Recovery

Hello All,

Oh, also what about a bit of dizzines?
TeddyG

Hello TeddyG. I'm also new here and am 17 days post-op. I was dizzy secondary to my anemia but that has gone away. I was so darn tired that I slept 10 hours a night. Now that the catheter is out, I am up to the bathroom every two to three hours. If you are taking daytime naps, that might be keeping you awake. Good luck.

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12/2005-Age50-PSA 4.2-Biopsy negative
01/2008-Age 52-PSA 8.0-Biopsy negative (I should have known then)
01/2009 Age 53-PSA 17.8-Biopsy positive-Gleason 4+3, 1 of 24 cores!
Time to become my own best advocate
Special protocol MRI with Gadolinium dye at Brigham and Women's Hospital-
main tumor (1.9cm) is ANTERIOR, not accessible by biopsy. All is now clear.
04/02/2009-open RP with bilat nerve sparing- Dr. Jerome Richie (experience is #1)
Pathology- Stage T2cN0M0,Gleason 4+3, margins clear.

Thanks for the reply. Tomorrow is the catheter removal day. Any suggestions?

Hi TeddyG.
I did not sleep well after my surgery. But as time went of my sleep patterns went back to normal. I had no dizziness but my wife may argue the point. It's been over two years, my surgery has become a distant memory.

Tony

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Age 46 (44 when Dx)

Cath removal is a piece of cake...

Since you'll be at the Doc's office, ask him about the insomnia and dizzines.

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Age 54   - 5'11"   205lbs

TeddyG:

The anticipation of catheter removal is MUCH worse than the actual event. They might do a few things (pump stuff in or pump stuff out) that feel strange. As for the actual removal, in the time it takes you to say, "That felt weird" it is out and over.

(There is a small chance of complications, and some of the guys on this board have had some - but I believe the vast majority of guys have a short and relatively painless experience.)

Take a pad or two for incontinence protection afterwards, and I recommend having somebody else do the driving. Other than that, good luck!

kcragman

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Age: 53; 52 at DX
March 2006: PSA 2.5
Dec 2007: PSA taken for insurance application. I did not see the results until late
Jan '08 - after I was rejected. Their lab said PSA 4.5.
Feb 2008: PSA 3.7.
March 2008: Biopsy. Gleason 7 (4+3) 12 cores taken. 5 on the left side were
cancerous and the 6th was suspect.
May 5, 2008: Da Vinci robotic laparoscopy at GW Hospital, Washington DC.

Post op: Gleason 9 (4+5). 15% of prostate involved. Stage: pT3a. Negative margins. Lymph node and nerve samples taken, and appeared to be cancer free.

July 2008: PSA at 7 weeks was undetectable.
August 2008: PSA at 14 weeks (3 months) was undetectable.
Nov 2008: PSA at 6 months was undetectable.
Feb 2009: PSA at 9 months was undetectable.

Teddy,
One thing to note about catheter removal procedure is the Doc/PA/intern will be watching to see if you can "hold it in" after the removal (Even tho they give you the urine bottle to use). And they will ask you to start and stop once or twice to see if you can do that. Do all that well and you get a gold star or something even better -- like some samples of Cialis or Viagra or something.

While we are talking about post-catheter times I suppose this is a good place to bring up The CUP idea again. Yeah the guys here always laugh when I describe it but here goes anyways.

Because you will want to be walking a good amount every day, you will no doubt be leaking during that whole time unless you really really concentrate on holding it in, and even then you can only hold for so long. What I have used (and actually am still using while Jogging In Place indoors) is a disposable (but durable) plastic cup strapped to my left thigh with Willy going over and into it. I recycled the latex rubber strap from the Leg bag to hold it on.

Good only for at home use of course where you can wear a bathrobe or something loose, but I am sure I have saved a hundred pads by using this idea. Also it allows you to get a good idea of how much you are really leaking and when as you monitor it.

At 9+ weeks out I am only collecting a little bit in The Cup when I jog in the evening (I jog in place while watching TV or playing with the cat). (Evenings are the last to go for IC as people here will attest to -- when your muscles are the tiredest -- if not for the jogging I would not be leaking at all in the evening so is good and the bad of it).

So that's something to try -- I am sure your wife will have a good laugh about it too -- watch it when you sit down tho .. Tilt that sucker up!!

jim

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Age 58, 195lbs, 6'4", 57 at DX, PSA Aug2008 7 4 ... June2007 4.7 (BPH + LUTS)
Biopsy Nov2008 1 of 12 cores 5%, Gleason 3+3 - Sona showed 140+ cc (110 grams post op) prostate size.
02/03/09 open RRP surgery , Nerve sparing both sides, 1 day in hospital, Day 4 first BM,
Pathology Report: All margins clear - No Invasive spread - no change in Gleason score.
02/18/09 Cath out, passed a 1cm STONE within hours.
Using pump (encore) daily since catheter out - working good with 2 rings.
04/01/09 Was Oxalate stone -- usually from kidneys -- X-ray Kidneys @ next PSA).
03/06/09 Started Levitra 20mg rehabbing -> no real effect yet (04/01/09) . (Same for Viagra @ 100mg)
04/01/09 PSA <0.1 (And starting Cialis rehabbing @ 5mg). @ 1 pad/day on IC side.