Post prostatectomy diet

I had surgery in January (seems like ages ago!) and I stuck to lots of soft, bland foods and liquids for several weeks, then slowly reintroduced heavier foods in small doses over time.

I ate a lot of scrambled eggs, yogurt, applesauce, old school Lipton chicken noodle soup from a packet, pudding, Jell-O, bananas, and ice cream at first.

My bowels kicked in pretty quickly and I never had any issues with that. Along the way, I worked in vegetables and pasta that were a little overcooked to make them softer, and eventually, maybe six weeks later, began having small servings of meat. By 10 weeks or so, I was eating whatever I wanted.

I’m sure I was more cautious than most, but I’ve always had a very robust bowel system, and I didn’t want to risk overloading my gut and having a big bowel movement so soon after surgery, just to give my body time to heal.

After surgery, I cut out all fizzy drinks, alcohol, acidic drinks, and caffeine, sticking to decaf tea, decaf coffee, and water. After maybe eight months, I hit a plateau with my bladder control recovery, and I stopped even the tea and coffee. I’ve had nothing but water to drink for the last two months, and I’m seeing improvement again with my bladder control. We buy Swiss-water decaf coffee (from Amazon).

@turtbean
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful reply. Yes, it does sound like you took a very cautious approach back. I hope to introduce poultry and fish into my diet much sooner than six weeks. Like you, I have pretty regular bowel function. And like you, I’ve already made the switch to Swiss water process decaf coffee. I allow myself one cup a day as is and hoping I don’t need to cut that out at all. Again, thank you.

I had surgery 16 years ago and didn’t have any special diet. Had regular coffee every morning. Nobody was telling me to have a special diet after the surgery. Since you have a catheter for a week or more, urine isn’t getting anywhere, there is a catheter between your bladder and the bag collecting it.

I was 70 a little over 2 years ago when I had NS RARP. I'm not a medical professional so this is just my layman opinion of what was helpful for me. I strictly followed my care teams instructions for diet, to drink plenty of water, and take a non-stimulative stool softner. I could be wrong, but I think the key goal of these instructions was to avoid stomach upset, gas, and constipation after surgery. Straining during a bowel movement can potentially cause problems as those internal stitches are healing up. Unfortunately I don't remember their instructions on diet (which is what you asked about). But one thing I do remember that was useful to me and I believe was an important recommendation of my care team was to use a non-stimulative stool softner (such as Colace). I looked up the active ingredient and got a similar product at Costco. Then I tried it about 10 days before surgery so I knew how it affected me (as I didn't want to try it for the first time after surgery). I found the non-stimulative stool softner they had recommended to be very gentle and predictable, and I used it every day after surgery for 3 or 4 weeks. That, coupled with the good hydration and the diet they had recommended worked for me as I never had any constipation after surgery. I think I gradually transitioned off the diet in a just a couple of weeks, but I think I stayed on the non-stimulative stool softner about a month (although I don't remember exactly). The main thing is I was able to avoid constipation after surgery, thereby dodging the risk to those internal stitches from straining during bowel movements. Ask your care team about all this. I'd be surprised if they don't have some specific guidance for you. Again, I'm not a medical professional but this is what my care team had me do and it worked for me. Best wishes.

I was also on a stool softener and yes, I was told to up my hydration to at least the equivalent of four bottles of water a day, which I did as well. That was to help with bladder healing as well as bowel movements.

I had RALP 2 years ago and they gave me no specific instructions. Following catheter removal, I had no incontinence, but significant urgency and frequency to urinate. Called the care team and they said cut out caffeine, alcohol , and spicy foods, and drink a lot of water. I did that and urgency subsided as well as urination frequency . After several months I reintroduced all of the above with no ill effect.