Hello...first time poster here.
I have a question, noble readers...Who here has felt the raging fury of the phenomenon we know as a bladder spasm?
Let me paint a picture for you...It was midnight, about 10 hours after removal of my Foley. I had been watching schlocky horror movies for several hours (Hey, is there anything like 60's vintage Spanish horror movies, replete with subtitles?). Anywho, I decided to visit the facilities one last time before entering the realm of slumber.
As the flow slackened, I felt an unusal cramp, for lack of a better term, starting across the upper pubic region, below my incisions and above my man organ. (I would like to copyright that term, if it's not been used...)
...and the cramp began to be painful. I wasn't sure what was happening (internal hemorrhage? unforeseen kidney stone attack? first male to give birth?), but I was no longing feeling like "...king of the world, Rose!"
I paced around the bathroom, as wave upon wave (nice tie-in to the earlier Titanic reference, eh?) of pain increased...until it was just one continual gut punch that would...not...stop.
I staggered into the bedroom (wearing a long "tee" shirt, socks, and nothing else...), and moaned out my wife's name. Poor woman...she had been sound asleep, and then to wake up to such a sight.
I dropped into bed, and proceeded to sound as if I were giving birth...the occasional moan, the beseeching to "Help me, Jesus"...Lamaze style breathing....and my staccato replies to her question of "What's wrong?"
Good woman...she managed to get through to the OSU night staff, and they told her it was most likely a bladder spasm. Best course of action was to get up and walk.
Yeah, right. 45 minutes later, sweat soaked and shivering, it went away...and then returned, but only for a milder 15 minute episode.
I finally fell into a restless sleep, and about 2 hours later, got up to urinate...and round two began.
This time, I lurched into our living room, and paced around, blowing like a breaching whale, and again (when I could manage) beseeching help from Jesus. Good wife would interject every five minutes with "What's your pain level?" I poop thee not, I started at what felt was a "10"...but over a 40 minute period, it gradually wore down...with the subsequent smaller "aftershock."
Long story short, I made it to my urologist the next day, was examined, filled with some IV fluid, and asked to void. By now, I knew that urination was triggering the event...and was more than a bit hesitant about letting fly. I did, however...and had no more incidents. (Thank you, Jesus!)
I just wish my post-op discussion with the nurse had let me in on what a bladder spasm might be like. I found out later they could go on for many days, although there are meds to treat it. I also found out that it was fairly uncommon, though not unheard of...and I just happened to be one of the fortunate souls that had to go through it.
Oh, and about me...I turned 45 last month. I had a 3.15 PSA in March of this year, and the doctor said I should be retested in 3 mos...and the PSA had risen to 3.56, resulting in a biopsy...which had 10 of 12 samples with cancerous cells. Gleason number was 7.
DaVinci on 10-26, discharged 10-27, Foley out 10-31 (you know about the bladder spasms!), and the news on 11-2 was cancer had not escaped the capsule, and the lymph nodes were clear. First PSA will be in January.
God is good...I'm living proof.