New here

I have been following this site for a while, but haven't posted. What a great group!
A lot of knowledge. After a lot of research and meetings, I have decided
to have RP next month. Trying to get ready as best as I can. Any advice would be
helpful.

I'm used to living alone. It surprised me that I couldn't do it all myself the first few days post op. You'll want some help. the rest is self-explanatory as you go. get some diapers for when they pull the cath....but don't buy the store out.

*edit...I agree with the recliner.

What those guys said! When it's time for the cath to come out, deflate the bulb, stand in a warm shower and it will probably fall out. Mine just needed a slight tug for encouragement.

Sure, some recliner time is okay but getting up and moving is better..The sooner you can start walking and getting things moving the better. Your recovery will progress much quicker. Your appetite might be a little weak so a few cans of liquid food can give you some quick nourishment, Ensure, similar products come to mind..To help calm a tender stomach, Ginger Ale works well..Get a brand made with real Ginger..Canada Dry is one..When you leave the hospital, get all the catheter supplies you can from them. Extra leg straps can come in handy..Baggy sweat pants with no fly work well while your dealing with the catheter..Check your Goodwill store ! Good Luck !

Do LOTS of kegels in advance of surgery.

These posts feed my confirmation bias. Good luck bw!

I had RALP last March and traveled out of state for it and stayed in a hotel for a week afterward so wasn't around the comforts of home. I agree with what others have said. For me a few things were different.

I rarely watch television and never turned it on during my rehab. I relied on by sketchbook and did lots of drawings. I also listened to lots of BBC radio dramas and worked my way through a stack of library books.

I learned a maneuver for getting in and out of bed used by pregnant women that I found extremely helpful for the next few weeks:

https://www.babycentre.co.uk/l1039506/getting-out-of-bed-when-pregnant-photos

While I didn't need the pain meds they gave me (only used Tylenol), it was a few days before the GI system started working again so I did take the dulcolax they gave me and found that regular shots of prune juice, which I like anyway, helped get things moving by day 4. I kept my diet light until then.

And walk. I'd get up every hour or so and do some laps around the room and out in the hallway. I found the catheter the worse part of the entire experience but really did try to keep moving. I am a runner and was supposed to do a half marathon the weekend after the surgery so going from VERY active to very little was difficult. I felt "twitchy" and it, I think, contributed to some insomnia. When I couldn't sleep I'd get up and walk and then sit and draw.

Once the cath was out I felt a new-found sense of freedom. The next day (day 8 post-surgery) I went for a long walk to a nearby museum about a mile from the hotel. The round trip felt good and I kept it up until I could return to running.

Discomfort from the surgery itself was never a major issue. Follow the no lifting rule. I used it to get out of many, many chores. Heck, I haven't even mowed this year as my wife took it over and seems to like doing it. The area of my perineum was sensitive to pressure and I am only now, 5 months later, feeling like I might get on my bicycle at some point in the future. I am running again and am back up to 6 miles a few few times a week. I even took an age-group 3rd in a 5-mile race 2 weeks ago running it at a 9:52/mile pace. Things do get better.

And keep up the kegels. I've been doing them whenever I am waiting for something: a progress bar on the computer, a stop light while driving, waiting in line somewhere, etc.

Thanks so much for the very helpful advice! Darn, I was looking forward to going through my old CD\DVD collection and listening to some music watching old movies.
Maybe I can get my wife to change them [/code]
I like the cane idea, perhaps it has other uses as well.
I have started my kegels a month ago and do them often.
Hopefully my first bm after surgery will not be to bad, might start on the prune juice soon afterward.
My surgeon says he averages around 120 RP's a year and has done well over 2000, so I feel confidant in him as I personally know two other guys that he has preformed this surgery on.

Perhaps I will start another thread on this, but what about post operative pain management? Only think my guy told me is that he will use a nerve block when finished that should last 3 days. Is this long enough to control the pain with over the counter meds afterwards? Opinions?

InTheShop said...
I suggest you take at least one bottle of prescription meds with you as you never know, but if you need it, you need it now and don't want to try to be calling in the middle of the night for meds.

You don't have to take them if you don't need them, but it's a little insurance.

Pain is very individual. We have reports of guys not needing much post surgery and some who are in great pain.

Andrew

Very true, but as the others have said, be very mindful of the impact of the pain meds (during surgery and after) on your digestive system. These meds literally stop all peristaltic action of the intestines. Things come to a complete standstill and may take several days to re-start. After a previous surgery (not for PCa) some years ago, it took so long for my system to re-start that I had to be re-admitted to the hospital a month later for a full week just to get things going again.

Miralax, plenty of liquids and even prune juice are your friends. You definitely do not need the pain of intestinal blockage along with your planned recovery.

Your surgeon likely will send you home with a few prescriptions — pain meds, stool softener, etc. He gave me Tramadol for pain, I was lucky and had very little pain at the incision sites, didn’t need to take much.
Go very easy on the food in the first couple of days after surgery, even if you’re hungry and feeling well. I had terrible gas the third day after surgery, no doubt exacerbated by eating cooked broccoli with dinner the night before.
You’ll do fine.

BW1963,

Welcome to the club brother! I'm another surgery veteran, and I was looking back for the list of supplies I bought--and some comments about them: (Note that I had surgery in February in the midwest, and it was well below zero out.)

Recliner: Yep, with a side table for your remote, your water mug, and your reading materials.
Bucket: Yep, to carry the cath bag in. Really useful.
Doggie Doo Doo pads: For the chair. You may leak a little. The doggie training pads are cheaper than the ones for humans.
Rubber sheet for the bed: Bought it. Used it. Not sure it was worth it.
Donut cushion: Never used it.
Zip side sweat pants "basketball pants": Got 'em--couldn't find them in any stores, found them online somewhere. I found them fantastic to thread the cath tube out down just above the knees. Easy on, Easy off.
Shower bench: Borrowed, very useful the first couple of showers. I didn't trust myself to stand in the shower.
Pads: I bought a package of generic thick pads for after the catheter pull. Used them for the first few days after that, and at night for at least a month.
Diapers: Never bought any (or needed them)
Depends "Shields": Used them for quite a while, still keep a few on hand for unusual situations (like long plane rides).

Dulcolax: Took it daily for a while after surgery to soften the gut.
Percoset: Took it maybe 3 times over the first 2 days. After that, Advil.
Bladder spasm meds: never needed it. Lots of guys do. Get it.

Get up every hour or so and walk to the kitchen and back. After day 2 or 3, strap on the leg bag and go walking. I had my wife drive me to Home depot, and I pushed a cart around for a half hour. (Remember, colder than you know what)

I slept in the chair the first couple of nights. I didn't try the stairs until the catheter was out.

By the way--what is the sigificance of BW1963? Initials? Does it refer to your college (if it does, I grew up on faculty row there)

BW,

I don't remember anyone mentioning blood-thinner shots after RP but they're not a bad idea. I did a bit of Googling and it looks like a subcutaneous injection and, yes, some users do report that sometimes they sting a bit. I've had meds before that needed to be self-injected into my belly fat. Fortunately I had quite a bit of that back then, but I have less now and I'm still working on it. I didn't find the self-injection difficult. I'm sure your doctor will give you instructions but, again from a few minutes Googling, it looks like the main thing is to rotate through a number of injection sites since if you inject too many times in the same place it can cause bruising.

Maybe someone will pipe up with personal experience.

Thanks for the recommendations and the responses!!! All good stuff.
@halbert. No that is just my initials and birth year.
@schoolpsych Never thought about the spray when the cath comes out. Great idea with the cup, sure my wife will appreciate it as well. Maybe I can give it a name and decorate my bucket!
@PeterDisAbelard Thanks. That is what I understand about the shots, but was just wondering if that was common practice. I know they can be painful.
@VinceInMT Good to know you didn't have much pain with the shots, hopefully it will be the same for me.