My Diary, day of surgery to post-op visit

I read that you’re facing surgery next week. I have written up all my notes of my experience, which after talking to other men that also had prostatectomies, they shared that they also had the same experiences. I’ve attached that write up as a PDF. I hope it helps you on your journey.

I read that you’re facing surgery next week. I have written up all my notes of my experience, which after talking to other men that also had prostatectomies, they shared that they also had the same experiences. I’ve attached that write up as a PDF. I hope it helps you on your journey.

9/18/2024
-I slept on and off last night, but mostly on. I got up twice to empty the catheter and take some Tylenol.
-Noticed some pain in my shoulders but wrote that off to the gas they used during surgery trying to find a way out
-The overwhelming urge to urinate is greatly reduced today, however, the bloated feeling of really needing to defecate is still present. Start to pass a little gas.
-Took a shower! It was really nice.
-Did some stairs this morning, and have been walking around the house quite a bit. Makes the pain subside some.
-Am still only on Tylenol but am taking 2 500mg each time which is a lot better than the 325 every 6 hours they told me at the hospital
-Have noticed some blood seeping out around the catheter and falling on the floor when emptying the catheter and when taking a shower this morning.

Yeah, I've read about fluids leaking from the catheter sometimes & apparently that's "normal".
The gas & constipation are my immediate post-surgery concerns.
Prunes or prune juice?

I actually just bought a single bed for the spare room, so I can stay there without bothering the wife. That's the theory, anyway.
Fortunately, my arcade machine is also in the spare room. Total coincidence.

I had some prune juice yesterday and took some colace. Just had my first bowel movement, what a relief. Didn’t hurt either.
When is your surgery?
BTW, only took 2 Tylenol this morning and no real pain now 6 hours later 😀

I read that you’re facing surgery next week. I have written up all my notes of my experience, which after talking to other men that also had prostatectomies, they shared that they also had the same experiences. I’ve attached that write up as a PDF. I hope it helps you on your journey.

I had some prune juice yesterday and took some colace. Just had my first bowel movement, what a relief. Didn’t hurt either.
When is your surgery?
BTW, only took 2 Tylenol this morning and no real pain now 6 hours later 😀

That was great. Thankyou.

But I do have one comment (excuse me while I go on a rant).

The video that you linked at the start... that was the first video I ever saw on the subject, months ago, before I'd even heard of a pelvic floor.
She seems like a lovely woman, but I wanted to reach through the screen & strangle her.
Here's why....

She said something like: "To squeeze your pelvic floor muscles, imagine you're stopping the flow of urine mid-stream. And hold now.." (timer goes up on screen).

Ummm.. what? I must have skipped a bit.
Went back to watch it again. Nope. No instructions at all.
I have never stopped my urine mid-stream. Why would I? Couldn't do it.
But she said to do it & just started counting.

That's like saying "To fly a plane, sit in the pilot's seat, grab the controls and.... FLY".
No, girl. You skipped a few steps, there.

So I tried other videos. They all said the same thing.
My urologist made an urgent appointment with a physio specialising in this (also an Aussie woman, coincidently).
Lovely girl, but she didn't get far either.
Tried with ultrasound in the first session & a physical exam in the 2nd - finger up you-know-where to feel the pelvic floor move.
Nothing.

I'm going back post-surgery to try again.

But that video will haunt me forever.

/end rant

I understand your frustration with the video. Unfortunately, it’s one of the better ones out there. What she neglects to say is that you need to identify the muscles that you use to shorten your penis and pull it into your body a little. These are the same muscles that you use to stop the flow of urine. If you do it correctly, you can actually see it pull in a little. Standing in front of a mirror helps too. Initially, I think it’s best to do this laying down, then setting, then finally, standing up.

My pelvic floor therapist was awesome. She did not hesitate to politely include reference to the penis in her explanation. In fact, she also taught me an exercise that further eliminates, leakage, and get this, better yet, can help with erections! The exercise is called a “quick flick” and what you do is you quickly pull your penis in with using those muscles, relax and repeat another nine times. Do it several times a day. I do and I feel that things are waking up “down there”.

Hope this helps. I will probably add it into my notes and delete reference to the video in the future.