Posted 9/20/2013 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
Well D Day came and went.
Stayed in a hotel 2 blocks from hospital because I had no desire to drive 85 miles after doing a wonderful bowl prep. Nice 1 bedroom suite. So did the prep at the hotel and got a few hours sleep and at hospital Thursday 9/19 at 5:45 am.
Got checked in met with the Dr, Anesthesiologist, Surgical nurse, Floor nurse and a whole host of support staff. I also met the Brachytherapy Fellow who I had agreed months ago to do the HDR procedure under the tutelage of my Brachy Doctor.
So vitals taken wheeled up to surgery get prepped and a shot, next thing you know I’m in the recovery room. All 17 of the HDR catheters in place, immobilized from the waist down, I learned quickly don’t try to move hips or pain is 10+. Pain pump working like a charm, hit the button every 10 min pump beeps life is good la la land.
A few hours later wheeled to radiation area and hooked up to after-loading machine, once hooked up I watch everybody leave and the door to room close and it’s as big and thick as a bank vault door. There I am in a vault alone, just me and a few nuclear devices. Talk back and forth by intercom and video. Some nice classic rock playing, machines going click, buzz, hum. Before you know it first session is over. Wheeled back to recovery room, still loving the pain pump. By this time I’m starving but alas no food for me, ice chips only. Four hours later it’s back to radiation area, repeat process as previously mentioned. All done except for removing all 17 catheters, now the way this is done is the Dr un-sews the template from my thighs and grips it tightly, Dr tells me its going to hurt a lot so we wait until I can hit the pain pump, pump hit Dr pulls on the template and removes all 17 catheters at once. It was explained to me that 17 at once although painful is much less painful than removing one at a time. I had to ask Dr to show me the catheters and template, she asked if I was sure, I told her I would like to see them now that they were out, awesome looking set up. Now they send me to recovery and I have something to eat, hip hip hooray. Dr’s all stop by to see how I’m making out. So far so good. Now it’s about 8:00 pm. Floor nurse tells me I need to pee 200 CC before I can go. I drink some water and pee about 200 cc’s, no problem right? Wrong. She has to do a sonogram of bladder, she says I need to void more due to retention. Well I don’t need to and can’t pee anymore at that moment so she says drink more water. I do as I’m told and I pee another 200 cc and another sonogram says not voided enough. Anybody else see the catch 22 going on here? Nurse says she may have to cath me, like hell I said. I had enough pain for one day and as long as I was peeing and had no retention pain I will not consent to a cath. Nurse calls my Dr, Dr tells nurse that I’m staying two blocks away and to let me go, if I have any pain I should report to their 24 hr urgent care center. The wife and I get to hotel and have something to eat watch TV because believe it or not I can’t sleep. Around 2:00 AM I take a sleeping pill and off to sleep I go. But at 3:00 AM I’m wide awake because I have to pee, how ironic. So I have an ok pee and decide to stay up and drink some more water just to be safe. Water in and water out, repeat rest of the night until 6:00 AM. Life is good, nothing like a good pee. Back to sleep, up t 11:00 AM check out and drive home, eat some more, drink some more, pee some more. Scrotum, penis and thighs are all a nasty black and blue. I was told there may be some bruising locally. Lol.
Such is my HDR Brachy Day.
Any questions welcome and I will answer if I can.
edited for spelling.