Thursday, May 31, 2012

My Story - After Prostate Surgery

By TH Monday, November 24, 2008

 

Along with a Foley catheter, I had a drain coming out of my abdomen. The nurses emptied both regularly. The Foley catheter was very weird and a little embarrassing but morphine does wonders for such minor issues.

 

The next day I felt a little better so I slowly increased the time period between my button pushes. By the evening, I had mostly stopped using the morphine. The next day, the nurse removed the IV (and morphine) and started giving me vicodin for any pain. I had also received other drugs; something to calm the bladder and also another oral pain medication but I don't remember what it was. Two days after the surgery, my doctor came in and removed the drain and examined me. I was released at noon that day.
Dealing with the catheter at home was awkward and made sleeping difficult (very tough to turn over). My wife was great and took everything in stride and played the perfect nurse, providing everything I needed.

 

Two days after I returned home, I woke up to a surprise... a nocturnal erection. I was completely shocked. In fact, I thought maybe I was dreaming. Still having the catheter and a 5" incision, made that event fairly uncomfortable. Two days later, the same thing happened and again the day after that. I was encouraged by these events but to be honest, I wasn't sure if the erections were caused by an erotic dream (which I didn't remember), or was some random body mechanism that wasn't associated with a sexual response. In any event, it seemed like a really good sign.

 

The Foley was removed two weeks after the surgery. That was painful... very short but still painful. At first, I had little to no bladder control but by the end of that day, it had improved. I still leaked quite often but nothing the absorptive underwear couldn't handle. (If you find yourself in this situation, take something to the doctor's office with you, when the catheter is to be removed. There are plenty of pads and disposables available at any drugstore.) By the end of that day, the volume of leakage was greatly reduced.

 

After three weeks I still drip occasionally when I'm walking around. Actually, exertion of any kind (lifting, coughing, etc.) can cause a drip to sneak out but it's happening less and less as time goes on. Any pain from the incision is minimal, at this point. I have not taken any pain medication in over a week and I'm feeling stronger every day.

 

Also, I've been very pleasantly surprised to find that my body is indeed responding to sexual stimuli. Without getting too explicit, I do have spontaneous erections. It appears I have only lost a very small amount of rigidity and size. And this is only 4 weeks from the surgery so taking everything into consideration, I am very encouraged!

 

Anonymous
Celine
2/10/09 5:22pm

Hi,

I'am glad to hear that you are suffering from almost no side effects from your total prostatectomy. My uncle is also facing the choice of undergoing surgery and he is wondering whether he should have it done with the robotic device or the more traditional way. I am curious to know which one was yours.

Thank you.

4/ 2/10 7:23pm

Sorry I didn't see this earlier.

 

I had standard, non-robotic surgery. My Dr. said he liked the ability to palpate the area and organs to ensure there was no other involvement.

 

All the best to your uncle!

 

Cheers

4/ 2/10 5:28pm

Your story is almost exactly the same as mine. I had the da Vinci robotic prostatectomy March 10, 2010 at age 50. Spent one night in the hospital and went home with a foley catheter for 12 days. Catheter removal wasn't pleasant but wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. First day home I leaked a bunch and was pretty bummed. I expected to have to wear Depends to bed and to be a bed wetter. Neither is the case. I have had minimal drip (coughing, laughing, sudden movement, standing for a long time) but thin pads do the trick nicely. It's been 3 weeks and I'm going out to dinner, playing poker and working like I always have. I'm hoping the drip goes away after time, but it beats the hell out of having cancer.

4/ 2/10 7:22pm

Glad to hear you're dealing with it.

 

I'm not sure I mentioned this before but I experienced a couple of errections while the folley was still in. (Not very pleasant.) Both times was early in the morning and the first time I didn't believe it.

 

I have been able to achieve errections without aids but it's not like before.(They don't last very long.)

 

I tried Cialis twice but it gave tinnitias so bad I had to stop. I'm using Lavitra now and my only complaint is that they are so expensive.

 

Poker sounds fun!

 

Cheers

4/ 3/10 4:05pm

I am undergoing radiation treatment (IMRT) for 28 days after surical operations of removing my testicles.I dont find any inconvieniences but mentally affected whether I will get cured.

Ask a Question

Get answers from our experts and community members.

Btn_ask_question_med
View all questions (2026) >
By TH— Last Modified: 12/08/10, First Published: 11/24/08