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DATE WITH DaVINCI 7/7

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Posted 7/9/2010 12:20 AM (GMT 0)
vam,

glad to hear you safely back home. since i had open surgery, didnt have to go through the bloated/gas pressure feelings, but for robotics, pretty normal, though can be painful.

yes, a 20 cath is a large one, not one you want to do much walking with. most of my day to day caths are 18, and a bit more comfortable if you have to be on one.

good luck on your healing portion. think you know the routine: walk when you can, rest all you want, stool softeners do help, take pain meds if needed, and just keep reminding yourself that you have just been through a major, complex, and invasive surgery, robotic or not. your body has a whole bunch of new stuff going on inside, so please be patient now that you are in the recovery stage.

david in sc
Posted 7/9/2010 12:27 AM (GMT 0)

Purgatory said...
vam,

glad to hear you safely back home. since i had open surgery, didnt have to go through the bloated/gas pressure feelings, but for robotics, pretty normal, though can be painful.

yes, a 20 cath is a large one, not one you want to do much walking with. most of my day to day caths are 18, and a bit more comfortable if you have to be on one.

good luck on your healing portion. think you know the routine: walk when you can, rest all you want, stool softeners do help, take pain meds if needed, and just keep reminding yourself that you have just been through a major, complex, and invasive surgery, robotic or not. your body has a whole bunch of new stuff going on inside, so please be patient now that you are in the recovery stage.

david in sc

 

 

Thanks Dave.... I will try to keep alot of this in mind.... sometimes the pain just jumps up from nowhere. I can hear the gas pockets gurgling around when I do get up to walk, but nothing comes out.

Posted 7/9/2010 1:10 AM (GMT 0)
Same protusion at the large incision for me - took a couple of months to level down to normal.
Posted 7/9/2010 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hey, you made it!!..That fact that you are on the computer *****in' to the world must be worth something!!
Posted 7/9/2010 6:49 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome "back," vam,

I wish you well in healing !

Barry
Posted 7/9/2010 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
Vam,

Glad to hear to hear your home! Good luck with the recovery.

I had gas pain and it was gone by day three after surgery.

I recommend you keep an eye on the "golf ball" and point it out to the surgeon. I had a hernia next to my navel incision ... it got to about the size of a tennis ball. Quick and easy repair with an internal web patch ... took only part of a morning to do as an out patient. I am not saying this is what your golf ball is ... but if it is, its any easy fix.
Posted 7/9/2010 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys.... well, here's one for the books..... hardly had any sleep last night, got up literally every 2 hours due to tremendous bladder pressure. Leg bag was empty and I would walk around for at least 20 minutes trying to get relief. Only way I would get any was to sit a certain way on the lounge chair...... so I called the URO this morning and went to his office. He comes in, takes one look and says.... the nurse put the leg strap OVER the nozzle going into the bag!! Ain't that some $#@!..... So.... aside from being a happly clam about having this abomination out.... I got the FLOW back!

What do I know about leg bags.... I figured they knew what they were doing in the hospital
Posted 7/9/2010 5:50 PM (GMT 0)
I had late-developing gas pains, 24 hours after DaVinci surgery.  First, they are painful and I can emphasize...secondly, from my understanding, the gas won't be passed from either end:  it's actually trapped in your abdomen and will eventually be absorbed.  The gas was used to "inflate" the surgical site to provide room for the DaVinci instruments.  From what i remember, the pains were felt all the way up to my neck...and then, finally, and within an hour they went away.  I would expect you to get the same relief soon.  Don't know about the golf ball thingy, though.  That's worth a call to the surgeon's office and now, before the weekend.
Posted 7/9/2010 5:58 PM (GMT 0)
Not sure about the golf ball, what helped for me was walking around. It relieved the gas out alot. I had sharp pains in my shoulder blades and stomach were the gas was building up but once I got active it all came out....The more you sit and lay down the more it will build up......Hang in your on your way!!!

LIVESTRONG!!!

Posted 7/10/2010 10:33 PM (GMT 0)
Congrats on making it to the other side! And posting from your iPhone to boot - I knew I needed one of those. Good luck on your continued recovery.
Posted 7/11/2010 12:31 AM (GMT 0)

defender3 said...
Congrats on making it to the other side! And posting from your iPhone to boot - I knew I needed one of those. Good luck on your continued recovery.

Thank you DEF....can't be without my toys..... and congrats on your second "0"... hoping to get plenty of those myself soon.  Good luck to you first time in my life a ZERO is a good thing!

Posted 7/12/2010 1:25 PM (GMT 0)
. "Leg bag was empty and I would walk around for at least 20 minutes trying to get relief. Only way I would get any was to sit a certain way on the lounge chair...... so I called the URO this morning and went to his office. He comes in, takes one look and says.... the nurse put the leg strap OVER the nozzle going into the bag!!"

 

So did they say where all the pee went since it couldnt go to the bag - was it backing up in your system some how and other than you extreme discomfort did they make sure it didnt have any negative impact on you internally?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted 7/12/2010 2:23 PM (GMT 0)
When wearing a catheter, whether it be for a few days after surgery like most men here do, or if you are long term like me, you would always check the cath itself, or connecting hoses to make sure that there aren't any kinks in it, just like any other hose. If no urine starts to flow within the few minutes after I change from big bag to leg bag, or leg bag back to big bag, I immediately check for snags.

The good news, is that urine is 100% sterile inside the bladder, so in this case, when it couldn't even make it to the bag, it was just building up inside the bladder. Other than what had to be a very painful time, no perm harm would have been done. The bladder is one of the toughest muscles in the human body, and despite the pains, it can take tremendous pressure.

It was sloppy of the nurse. Why were you left on the leg bag for so long? You should never be on a leg bag at night, or at any time when you might be lying down, and you sure wouldn't be going to sleep with one. They are designed as a simple gravity filled device and meant to be used when you are standing up or sitting down only. While urine is sterile inside you, once it passes into the bag, it is then non-sterile, and if you lie down, it can and will back up past your bladder neck and re-enter your bladder, putting a non-sterile fluid back inside you. That would be a sure way of getting a UTI going.

If it were night time, why weren't you on the big bag or the night bag?

Hope you don't ever have a repeat of that, that was a lot of pain to go through for such a simple reason. My uro would have jumped all over his nurse if she ever did something foolish like that.

David in SC
Posted 7/12/2010 3:18 PM (GMT 0)

So did they say where all the pee went since it couldnt go to the bag - was it backing up in your system some how and other than you extreme discomfort did they make sure it didnt have any negative impact on you internally?

 

 

 Ray,

 None thank God.....I was always able to move around in the chair to get it to empty. Happened about 3 times.

Day 5 no issues so far either. Feeling pretty good, still doin the Kegel's getting ready for Thursday.

Urine was clear morning after i got home from the hospital and didn't have to use any pain meds except for once in the hospital.  Still on liquids until tomorrow, then soft foods until Thursday. I guess the Doc wanted to make sure the transition is smooth so I don't have to deal with the whole straining thing.

Dave,

Thanks for the reply.... They gave me the leg bag when I left the hospital and a regular bag for at night.  I haven't had the need to switch over since I've been in the recliner since I've gotten home. And getting up every hour or so is a good excuse for me to walk around for a bit. Doc has me on 500mg of Levaquin until Friday.  And your right... Uro was pissed when he saw that it was strapped on the wrong way. I'm sure she heard about it later that day.

 

Posted 7/12/2010 4:09 PM (GMT 0)
I wouldnt use the leg bag unless you are leaving the house or going somewhere. Its just as easiy to sit in your recliner with the big bag, it wont need emptying as often, and most hold up to 2000 cc, which means you don't have to worry about it at night. Also, if you happy to nap off, it will be much safer than being on the leg bag. Most night/big bags have a pressure equalizing device built in, and keeps the flow more even, even if you are in an odd sleeping or resting position. Whatever works best for you, of course.
Posted 7/12/2010 4:17 PM (GMT 0)

Sounds like you are doing well V

So the cath comes out on Thursday?   That was the day the enormity of what had happened hit me - while I was grateful to get the cath out - the incontinence and shriveled little guy was shocking at first but there was pretty steady progress rather quickly so I got over the shock  fast.  Just be prepared to give yourself time to adjust to it

the doc still has you on liquids?  If i remember right I was on a soft diet for one day and then went to a regular diet - but certainly my body helped tell me what it could tolerate - i did a lot of juice yogurt and ice cream (a good excuse as any ) at first

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