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One Month After Surgery (AUS, IPP, Hernia Repair)

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Posted 4/5/2015 4:18 AM (GMT 0)
Tomorrow, as well as being Easter Sunday, will also mark one month since my hernia repair and the installation of my artificial sphincter and my penile prosthesis. That being the case, a brief progress report:

I'm not sure how long it takes for the fuseable mesh they used to patch my hernia to fully fuse. At one month out I am still taking things easy -- no heavy lifting for another month -- but I can do regular activities with very minimal discomfort although twisting or bending can still be pretty twingey.

It is still another two and a half weeks before I see my surgeon to have my AUS activated and to be trained in its use. For now I continue to leak heavily (worse than before surgery) and I am really looking forward to a chance to be dry again.

I have been given permission to cycle my implant. It seems to work but it is currently difficult to operate, most likely because there is still a bit of swelling that makes it difficult to access the pump. Hopefully that will improve. For the moment I try to pump it up every day for half an hour or so but, since I still leak heavily I don't try to do much with it for the time being.

The implant will take some getting used to, I think. It seems a bit smaller than I was expected but I imagine I can learn to work with it. It is also a bit lumpy when deflated but, again, I expect I can get used to it.

I am probably passing through the period of maximum post-op grumpyness for my particular combination of devices. I am not far enough into the learning curve for the prosthesis to find it easy or natural to use and the fact that my AUS hasn't been activated and I still leak takes a lot of the fun out of practicing with it.

In other news, I am coming up on nine months since the end of my androgen deprivation and I am finally staring to see some signs of recovery. I am starting to regrow some hair on my forearms and thighs, my wife now notices when I don't shave, and my arm pits have started to stink again.

Mostly I am a work in progress at the moment. There are lots of favorable signs but the pace of progress is slower than I might wish, even if it is tracking nicely with what I expect.

Oh, and glancing at the clock: Happy Easter.
Posted 4/5/2015 4:24 AM (GMT 0)
Peter, happy Easter. here's hoping that you continue to make progress, and you are dry in a relatively short period of time.

You've obviously gone thru a lot having these three procedures in one shot, I admore your bravery. I'm sure things will move in the right direction for you, soon enough. Good luck.
Posted 4/5/2015 7:16 PM (GMT 0)
PDA,
Your days of leaking are coming to and end soon. My only wish is I didn't have it done sooner. As you may remember, I had a little hiccup the day my AUS was activated.

They gave me a model of the controller to play with and practice with during the waiting period. Then when I had it activated and was sent home, I had no idea how firmly you had to press the controller to open the cuff. Let's face it, as children, we knew that if a baseball hit you down there it would hurt. So I didn't press hard enough.

Any way, I ended up in the ER at midnight showing the doctor the instructions how to DEACTIVATE it so I could pee. 2 weeks later, I went to my uro had him slowly show me what to do. He didn't let me leave his office until I had done it several times on an empty bladder. We were in the examing room and I guess he didn't want to get hit with a full bladder.

I had hernia surgery about 18 years ago and it was a hard recovery. With all that you had done at one time, you must feel beat up down there.

Well, the AUS is only 2 weeks away so then you can concentrate on the other 2 things.

I'll be welcoming you to the leak no more club soon with all the other MEMBERS!!!!

Bill from Florida cool
Posted 4/5/2015 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
sounds like you're healing just fine. It took me about three months after hernia surgery before everything felt normal down there. The waiting was the killer.

Hang in there,
Andrew
Posted 4/5/2015 10:52 PM (GMT 0)
Prato and Andrew,

Thanks for your encouragement and support.

Bill,

I remember your story and have been bearing it in mind. While your example is an inspiring one, for the most part, there is that one bit that I am treating as cautionary -- the one small detail that I hope and plan not to emulate.
Posted 4/6/2015 6:18 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I'd avoid the ER part of Bill's story...

The rest is good. ;)

Andrew
Posted 4/7/2015 2:05 AM (GMT 0)
I didn't even put the whole hardware store in there and it was difficult. 18 months out I am happy with it, I guess. At least it works. But it's definitely shorter. Whatevr. Good Luck, Peter. Teach her how to pump it up and you are good to go for life!. Every day it gets a little bit better.
Posted 4/7/2015 3:49 AM (GMT 0)
Implants do seem to be shorter, at first. But with regular (daily) inflations during the "break in" period (first six months), the length does come back, this may be especially true of the 700LGX but others with non length expanding implants seem to have the same experience of regaining length . In my case my doctor, or actually the PA, told me to inflate daily as much as possible and work up to one hour. At first one hour seemed like a tall order for the first month or so. The length comes back very gradually and imperceptibly. Apparently some patients are not made aware of the need to regularly inflate but after the results it provided I was made a believer. Good luck with all the healing going on. I cant speak to the hernia but for the implants, the penile was a good result, but for me the AUS was what has made me the happiest.
Posted 4/11/2015 3:00 PM (GMT 0)
 

Peter,

   Glad I found your post. You sure took on a lot at one time but good thing it will be better soon. Maybe in 6 months to a year you can move on away from all this and start enjoying life more then ever. I am very interested in the AUS for sure as I am still suffering from on and off ED with the severe PD. I would give anything to put that behind me and start over. My best to you and hope your recovery moves forward quickly. Anything you post about your situation I am grateful for so please post away. Thanks Al

 

Posted 4/12/2015 4:27 AM (GMT 0)
Peter....you are such a brave man....good luck with the recovery, you are almost there!
Posted 4/12/2015 6:27 AM (GMT 0)
Peter,
Thanks for the update and best wishes for a dry spring.
Beth
Posted 4/12/2015 2:18 PM (GMT 0)
My freshman year of college will have been 45 years ago this fall and I remember a joke I learned my first semester. I know it was the first semester because Mike -- the gentleman in my dorm from whom I learned the joke -- flunked out at the end of the first term (too little study, way too much beer.)

The joke was to imitate the characteristic cry of the male "Ohno Bird" -- an avian species has two inch legs and three inch testicles. As it comes in to land it cries "Oh no... OH NO! OH.NOOO!!!"

Not much is new but since several of you have thought about me, I will offer a not-much-going-on update:

I continue to recover from my surgery. The area of the hernia repair is starting to settle down. I only notice an occasional tugging twinge. The surgeon who did the hernia has given me the OK to resume most normal activities up to and including the gym but has suggested that I wait a few more weeks before I resume my abs workout.

But I do still think of Mike and the Ohno bird whenever I sit down. Most of the swelling is gone but things are still a bit tender. I will be activating my AUS a week from tomorrow which should help since at least some of my lingering discomfort appears to be chafing from the pads and the watertighty whities.

I am quite looking forward to shopping for undergarments in the Men's department, not the pharmacy aisle.
Posted 4/12/2015 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
Peter, your sense of humor is great, you have an amazing attitude. Good luck with ongoing improvement
Posted 4/12/2015 8:18 PM (GMT 0)
Peter,
Glad you're almost there. You know my AUS story so won't repeat other than to say that things are still great. I'm now going on 5 years. Still using one pad a day and live eat drink and sleep like the old days.

I too had the "oh no" bird experience. Swelling slowly went down. After activation mine has neve been deactivated. Doc showed me how but never had a reason to deactivate.

I did have an imgunial hernia develop about a year ago. I think it was caused or at least aggravated by a penis pump. Got it fixed with open surgery and a mesh and doc said do what you want whenever you feel like it. I said "no concern about tearing anything". "can I play golf nex week". Yep he answered. I did and no problems. Your hernia may be different but that was my experience.

If you don't remember it ask me to tell you how to pee standing at a urinal or toilet without taking your pants down. One handed trick I learned from another HW brother. Makes you feel like a normal guy and no one next to you even notices.

All the best.

Carl
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