Winding down for Surgery

bdhilton said:

BM Details :-)
Thanks for the details ... I feel 3 years old discussing BM's but they are extremely important for general health...mine came with "gunk" out of my penis the first few times but now just a little uncomfortable...Lets say I am waiting to get my cath out and I am sure it will be a tad more pleasant...I am taking iron 2x a day for 2 weeks due to the liter + of blood I loss on surgery so stool softeners, prunes, prune juice are part of my already bland and high fiber diet...as far as Mexican food not yet but my wife always has homemade salsa and chili sauce in the refrig...I love the style of Mexican food and Mediterranean food which we tend to eat a lot of....thanks again and my best to all in this journey...

BD, you bring up so many
BD, you bring up so many fond memories I almost want to cry! LOL

And I suppose you have noticed sometimes a man can leak around the cath? Usually not much of a problem.

randy_in_indy said:

Ah Yes Prune Juice
My doc reco'd it and I actually like it so not a problem for me to drink about 6-8 ounces each morning...I was gulping it down at first and realized hours later I needed to back off...as it was causing too much looseness for comfort.

Oh and yes the out around the cath move....I remember that well...I must have been in just the right position one night in bed and had my one and only sheet changing ordeal at friken 3 am. I frequently had to place some toilet tissue around the cath and penis to avoid that squirt when having the BM especially in the second week of wearing the cath.

Salsa and chips...I'm going for some right NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I had some avocados!

Randy in Indy

cath
When I got home I started using pads in my shorts with the cath to handle the leakage around the "insertion point" as put pc by one of my younger RN's. I kept it pretty clean and (eventually) well lubed with Bacitracin Zinc ointment. My first night home I got a "chubby" around 2 am and the little guy wasn't too happy about climbing up a dry hose. While it was a good sign it was a bit...ummm...uncomfortable.

BM's weren't really an issue and my doc warned me that my digestive system would act a bit unusual the first week or so. Which reminds me to give a little advice: I think we all do a great job researching and asking the tough questions going into the procedure. However, I did not ask the simple questions about the first 12-48 hours - what to expect, what to do and what NOT to do. If I had, I would have saved myself a lot of grief and an extra 2-3 days in the hospital. I asked the simple questions on my discharge - "what can I expect? What are bad signs?", etc.
A lot of my incision point pain and "fullness" at the rectum disappeared with the cath. That was an interesting experience, having that thing removed. Quick but truly a unique feeling.

bdhilton said:

Gumby
Yea no doubt I am hung up on this BM thing :-) I have been big from day one with the Bacitracin Zinc as my surgeon outlined in his "Doing your Part After Surgery" (also posted on his web site)which has been most helpful...I for sure have a "fullness" with this tube up me :-) but should be comeout soon and thanks for telling me the feeling is "unique"...

Heal well and best to all

BD
Not sure they will do what my doc (PA) did when I got the cath out but mine put 4 ounces of saline into the bladder before they pulled it out to make sure I could expell all of it. I can remember being amazed at how little the 4 oz looked in the beaker compared to how much it felt like she squirted in with through the siringe. I kept holding the beaker..standing there showing my wares to her and girlfriend...thinking I'm not done it's not all coming out....then she said, "your done" and took the beaker from me. That was the closest I have ever been to a threesome! peeing in a beaker in front of two women... LOL

It's great that we can find humor in all this...it makes life worth living!

Randy in Indy

bdhilton said:

Threesome
You're funny :-)...I would prefer not having the latex and beaker involved but I will take it where I can... Yes my doc will have his nurse take it out of me as well and I understand testing out your bladder makes a lot of sense....After about 5 minutes into pre op I lost all modesty...Hey I get my mail now in my silk Jerry Garcia boxers holding my overnight bag in my hand and just wave at the onlookers...:-)

LOL
Yes...did you notice how nicely shaved you were when you awoke from recovery.....I could just see the nurse staff all having fun on us prior to the da vinci starting.

mrshisname said:

hope you don't mind...
i'm chiming in, since I'm a nurse I've seen and heard it all...
and we nurses truly don't think a thing about these embarrassing situations...its just all part of our job.
I was once getting a patient up out of bed and told him to hold on a minute, I'd make sure his backside was covered. He said "Honey, everybody in this hospital has seen my backside, what is a few more?"
They say of women in labor that they have to open their legs so much, that the maintenance man could come in and they would automatically let them take a peek...so we all lose our modesty.
But seriously, I truly feel for you guys. I'd go thru all this for my hubby if I could. This disease truly SUCKS!

Modesty and dignity
I made the comment to one of my nurses while in the hospital that all modesty flies out the window. "Modesty yes, but we will retain your dignity."
I liked that.