – I put the large catheter bag into a shopping bag and routed the tube out from under my shorts or through one of the openings in my break-away basketball pants; don’t think anyone noticed. Those break away pants work great while the cath is still in. Oh and in the hotel room I had a recliner – this was fabulous, the most comfortable place to be, especially the first few days. Last thing I can think of right now is regarding the pain meds: Don’t be a hero – take the pain meds if you really need them … but realize they do cause constipation, so try to get off of them as soon as you can.
Take care. You’re going to do great.
Posted 7/15/2012 1:24 AM (GMT 0)
  1. Hi Bill,you will do fine you have what it take to be ok.
  2. SEven years ago I was in the same situation,and my faith have been more than enough.
  3. my psa is still 0.01 and I am sure it will stay that way.God bless you.
Posted 7/15/2012 3:24 AM (GMT 0)
Bill,

The reason for the bucket is two-fold. First, the bag has a drain. If it pops open (as mine did when it got full), you will be getting the carpets shampooed. Four liters of pee is nasty stuff, and with the blood and debris you can expect, it stains. Second, by using the hooks on the bag for the side of the bucket, it holds the valve upright so that it does not block as often. You will know this has happened when your bladder and lungs start to change places in what you hope is a bad dream.

I had no real issues with the BM - I was already on stool softeners for life due to some colo-rectal surgery. It was done before I went home, but I did have to spend four nights in the hospital. So much for the advantages of DaVinci for me.

I walked with the big cath bag and the basketball snap pants. Put the bag in a shopping bag and head out. You may find pacing the hotel corridor better, since those first few walks may end abruptly when you run out of steam, and you don't want to be too far from "home".

Posted 7/16/2012 12:03 AM (GMT 0)

Hey Bill... best of luck to you, your gonna do great! My surgery was 8 months ago and NO regrets, I slept in my recliner for the first week till the catheter came out and like others used a 5 gallon bucket to clip the bag on. Prayers from Virginia!  Jeff

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