Just had Prostectomy

Good afternoon guys. A friend advised me to visit here and I like what I see. In the last 6 weeks I have gone from not being concerned about cancer to sitting here recovering from a radical prostectomy and counting the days until the catheter comes out. (5 and counting) I had missed my annual physical and was going to blow it off until next year but my wife would not let it go. So...... my psa came back 9.2 one week later it was still 8.5. It had never been above 1. No enlargement of the prostate so my doc went right to a biopsy. 5 of 12 were positive all on the right side and 3 were suspicious on the left, 2 of those would turn positive before the surgery. The Gleason came back an 8. Easy decision to remove the bugger before any of the cancer got out. Final pathology along with a CT, and bone scan are all clean.
So now I am left to wonder what the future holds during recovery. My doc tells me it could take up to 6 months to regain bladder control. Any thoughts? The left nerve was spared during surgery so my doc says I have a fighting chance for returned functionality within 18 months. At 61 I sure would like to hope there is still some nooky in my future. I have a very understanding wife who has said she would rather lose sex than lose me. So that takes some of the pressure off. Any thoughts or advise would be greatly appreciated. It is the unknown that has been the hardest to handle up to this point. Never thought I would be here but here I am. So a positive attitude and a strong support system along with fellow members of this club and I will survive! Thanks yall! John

Thanks!! I greatly appreciate the feedback. The post op pathology was the one I refereed to in my post and my doc says I am looking at a 90% chance of staying cancer free.

Welcome to HW, sorry you need to be talking to us.

Sounds like you're doing all the right things. It is major surgery and will take a long time to heal. A RN friend of mine says it takes 6 weeks to do the first 80% of healing and six months for the other 20. It will take awhile. Six months isn't unreasonable but some do it sooner while others never get back to full control.

Once you get that catheter out, walking is one of the best things you can do to help recover. Don't over do, listen to your body and ease into it, but good daily walking really helps.

The ED side is a little trickier. You may need help there - pills, pump, shots, etc but you've got a few weeks before you want to start those experiments up. As you start to think about restarting your sex life, focus on intimacy first and not performance. Patience is the key here and there's a lot of variation in how guys fair in this department. If things don't start happening naturally, call the doc and get going on the meds - you might need that to help get things started.

You've got a very supportive wife there - that's a big plus. Make sure you let her know that.

Hang in there and keep us updated on your progress.
Andrew

Hello Sir, Sorry your have to be here. I just resently found this site myself and it has been a blessing to me. I had RPS 3/11/14, G 3+3=6 after removal g was 7.

64 yr,

Fortunately it was contained to the prostate with no nerve damage. Just give it time, I know with that bag attached it seems a little dark right now. BUT IT DOES GET BETTER!! Put some A&D ointment on Mr. Happy so it doesn't get sore. I heard horror stories about the cath being remove but it wasn't that bad. My first orgasm was a week or so after the cath was removed. It was much too early for that, but I just had to see if it was possible. My wife gave me a hand while I was in the shower. It was the most unusual orgasm in my life, very intense. I only bring this up to let you know sex isn't over, as a matter of fact it has gotten better because it is so different. Don't get me wrong, I've had ED for a lot of yrs so we weren't surprised when it didn't work. But it  lays a lot heavier than it did before surgery. When the cath came out I had zero control for about 2 days. I thought I would lose my mind. BUT IT DOES GET BETTER. I am a little over 5 months post op and only use one pad per day. At first I changed it every hour. Please have patience, except the changes and before you know it you will be back to "almost normal". Blessing to you and your wife.

jcf2004

Sorry to hear you joined the club. Sounds like you are doing everything correctly. You didn't mention if you had robotic surgery or not, doesn't make much difference except on speed of healing. I see you still have the catheter in, once that is yanked out (which doesn't hurt) you will start to really feel better. You probably haven't gotten the pathology report back yet. Being Gleason 8 that might determine any additional steps. The highest priority is to get rid of this cancer. Next to regain continence and lastly to regain erections. I didn't say sex, since you really never lost that. You never lost the ability to have an orgasm. You need to start taking ED meds as soon as the catheter is removed to start the blood flowing. And my urologist said to use it or loss it. So let the wife know this! In addition to doing the kegel exercise, walking helps tremendously in regaining urinary control.

I was almost 61 when I had my robotic surgery. I was Gleason 7 (3+4) with a little positive surgical margin which might come back to haunt me. I had both nerves spared and was totally dry. And I never lost the ability to have erections, even when the catheter was still in. I could have gone back to work after 10 days when my catheter was removed, but I had the time so I took of another two weeks to relax.

There is life after a prostectomy! I can pee much better even though my prostate was normal size. And for some reason, I can hold it a lot longer before having to go.

Hi John,

Welcome to the HW forum.

Glad you sound positive which is the finest step to recovery.

Wishing you speedy recovery.

Hey John
Sounds like you are doing well and are optimistic, good... I had RALP 7 months ago and still have to wear one pad a day,I'll leak more on days I am very active. Its not horrible but its not the same as before. Do your kegals once the catheter is out. I had both nerve bundles spared and had ED issues a few months after surgery, its slowly getting better. The understanding wife part is so important, you are lucky to have her. Mine has been super supportive, I am very fortunate to have her.

Rest, walk and water are all important

Take care and let us know how you are doing

Oh yea, the catheter removal, no biggie, feels just like getting the abdomen drain removed

Hi guys. I am 63yrs old.
My name is Jose Imenez-no that's another guy.
My name is David. I was diagnosed with PC in August of 08, at age 58. My PSA tripled in 1 yr, and since my brother was already under the the spell of PC, my urologist suggested I have a biopsy, which needless to say turned out positive. So in November of 08 I became friends with the Davinchi robot. I don't have all the clinical #s some of you have, and if I had to do it all over; I wouldn't.
Anyway, I have ED, urinary incontinence(one, maybe two pads a day),
And now I have non-small cell lung carcinoma. I had my lower lobe of my right lung removed on may 9th. 9 days in the hospital and 5 days at sisters house recouping.
Funny thing, after my prostate was removed I spent 24 hrs in the hospital in duarte CA. Drove back to Vegas the next day-my sister took me- Then maybe 7 or 10 days with a catheter. After my lung surgery the nurses pulled the catheter the next day; they said it couldn't remain for more than 24 hrs.
On to tri-mix. The different pills don't work any more ( they actually didn't work after surgery) so I went the trimix route. When I 1st injected it I filled the syringe to 10. Woo hoo what a ride. I stayed erect for 6+ hrs. The girl had long left b4 I was freed of the torture. The pain was one thing, but the uncomfortable feeling of a metal rod in my undies was really a b...h. I took 2 sudafed and was getting ready head to the ER, when it began to loosen. I had to experiment with it for a while, but found that level 5 is about right.
My urologist told me to be concerned when there is pain. So the times that I have had erections over 4 hrs since,with no pain, I have not been real concerned about. Don't get me wrong, I didn't enjoy them, I am just not going to the ER and telling the nurse I have a priapism. Especially when I have discovered most don't know what that is. Can you imagine, walking into the ER with a boner and trying to explain to the admitting nurse that you have a hard-on that just WONTE go down.
So for those of you that have ED, if nothing else works, give Trimix a try. Just start at a low dose. My pharmacist told me your penis has two sides; if the 1stinjection doesn't work after 15 minutes, Inject on the the other side.
I told a fellow employee about the mix, but I forgot to tell him to be careful. He got a little nervous when he still had an erection after 4hrs.
Btw, my latest script is: 5.9 ALP/17.65 PAP/.59mg phent. How important these #s are I am not sure. I am supposed to go see my urologist this month. If I remember, I'll ask her/him. My original urologist retired to the Air Force base to volunteer her services to fly boys. Her husband is a cardiovascular surgeon, so I think they'll be ok.

If you just joined this forum, as I have, take head to the suggestions and experiences of the other guys here. Just be sure that your cancer is severe enough to warrant surgery.
PC is a slow moving cancer and if you are uncomfortable with the thought of ED, or any of the other ramifications of surgery. Talk to your urologist, ask the members in here for help, but remember, the ultimate decision is yours and is life changing.

Greetings,

I am a firm believer in walking after surgery to speed recovery from incontinence and ED. I walked three miles a day post surgery and was dry in three short weeks. I wish the ED was cured that fast, but I had the nerves spared on one side, but lost about 75% on the other due to the size of my prostate. It took time, but by almost exactly one year I was "standing tall" without the use of meds at all. If you had no issues before surgery, you have every reason to be optimistic they you'll be fine after. Good luck to you!

Tom

My sincere thanks to all of you who have responded to my post!! It is a little easier knowing I am not alone! What really helps is hearing the real life stories about what I can expect in the next several weeks. I can't thank you all enough! A special thanks to Gedman on the book referral. I downloaded it and started reading it yesterday. Very informative!! I wish I had read it prior to surgery. I would have done the same thing but I also would have felt a little more prepared. Unlike most guys here I had very little time to digest my situation and prepare for what was about to happen. From my first PSA results to surgery was all of 6 weeks. In some ways that may have been a good thing as I didn't have time to stress about it but on the other hand I had little time to prepare. All in all I'm glad it's over and I am on the road to recovery.

Did any of you guys ever experience bleeding when you still had the catheter in? I'm 10 days post-op now and this morning while on the pot I had a very strong urge to pee and passed some very dark red blood outside the catheter and in. First time that has happened.

Thanks Tom! Talked to my doc last night and he said the same thing however he also stopped the Heprin injections as well! Said the blood thinner might be the problem. My catheter bag was very bloody this morning which was disturbing but I will wait and see.