One Month After

 Tomorrow will be exactly one month since the surgery to remove my prostate. Here's an update:

No problems with movement of any kind. No pain, no discomfort in bending, twisting, lifting (though I am still following the recommendation of limiting weight to 20 lbs.), walking (including stairs).

I think I am gaining some natural control of my bladder, even before the biofeedback session later this week. I have noticed that I am feeling occasional urges to relieve myself (especially at night), pretty much like the ones I had normally pre-surgery. I have also noticed that, again after a night's sleep, my incontinence pads are drier than they were a couple of weeks ago.

Overall, even if I have to continue the routine of wearing pads, I think I've come through this pretty well.

Free at Last

I am now officially free of the catheter (and the surgical staples)! All that's left now of my recovery from the prostate surgery is regaining some control of my bladder. For that, I will be meeting with a PA at my urologist for biofeedback training. In the meantime, it's incontinence pants and/or pads.

Once again, great thanks to everyone who has offered support and good wishes.

One Week

 This time last Friday, I was in an operating room having my prostate removed. Today, I am sitting relatively comfortably at my desk, blogging about it. My recovery has been steady and really very easy.

I cannot say I have any real pain; I have irritation around the incision sites but that is all. I have, as far as I can determine, full range of motion at my waist and abdomen. I can bend, I can twist, I can stretch relatively normally without feeling anything I didn't feel in the days and weeks before the surgery (IOW, the normal aches and pains of a 69-year-old man).

I am still, following medical guidance, not driving (that will change next Wednesday when the catheter is removed), and I am restricting what I lift and carry to 10 pounds. (I think I could do more, but I'll follow the guidance at least until I see the doctor next week.)

Once again, thanks to all for the kind words and support.

Getting Healthier

 One week from today, barring complications, I should be rid of the catheter and be returning to a more normal life. I will be able to drive again, for instance.

I am already at a point where I can honestly say I feel no pain from everyday normal movement, including bending at the waist and getting up from bed or a chair. There is still irritation (a persistent itching best describes it) from the incision sites on my stomach. That may decrease when the surgical staples are removed, also a week from today.

Following the catheter removal, I will probably be wearing some form of incontinence control for several weeks, possibly months. It will begin with a full-scale pull-up absorbent pants and may decrease to just an absorbent pad later on. Time will tell.

My thanks again to all those who have expressed support and good wishes.

Surgery Report

 Well, Jill spilled the beans about my health situation on Facebook, so I guess there's no point in keeping it quiet any longer.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer last summer. At the time, it did not appear to be serious and my doctor said we could simply monitor it and see what happens. In his words, "More men die with prostate cancer than from prostate cancer." Alas, that was not to be my fate. 

All the indications were that it was getting worse. Blood readings called PSA were increasing, the tumor itself was pressing against the wall of the prostate. When conditions crossed a red line back in March, he said we needed to make a decision--either remove the prostate or treat it with radiation. For someone of my age, he recommended the surgery.

So, Friday morning I had my prostate removed it what seems to have been a successful and uneventful operation. I came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. I'll be using a catheter for about a week and then begins the work of retraining my bladder and sphincter to control things. I've laid in some incontinence supplies.

As for right now, I am in no serious pain. Bending is a bit stressful, but walking--even climbing stairs--is not impossible. Full recovery may take a few months.

But I'm OK.