Pain After Surgery

r656565
r656565 Member Posts: 3
in Prostate Cancer #1

Hi guys.  I had surgery about 3 months ago and I'm still feeling some pain and tenderness.  The pain is in my stomach muscles, which I expected, but I also I have have pain in what seems to be the bladder area (above my penis and below my bellybutton).  But the worst is the tenderness in the perineum area.  Whenever I sit upright the pressure really irritates it and causes pain to resonate through my penis.  It also seems to cause spasms that cause leakage.  When I am careful for a couple of days the pain dies down, then I go back to work and it acts up again.  I am also very active, and working out also seems to irritate things down there.

I also have a swollen left lymph node and numbness below it down into the groin.

Is this normal?  My doctor says to be patient, that they did a lot to me and it takes time.  Just wondering if anyone else has had anything similar.  Being active, maybe I'm just expecting too muc too soon.

Thanks.

Comments

  • Clevelandguy
    Clevelandguy Member Posts: 1,002 Member
    #2
    Surgery?

    Hi,

    What type of surgery did you have, robotic or open?

    Dave 3+4

  • Georges Calvez
    Georges Calvez Member Posts: 547 Member
    #3
    Give yourself time

    Hi there?

    Prostate surgery does not sound like much, cutting out a small organ the size of a walnut that is not essential for anything much outside reproduction but it is deeply buried in the lower abdomen and intimately connected into the nerve system around the bulb of the penis and the bladder plus it is close to the rectum, etc.
    I did not have continual pain but I had occasional rectal and bladder spasms for months after.
    I did a lot of walking and I took on and dug a fairly large garden by hand around a year after but I was careful for months after about picking up heavy objects, etc.
    Don't try and do too much too soon and you should be OK.

    Best wishes,

    Georges

  • Georges Calvez
    Georges Calvez Member Posts: 547 Member
    #4
    Open v laparoscopic v robotic laparoscopic prostatectomy

    Hi there,

    I doubt that there are many open prostatectomies done these days.
    The choice now seems to be between laparoscopic surgery or robot assisted laparoscopic surgery.
    You are going to end up with several poke holes and a slit where they hooked the prostate out, they are a lot smaller than in an open prostatectomy but they are there.
    Either way I would avoid over straining the abdominal muscles for several months afterwards at least.

    Best wishes,

    Georges

  • Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 Member Posts: 3,812 Member
    #5
    Georges Calvez said:

    Give yourself time

    Hi there?

    Prostate surgery does not sound like much, cutting out a small organ the size of a walnut that is not essential for anything much outside reproduction but it is deeply buried in the lower abdomen and intimately connected into the nerve system around the bulb of the penis and the bladder plus it is close to the rectum, etc.
    I did not have continual pain but I had occasional rectal and bladder spasms for months after.
    I did a lot of walking and I took on and dug a fairly large garden by hand around a year after but I was careful for months after about picking up heavy objects, etc.
    Don't try and do too much too soon and you should be OK.

    Best wishes,

    Georges

    post-op pain

    r65,

    I agree with your doc that your pain is probably just on the worse-end of a normal recovery time frame.   Echoing Georges, prostate removal, because it is so remote and diffficult to access, requires tremendous STRETCHING of adjacent tissues and muscle. No doubt some tear and must heal.

    Cease from all lifting !  I developed a hernia a year after R.P., and even with hernia surgery, it is not ideal.    I should have avoided activity longer after surgery.  There are meds for bladder spasams that work well for most patients,

    max

  • ufknkidding
    ufknkidding Member Posts: 48 Member
    #6
    Take is slow man

    I'm 90 days post surgery and healing pretty well.  I started going to the gym again a couple weeks ago and am using machines only (sigh) to regain some of my before surgery strength.  I am very careful to pay attention to any pain and when I feel pain near the incisions, abs, or groin, I stop and do a different exercise, liighter exercise, or call it good for the day.  We all heal at different rates so try not to rush it even though it is a real bummer not being able to go on with our normal daily lives right after surgery.  I have not had lymph, perineum, or spams so can't comment although I would continue to mention those to your provider or seek a second opinion.  If/when you get your next ultra-sensitive PSA test, it will help rule out one possible cause for the lymp swelling.  Be sure to seek medical care if you get fever, chills, sweats or signs of infection.  I had numbness radiate from the pelvis down the back of both my legs about 70 days post surgery, probably because I tried to do some heavy yard work like moving cut tree pieces.  Dumb on my part but it taught me to take it slow, very slow.

  • lighterwood67
    lighterwood67 Member Posts: 374 Member
    #7
    Core Drill

    I think this pain is normal.  Just have to think, if you had robotic,  they punched holes in a good part of your core to get to the gland.  Just take your time.  I, also, developed a left inguinal hernia around 18 months post RARP.  The surgeon said it was probably incident to the prostate surgery.  The open hernia surgery hurt a lot worse than the prostate surgery.  Anyway, take care and let your body heal.

  • Clevelandguy
    Clevelandguy Member Posts: 1,002 Member
    edited December 2019 #8
    Moderation

    Hi All,

     In R6's case I feel if his body is saying pain, slow down, or stop he should do that like UFK said. Everyone heals at different rates so let your body tell you it's OK to this or that. Non strain activities like walking should cause less discomfort than working out(I assume you mean lifting weights).  It's going to take a while to heal so let your body talk to you and tell you what it can tolerate, hopefully you will make progress over the coming weeks. Healing after an RP is a slow process, it's serious surgery.  My brother in-law had his gall bladder out a few months ago by laparoscopic surgery and he is still not 100% yet.

    Dave 3+4

Discussion Boards