post robotic op pain?

hub had robotic radical pros with nodes and all removed, hosp stay 3 days...got him home last nite....LOTS of pain, is this normal for couple of days? Please help-nofamily to turn to thx, mags

Hello bayoub2,


As GreenAcres had mentioned would also apply to my experience as well; I came home after 2 days, and was quite sore. My physician prescribed a pain med for me to use at home. I only took them the first 2-3 days, and then Tylenol there after for the next few days. The surgery is a major shock to the body, and it may take some time for the body to heal. I had lingering discomfort in the surgical area for about a month+. Certainly if the pain does not begin to subside soon call the doctor, and ask his advice. He is there to help you. Good luck with the recovery, and we're here to help in any way we can.

Glen

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Diagnosed at age 60

PSA went from 2.2 to 3.8 in 14 months

2 of 14 cores positive at 10%

Gleason 6(3+3), negative DRE, neg. boundaries

DaVinci surgery on 02/23/06

 

Hello bayoub2,

I am sorry to hear of your husband's pain.

For the first few days after my surgery, I was in considerable (not unbearable but unpleasant) discomfort and pain. The worst pain was when I moved, particularly getting in an out of bed but also, to a lesser extent, when standing up and when moving around or walking. That lasted about four days and then got much better. Also, when my bowells "refilled" there was considerable feeling of things churning in my bowells and that was very unpleasant and uncomfortable. That lasted about 6 to 12 hours starting about 48 hours after my surgery. Other than the bowell problem, when I was sitting still I was not in much pain, particularly after the third or fourth day.

I made one mistake which was being reluctant to take the prescription strength pain meds. Take them as directed for the first three or four days. You don't want to let the meds fall behind the pain.

After about four or five days, I personally did not need the prescription meds much any more and switched to tylenol (no aspirin.)

One other quick comment. You mentioned that your husband was in the hospital for three days. That seems to be a bit longer than normal, particularly after the less invasive robotic surgery. Did he have any complications or problems? If yes, that might also be contributing to a bit more pain than is typical.

If your husband is still in significant pain a week after being released from the hospital, I would follow up with your doctor. I don't think that would be normal.

This should get much better very quickly. Good luck.

Ben

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DIAGNOSIS: 09/25/06. Age 49. PSA 4.6. PSA free 2%. Clinical pathology: Gleason 10. Stage T2a.           

SURGERY: 11/08/06. RP at Johns Hopkins. Surgical pathology Gleason 10. Stage T3a (positive margins.) Negative seminal vesicles, lymph nodes, and bone scan.

POST OP: 12/15/06: First post op PSA was 0.00.

Post Edited (BenEcho10) : 1/20/2007 2:02:15 PM (GMT-7)