Prostate Cancer - the Aftermath
I went in for surgery on the morning of May 9 and was back home the evening of May 11. So far, so good. Fortunately, the operation turned out to be routine, all of the nerves were able to be spared and there was no evidence of the cancer having spread beyond the prostate.
The original plan was for me to be discharged on Friday, May 12. However, early in the morning of the 11th I passed a lot of gas, and during the late morning I was able to get up and walk around without feeling dizzy or nauseous. I was able to hold clear liquids down. Late that afternoon I was also able to eat solid food.
The surgeon came around to see me and said I looked so good he thought if I wanted to I could go home that evening. A quick call to Julie and then I started packing up.
The drains in my stomach were removed, the IV was taken out of my arm, and, after the nurse gave me literature and made sure I knew how to clean myself and replace the bags that come with the Foley catheter, I was good to go.
So I got back to Julie's at about 8:30 pm and went to bed feeling pretty tired. About two and a half hours later I woke up, wide awake. Didn't get back to sleep until 3 am. Then, at a quarter to six in the morning, I was up. I guess I'm still shedding off being in the hospital.
The first night after the surgery, nurses and nurses' assistants came by every hour all throughout the night. I found myself sleeping in short spurts. On the second night I had fewer people coming around less often but it was still difficult to sleep for any length of time. Today I'm going to try to stay awake for as long as possible in order to get my sleep pattern back to normal.
So far I haven't used any of the pain medication prescribed but I may use some at the end of the evening to help me sleep through the night. I'm taking Ibruprophen during the day. I should probably take some right now. I am surprised that I'm experiencing such little pain. However, as all of the medication given me in the hospital is now moving out of my system and I'm getting back to normal, I may start hurting.
Nevertheless, I am grateful that the operation was successful. I'm grateful for the hospital staff taking such good care of me. But most of all, I'm grateful for having Julie in my life.
The original plan was for me to be discharged on Friday, May 12. However, early in the morning of the 11th I passed a lot of gas, and during the late morning I was able to get up and walk around without feeling dizzy or nauseous. I was able to hold clear liquids down. Late that afternoon I was also able to eat solid food.
The surgeon came around to see me and said I looked so good he thought if I wanted to I could go home that evening. A quick call to Julie and then I started packing up.
The drains in my stomach were removed, the IV was taken out of my arm, and, after the nurse gave me literature and made sure I knew how to clean myself and replace the bags that come with the Foley catheter, I was good to go.
So I got back to Julie's at about 8:30 pm and went to bed feeling pretty tired. About two and a half hours later I woke up, wide awake. Didn't get back to sleep until 3 am. Then, at a quarter to six in the morning, I was up. I guess I'm still shedding off being in the hospital.
The first night after the surgery, nurses and nurses' assistants came by every hour all throughout the night. I found myself sleeping in short spurts. On the second night I had fewer people coming around less often but it was still difficult to sleep for any length of time. Today I'm going to try to stay awake for as long as possible in order to get my sleep pattern back to normal.
So far I haven't used any of the pain medication prescribed but I may use some at the end of the evening to help me sleep through the night. I'm taking Ibruprophen during the day. I should probably take some right now. I am surprised that I'm experiencing such little pain. However, as all of the medication given me in the hospital is now moving out of my system and I'm getting back to normal, I may start hurting.
Nevertheless, I am grateful that the operation was successful. I'm grateful for the hospital staff taking such good care of me. But most of all, I'm grateful for having Julie in my life.
posted by Frank at 12:01 PM
1 Comments:
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