I feel like I’ve been though quite bit of stuff like this.
Several fairly invasive kidney stone procedures. All this calcium/lung stuff, and a few other things.
But this absolutely sucks!
I’ve never had staples before.
But this gut cut just seems to want to take its time to heal up.
My first follow up is Monday and I still have one seeping hole that doesn’t want to close up.
I figure years of prednisone and birthdays are the main obstacles.
Those old westerns I grew up on, those cowboys were all healed up in a single 1/2 to 1 hour episode.

Well sir, are ya feeling any better? I have 10 hits to go. I feel lucky compared to many of the people I meet and visit with while waiting my turn.

quote:

Originally posted by coloradohunter44:
Well sir, are ya feeling any better? I have 10 hits to go. I feel lucky compared to many of the people I meet and visit with while waiting my turn.

I do believe I have turned a corner. I got my staples out Monday. But I still have a hole that I will have to keep packed as it has to heal from the inside out.
I took my first real shower this morning in nearly a month. It absolutely wore me out. OF course, this is after a LONG day riding to Dallas to get those staples out. I just need to get my stamina back.
There are some, adjustments, that still have to be made. Lots of changes that mainly have to do with the pride and vanity of most males.
But, Dad had bladder cancer that came back aggressively. His little brother, my Uncle Frankie, had aggressive prostate cancer and it eventually got him.
This too shall pass. Thank you for asking.

I had mine out 19 years ago. The recovery was 2 weeks or so. I stayed off work for 6 weeks on disability. I was checking my emails daily and forwarding them to other people, I was getting close to retirement and wanted to give it a test ride. It took a while to get my energy back.

I have been cancer free since. Had a PSA last week and it was 0.03.

Best of luck to you.

quote:

Originally posted by maxwayne:
I had mine out 19 years ago. The recovery was 2 weeks or so. I stayed off work for 6 weeks on disability. I was checking my emails daily and forwarding them to other people, I was getting close to retirement and wanted to give it a test ride. It took a while to get my energy back.

I have been cancer free since. Had a PSA last week and it was 0.03.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you for the encouraging words. I think my main problem is getting over the second surgery I had that week. Prostate was out on a Monday, then the following Sunday I had another Emergency surgery to fix a protruding bowel. Some sutures had come loose.

Hard to read about it without cringing. Wish you a fast and helthy recovery Hudr. We're all heading that direction if some of us have't been there yet.

Just a little update.
Had a followup today. PSA was undetectable. That usually means they got it all. Of course there will be checks in the future to make sure.
They checked testosterone while they were at it. 380.
in the normal range, but low side. I'm not super concerned about that right now til some of this other stuff gets handled.

Also, started a new protocol on the open wound in my side from the bowel repair surgery. Moved care from the original Emergency Surgery team to a wound care group. Gonna start with a collagen pack and Vashe gel "packing".

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:
Just a little update.
Had a followup today. PSA was undetectable. That usually means they got it all. Of course there will be checks in the future to make sure.
They checked testosterone while they were at it. 380.
in the normal range, but low side. I'm not super concerned about that right now til some of this other stuff gets handled.

Also, started a new protocol on the open wound in my side from the bowel repair surgery. Moved care from the original Emergency Surgery team to a wound care group. Gonna start with a collagen pack and Vashe gel "packing".

Glad to hear things are progressing. Getting older and dealing with health issues isn't much fun.

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:
Just a little update.
Of course there will be checks in the future to make sure.

I had the procedure a while ago and I was retested for five years. A small inconvenience for he assurances you are looking for.

Congrats on the successful ride, the discomfort goes away.

The bad news...my prostate cancer had already metastasized past the point of being operable when discovered, so I never had to make the surgery vs. radiation choice.

The good news... I never had to make a choice between surgery and radiation.

Best wishes for speedy recovery and zero recurrence.

This is a good reminder to others, when or if you have a choice to make to watch & wait or remove now.

Mine was small and my first doctor was in the watch camp. I decided to look into the subject further.

Yes, many die with it and not of it. But it's also the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men behind lung cancer. Also, even without cancer you will likely have other prostate related issues as you age, some more serious and bothersome than others. If you do need to remove it later, more other body parts need to go too and almost all cause additional issues.

I chose to have what turned out to be a minor procedure with the hope and expectation that it hadn't gone outside the prostate itself. That seems to have been the case, now 14 years later.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Yes, many die with it and not of it. But it's also the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men behind lung cancer.

That's true, but...

Prostate cancer is still only responsible for about 2% of total male deaths. The other 98% will work very hard to fill that void, even if a perfect test/treatment is developed.

I should probably edit the thread title.
I'm pretty much over the actual Prostate procedure. It is the emergency surgery less than a week later to repack my guts that I am still recovering from now.
But I do appreciate the support from you fellas.
I think the most traumatic part was the actual Prostate Biopsy. ugh.

I'm getting over the flu (I assume) right now so the coughing associated with that has been fun.