Post surgery Blog
The hospital experience was excellent - best stay I've ever had. A private room with a 30" LCD to watch Monday Night Football after surgery, good food, excellent nurses - almost felt like I was on vacation. Also, my surgeon said everything went off without a hitch. A technically excellent surgery. I have a lot to be thankful for!
However a few downsides so far. Pain - yes, there was pain - very similar to my hernia surgery 3 years ago. Fortunately, they have a wealth of treatments for that - Morphine, darvaset, vicodin, etc. All work wonderfully. I'm home now, so I'm on my own, but my wife just went out to fill the vicodin RX. The other downside - this blasted catheter! What an annoying appendage. However, I'm learning to deal with the thing and I think it will get better over time. I'm counting down the days to removal (1 week to go).
I have some chest congestion I'm trying to break up but it's tough because coughing is painful to the incisions.
Overall though, I'm blessed by prayers of friends (including you) so I consider myself extremely lucky and ready to take on the challenges of the next steps to recovery.
Comments
-
Congrats
Sounds like the doc was pleased with the surgery and that is always a good sign.
Everything else you are experiencing is in the normal range. Some have it worse and some better. There is no accounting for it.
A hint about the coughing - keep a pillow near by. When you feel the need to cough hug it tightly against you abdomen and stomach. Pull it in tight but don't hurt yourself. It stops the rebounding of the stomach and abs and lessons the pain a lot. I got the tip from the discharge nurse and used it the first two weeks following surgery. I was never afraid to cough or sneeze with the pillow, it helped that much.
You'll get used to the ball and chain also. Be sure to read some of the other posts about caths and post surgery, there are some good tips about lubes, straps for the bag and so on.
Wishing you well on your recovery,
Sonny0 -
Good news Jim !WHW said:Congrats
Sounds like the doc was pleased with the surgery and that is always a good sign.
Everything else you are experiencing is in the normal range. Some have it worse and some better. There is no accounting for it.
A hint about the coughing - keep a pillow near by. When you feel the need to cough hug it tightly against you abdomen and stomach. Pull it in tight but don't hurt yourself. It stops the rebounding of the stomach and abs and lessons the pain a lot. I got the tip from the discharge nurse and used it the first two weeks following surgery. I was never afraid to cough or sneeze with the pillow, it helped that much.
You'll get used to the ball and chain also. Be sure to read some of the other posts about caths and post surgery, there are some good tips about lubes, straps for the bag and so on.
Wishing you well on your recovery,
Sonny
Just dont play jump rope with that cord this week
Glad to hear that the situation went smoothly, be sure to check out the homepage as
there is an article about cancer research.
best regards
-marc
PS, Dec 8th is my OR date.0 -
catheter a pleasant memory
Hi Nick here, went through basically the same thing you are going through. A thing to consider although I believe you know already is watch that damn toilet seat when you sit down, dont want to cut the cath. Sounds stupid but I almost did it,and another thing if you have dogs watch them jumping up. Great to hear your doing well its almost a relief to be on the other side,good luck in all your future tests....
Nick
Ps who won the football game I watch the Vikings beat the packers and loved it0 -
Thanks Sonny - I will checkWHW said:Congrats
Sounds like the doc was pleased with the surgery and that is always a good sign.
Everything else you are experiencing is in the normal range. Some have it worse and some better. There is no accounting for it.
A hint about the coughing - keep a pillow near by. When you feel the need to cough hug it tightly against you abdomen and stomach. Pull it in tight but don't hurt yourself. It stops the rebounding of the stomach and abs and lessons the pain a lot. I got the tip from the discharge nurse and used it the first two weeks following surgery. I was never afraid to cough or sneeze with the pillow, it helped that much.
You'll get used to the ball and chain also. Be sure to read some of the other posts about caths and post surgery, there are some good tips about lubes, straps for the bag and so on.
Wishing you well on your recovery,
Sonny
Thanks Sonny - I will check the other posts. My Dr said to lube with antibiotic ointment which seems to work pretty well.0 -
THanks for the tip on theNM said:catheter a pleasant memory
Hi Nick here, went through basically the same thing you are going through. A thing to consider although I believe you know already is watch that damn toilet seat when you sit down, dont want to cut the cath. Sounds stupid but I almost did it,and another thing if you have dogs watch them jumping up. Great to hear your doing well its almost a relief to be on the other side,good luck in all your future tests....
Nick
Ps who won the football game I watch the Vikings beat the packers and loved it
THanks for the tip on the toilet seat. Actually, I haven't gone #2 yet cause I cleaned out before surgery. Not particularly looking forward to that part. Fortunately, no dogs in the house.
Broncos won the game - it was a fun one to watch (I'm stuck with the Lions so I'm looking for a new team to watch).0 -
Hey Marc - good to see youmarc1957 said:Good news Jim !
Just dont play jump rope with that cord this week
Glad to hear that the situation went smoothly, be sure to check out the homepage as
there is an article about cancer research.
best regards
-marc
PS, Dec 8th is my OR date.
Hey Marc - good to see you here. Surgery Dec 8? Did you decide on a surgeon?0 -
Post Surgery
Sounds like a good experience so far, I hope it keeps improving for you!
Even with the "New Issues" I posted earlier my experience so far is MUCH better than I expected.
I echo what so many others have said, the catheter is the worse part! I was very concerned that I would forget about it at night and try to get out of bed and walk away. What a foolish notion!
Good food in the hospital? The nearest thing to solid food I got was jell-o!
Your first BM will cause a lot of anxiety but a lot of relief, also. Hopefully you have completed that milestone by now. Caution with the cath tube as you sit and as you stand, both can cause a large pull.
Good luck!
VB0 -
Post surgery Blog
I am one month from procedure... Fealing very well, the pain should be gone in a week or so after they reome your best friend, just breath in deep when they take it out... I had staples, they were not bad it all... Currently going through the wetness stage, not to bad at night going through 3 to 4 pads during the day...
HJ0 -
Post surgery blog
Hello, jhagerup and all. Some comments from my own experience (cryoablation Sept.24).
The dang catheter still clings to my leg. I go in once a week for what they call trial-and-avoid (they pull it out and then you sit around for a couple of hours, during which you try to pee on your own; in my case, since I live 4 blocks away, I go home). So far no luck except once, when she pumped me up and was able to squirt it out in five minutes. Went home with a couple of do-it-yourself catheters in case of emergency. Well, I had to use 'em and I don't recommend it. Pretty Nurse has numbing stuff; I don't. They all reassure me that 4 weeks on exterior plumbing is nothing to be concerned about. But I am nevertheless becoming concerned.
Ditto on the dog warning: it's no longer nice to be greeted by my happy dog--but so far, no damage, except to his feelings.
Another small tip: spread a towel in front of the toilet, or wherever you sit to change bags and otherwise tend to yourself. I would say that I, in one effort out of three, forget to close up some tube and sprinkle the general area. Throw it in the washer and spread another.
Also, when switching from the overnight bag to the leg bag, or v.v., plug up the tube nearest your body right away, as you can't tell when the bladder is going to send a little flash flood your way--usually in the 0.25 second between your unplugging the overnight bag and inserting the leg bag.
Finally, I "enjoyed" my overnight in the hospital too. Highlight: 'way in the night there's a tugging at my bedsheet. I reach out, scratch what I find at bedside, and say "OK boy, we'll go out--- OH! I'M SORRY!" Turns out it was the nurse changing my overnight bag, not the dog wanting to go out. Fortunately he had a sense of humor.
I'll shut up now. Best wishes. John0 -
catheter a pleasant memoryNM said:catheter a pleasant memory
Hi Nick here, went through basically the same thing you are going through. A thing to consider although I believe you know already is watch that damn toilet seat when you sit down, dont want to cut the cath. Sounds stupid but I almost did it,and another thing if you have dogs watch them jumping up. Great to hear your doing well its almost a relief to be on the other side,good luck in all your future tests....
Nick
Ps who won the football game I watch the Vikings beat the packers and loved it
Ah, I can't wait until I can say the same. It's been a love-hate relationship: tiresome strapping, squirting, and plugging; embarrassment when it shows on your pants leg; awkward sleeping postures... On the other hand, at one point I was able to dump it and plug myself if necessary. That's when I learned the 'love' part of the Foley. Until I'm SURE I can count on myself to do the job, the Foley is my Friend. I'll stop short at giving it a name, though. John0
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