Soreness after Robotic Removal

Yes had the same problem. Used a towel to sit on for 6 to 7 weeks. Finally the sorness went away. The uretha has alot of trauma. takes time to heal.

Mine was significant enough to need the cushion for several months, but eventually calmed down.

Hard wooden seats or benches are simply no longer a choice even today.

I had discomfort in that area before surgery and continuing to today (13 months post surgery). Seemed to be exacerbated by elliptical or cycling type activity. It was one reason I was really concerned when my pre-dx MRI showed a possible EPE on prostate. I was sure I was in bad shape. Instead, during RALP, surgeon removed a large thrombosed vein plastered on side of prostate, and no EPE was found. He did it as a freebee along with removing prostate--can't beat the price!

The discomfort continued. Am working with family doc on suspicion of pudendal nerve damage or entrapment. Can be caused by cycling, which I did a lot of last few years. It is not rectal, as my recent colonoscopy showed no problems there. Instead, the pudendal nerve runs from inner thigh up through groin area into lower abdomen. So the problem is offset about inch right of rectum. But sitting, cycling, or certain exercises irritate.

I use special cushion at work (computer work )--not a donut, but a cushion with a 2 inch channel cut all way from front to back, to keep any pressure off the nerve. I am also on gabapentin. The wikipedia for this drug notes ""Gabapentin provides significant pain relief in about a third of people who take it for fibromyalgia or chronic neuropathic pain. It is also effective in reducing narcotic usage post operatively and is helpful in neuropathic pain due to cancer." In fact, it is not known exactly how gabapentin works.

I have dropped all exercise that may irritate the nerve, as suggested by the forums for pudendal nerve problems. The www.pudendalhope.info is the main forum. Now I only do swimming and upper body dumbbells.

The kegels I continued after surgery eventually starting hurting like a son of a ***** at about six months post, so uro said just stop them since I already had gotten most the benefit I was going to get then.

None of the docs know quite what to make of it. If it is PNE, it's pretty rare. All this is making slow but steady progress, and I hope to get off the gabapentin by end of year, as it is non-narcotic but has bothersome side effects. Also, the wiki says "An increase in formation of adenocarcinomas was observed in rats during preclinical trials; however, the clinical significance of these results remains undetermined. Gabapentin is also known to induce pancreatic acinar cell carcinomas in rats through an unknown mechanism, perhaps by stimulation of DNA synthesis; these tumors did not affect the lifespan of the rats and did not metastasize."

Great, I sure need more cancer from unknown DNA effects.

Don't know if any of this will apply to you guys--just wanted to share the info in case.

Robert

Yup, if your rear end is sore, be confident that you are doing things right. LOL

Seriously though, indeed I also had a problem sitting on hard surfaces. I remember a week after my surgery, while still at the motel by Mayo Clinic, we went to a mass in the chapel at one of Mayo's hospitals -- where I was operated on. A short walk from the motel.

Reluctantly I carried a large cushion with me to sit on because the pews were too hard to sit on. Same thing when I got home 10 days post-op -- I have a hard wooden chair at my kitchen table and had to keep using the cushion for a while.

So it is not unusual at all for you to still have discomfort. It is quite normal and eventually will go away.

Good luck!
Chuck

Resident of Highland, Indiana just outside of Chicago, IL.
July 2011 local PSA lab reading 6.41 (from 4.1 in 2009). Mayo Clinic PSA Sept. 2011 was 5.7.
Local urologist DRE revealed significant BPH, but no lumps.
PCa Dx Aug. 2011 at age of 61.
Biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma in 3 of 20 cores (one 5%, two 20%). T2C.
Gleason score 3+3=6.
CT of abdomen, bone scan both negative.
DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), nerve sparing, age 62.
My surgeon was Dr. Matthew Tollefson, who I highly recommend.
Final pathology shows tumor confined to prostate.
5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, extraprostatic soft tissue all negative.
1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm mass involving right posterior inferior,
right posterior apex & left mid posterior prostate.
Right posterior apex margin involved by tumor over a 0.2 cm length, doctor says this is insignificant.
Prostate 98.3 grams, tumor 2 grams. Prostate size 5.0 x 4.7 x 4.5 cm.
Abdominal drain removed the morning after surgery.
Catheter out in 7 days. No incontinence, occasional minor dripping.
Post-op exams 2/13/12, 9/10/12, PSA <0.1. PSA tests now annual.
Semi-firm erections now happening 14 months post-op & VERY slowly getting a bit stronger.

I would get that same pain when I would forget not to sit on the front (hard) edge of the sofa. It took a few months for it to totally disappear.

NolaVette

 

I had issues too in the first few weeks, but quickly learned that hard stools were the main culprit.  Started taking stool softeners again and the problem quickly went away.  Even now 15+ months out if I bear down too much during BM's I feel it, so I take softeners almost daily.

Best Wishes,

Tom

I had a foley in for 2 weeks and after all the sitting I did when recuperating, it ached for several more weeks after the foley ca,e out. Getting several hemmorhoids right after the foley removal didn't help. I think it was about 5 weeks or so post-op when I kind of noticed sitting was fairly back to normal. Give it time.