Welcome New Member tde44 - Just Had HDR Brachy

Tde44 posted the following in another thread. I just wanted to welcome you to the forum and give you your own thread so you could feel at home here. Good luck on your continuing recovery.

Jim

Wow - glad that wasn't my reaction.

Just finished 4 rounds of HDR - 16 needles and while not fun at all only had significant pain on the last one.

I didn't have a spinal BTW.

The first time that they took the catheter & needles out it hurt a bit but mostly because it was hard to relax when they told me to. The first few times I urinated it did feel like burning but that went away after a day.

The second time my only real problem was that they nicked my bladder and so I had a lot of clots that were not fun to pass for a few days.

Third time no problems.

Fourth - and thankfully last time - there was a bit of pain. It was the only time that I needed to take the codeine that they gave me an Rx for after the procedure.

Also, we were a 2 hour drive from the hospital and so had to stay at a hotel the night before and the night of the procedures and then a long drive afterwards. Found that a hemorrhoid ring and frozen peas was all I needed until the 4th time.

I had a very good oncology nurse who would alternatively inject me with phenytol or morphine to keep the pain at bay.

For me the worst parts were the prep (they had me take a laxative 2 nights prior, then a liquid diet, magnesium citrate and then 2 enemas starting @ 3:30AM prior to each procedure; and the waiting on my back while they CT'd/re-positioned/waited for the physics/programming.

Now, 7 weeks after the procedure my only problem is frequency in the morning and urgency. No accidents and the last week or so have been able to sleep all night long.

tde44 hey welcome! Glad you made it through the HDR without too much pain. Sorry you had to deal with this rotten cancer and hope it is all in the past for you now.

Dewayne, yeah...tell him no tip if he doesn't keep you in happy-land! I get how well you feel. It was the same with my LDR and I was back to all my normal activities almost immediately.

Tde...look forward to seeing your signature update. Now pull up a chair and stay awhile. Your experience and knowledge will be valuable to new members.

Jim