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Post-operative pain: Anyone have pain 8 weeks+ after surgery?
My name is Brad. I am 65 years old and was diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer in August of 2025. The doctors initially wanted to do active surveillance. However, I have a family history and due to my brothers more aggressive cancer, I decided to have a decipher score done on my biopsy. It came back moderate to high risk of it turning more aggressive in the future. I had laparoscopic robotic surgery on November 11th of this year. It was successful but difficult due to my anatomy and being 70 pounds overweight my surgeon said. He did not recommend any more pelvic surgeries unless I lost considerable weight. I am 7 weeks post-op and still dealing with post-operative pain which has prevented me from going back to work. I have minimal pelvic discomfort but more pain by the three ports on the right side of my abdomen. I cannot sleep on my side without pain and am sleeping in a recliner. I cannot bend over to pick something off the floor. The ports on the left are not tender but the three on the right are. They are the larger incisions. I am still functionally not to where I need to be pain wise. The pain level is between 1 and 5 depending on my activity. I am going to schedule an appointment with my surgeon by the end of the week if I am not better. Has anyone experienced similar symptoms after 7 or 8 weeks post op. Wondering if it could be a hernia or adhesions. Look forward to your response.
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Brad - how is the pain now? Just on the right side ? Could be an infection brewing , but you have to have a Dr look at it . this should not be ! Hernia at belly button is common - I have it ...but not bad enough to operate on . My operation was 6 years go now. Still doing well, no leaks , ED almost back to normal ( take pills for that) , but the slight Belly-Button hernia is the only snag .
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1 Reaction@jeffmarc I agree , for my Shoulder ( needs surgery eventually) I take Opioids when pain is through the roof . It is very helpful for pain , but I cant really function for the rest of the day ( makes me sleepy and lazy ) . So , if I can , I TRY to take it at bed . How you been Jeff ? Im back from West Indies( a little tense off of Venezuela for a day or two in Trinidad ) - wonderful time though ...now, SE Asia very soon ... Will meet my Boy there ! 🙂 Love life !
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2 ReactionsI think you would have shared these symptoms with us, had they occurred or are still present, but have you had any of the following, particularly at the three incision sites that you mention:
1) Redness?
2) Swelling?
3) Incision area feels warm/hot?
4) Is your body temperature elevated? Have you had a fever related to this now that you are 8-weeks post-op?
Any or all of these would indicate a probable infection. Having shared any of the symptoms above with your physician (if you had them), and if they were a "good" physician, they would have ordered a Complete Blood Count ("CBC") on you to see if your White Blood Cell ("WBC") count was high. Your WBC's always increase if you have an infection.
Separately, I had the "single-incision" Da Vinci Robotic-assisted Radical Prostatectomy. The incision is roughly about 2 1/2" wide, and central to you abdomen, about 2" below your navel. My post-op pain was a very "deep" feeling pain, and it felt like I had been attacked, pummeled, and beat down. I never knew that a body could feel such a "deep" pain. I needed Percocet 10-325 for about a week until the majority of the pain became more tolerable and manageable with just alternating Ibuprofen and Tylenol. But yes, my body gave me instant pain messages saying "Nope...can't do that yet" for a good 2-3 months post-op. While I was able to drive after about 2-3 weeks (just after my catheter was removed), I still had moments of pain when the sudden need to hit the brakes happened a few times. I also purposely limited my driving and errands, not only for the pain, but also for the frustrating need to carry extra incontinence pads, since I was still leaking quite heavily. And...the twisting of my torso getting into and out of the car gave me some pain. I mastered getting in and out of bed fairly early, so that was never a problem. In terms of lifting, that was also an instant feedback warning my body sent: "Nope, can't lift that much yet." So...hang in there, this too shall pass...it just takes longer for some than others. Good luck to you.
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1 ReactionHi Brad - today marks six weeks from my surgery. Like you, I had more pain on my right side initially but currently the discomfort in my abdomen is 1-2 at most. I am stretching most days and continue to to kegel exercises. Hope your situation improves!
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2 Reactions@rlpostrp
Never heard about a Single incision robotic Prostatectomy. That sure is a much larger hole in the body, than in the standard prostatectomy. None of my incisions really hurt much, All I needed was acetaminophen to eliminate the pain on the second day.
Is there some reason they’ve used a single incision? Is this a standard that the doctor you went to practices? I can’t imagine it took a lot longer to recover than when they do multiple, smaller incisions.