If I may indulge myself and possibly inform others, here's some what of a day by day account after my surgery.
Hours after: up and walking, movement is difficult as the abdomen is sore. Trough sore both to the touch and when swallowing. Anesthesia's effects still wearing off.
Morning after: Fair amount of pain while moving- stilling up- getting out of bed. Coughing is near impossible due the pain involved. Walking feels good and seems to help ease the pain. Shuffling while I walk, I'm not able to take full strides. Arms feel limp. Head is still foggy from pain meds. Urine looks terrible. Sitting for too long is both uncomfortable and difficult. I've noticed I have very little lower back pain.
Day after: Vicodin's effects wearing off slowly, head is foggy. Stopped taking pain medication as I felt no benefits. What pain there is bearable, Trough still sore. Sleeping was difficult as was getting in and out of the bed. Catheter is taking some getting use to. Urine still doesn't look to good. Sitting is uncomfortable, getting up and down causes pain in the abdomen. Still doing the shuffle while waling, seems the brain and feet are not talking to one another. Bending movement has increased some. Range of motion much improved. Lower back pain feels all but gone.
2 days; Pain meds effects gone, head feels clear although not clear enough to drive. Incision areas are dry no seeping. Trough still sore. Right side incision has an area of 3' by almost 2" that is black and blue. Other areas are reddish. Sleeping again was difficult but not painful. Back pain gone, back is tense as are most of the lower mussels. Sitting has become easier, getting seated is harder than getting up from a seated position, I've concentrated on using my legs to lift myself. Trying hard not to shuffle and put one foot in front of the other, progress is slow but coming along. Still think it's more mental than physical. Urine is orange, more liquid intake is called for, I've increased it. No noticeable blood. No real pain to mention except during certain movements involving the full body.
3 days: Right side incision showing some yellow and green, slightly tend to the touch. Other incision sites are less red and starting to become itchy. All remain dry with no seeping. Sleeping getting better although there is still pain when getting into or out of the prone position. Difficult to move the bowel, did pass a small amount of gas. Been thinking about urine flow and not letting the catheter do it's job. I can stop the flow but don't know if this is a good sign or not. So friggen happy my back pain is gone!
4 days: Bruising on right side showing signs of decreasing coloration is now more purple. Incisions remain dry and no sign of seepage, getting more and more itchy. Sleep itself has improved, feeling more relaxed, worked on relaxing my mussels after getting prone. I can roll to one side with little discomfort. Movement in and out of bed getting easier, sitting is not much of a problem. Walking much better, taking full strides. Been stopping urine flow when the feeling to do so comes about, have to stop doing that. Have to try and just let myself go. Slight erection when cleaning catheter tubing near penis? Left the dam drain open on the overnight bag, have to recheck then check again to make sure they are closed.
5 days: Feeling good enough to drive myself to a Doctor's appointment. Walking requires no though and continues to feel good. Normal movement returning though painful if pushed to far. Trough is no longer sore may have stopped being so earlier than I noticed. I can actually move around and bed with out any discomfort, rolling over isn't possible because of the catheter line. The insertion area of the catheter is uncomfortable, the whole thing has become an annoyance. I have to think about urination while I'm awake it's not just flowing along. Scrotum seems to be slightly swollen. I can manipulate a soft erection! Urine color still orangey, very slight amount of blood in the over night bag, didn't look "new" or fresh.
Incisions doing well but they have become more and more itchy. Moved the bowel, large amount of gas.
6 day: Stomach feels a bit bloated, not passing any gas? Over all pain is minimal and has been for the last day or so.