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Glad to hear you’re on the other side! Now it’s a matter of recovering. I also didn’t have much pain in the incision site, but it was rather unnerving to think that the bottom of me was being held together by stitches… Anyway, keep positive! The tough part is in the rear view now!
Luke,
So glad to hear that all went well. Your outcome sounds very similar to what I went through.
You are going to feel better each day. It seems so far away now, but in a very short amount of time you will be getting that cath out. Tube Free!!
All the best to you. Keep us updated when you can.
Glad you are home recovering now.
cThanks, crazytrain and Chris! I appreciate your kind words.
This morning I woke up and decided the mouth pain was worth dipping into the Percocet. I’m worth it! Hopefully the mouth pain won’t last more than another week.
During the day, I’ve been routing my catheter to the side of my jockstrap and holding it in place with the hem of my boxer briefs, them down to the leg bag. Since at night erections are the big problem, I think tonight I’m going to route it straight up toward my navel and out my waistband, so that when I get erections my penis doesn’t get torqued/stuck in a direction it doesn’t want to go. I hope that will help. Anyone else have strategies for nighttime to share?
Luke — That sounds similar to how I had my cath. Basically, mine kinda made a big loop from the tip and then was actually taped very high to my upper thigh. So long as it doesn’t easily move, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem during the day.
The night stuff just plain sucks. I tried what you’re mentioning and it was the best of bad. It still woke me up but wasn’t as painful as other directions. However, I did grow VERY tired of sleeping on my back, and started lying on my side with two pillows between my thighs. This allowed me to sleep on my side without squishing anything or being uncomfortable (aside from the erections of course).
Oh, meant to say, you seem like you’re already responding better to the procedure than I was. My scrotum swelled up to the size of a grapefruit or so. I honestly didn’t know it could expand that far. Even the doc commented when I got the cath out that I still had a large hard mass and swelling.
Keep up the good work!
Hey Luke,
Yes, I think that is the best position for the cath to be in too. I like how CT put it “the best of the bad”.
Everyday will be better than yesterday.
When does the cath come out for you?
cLuke, Chris and Crazy Train, thank you very much for posting your stories. This site has been such an amazing resource for guys on the outside looking in. In short, I’m 28, have had two failed DVIUs and with the help of this site am now scheduled for a bulbar stricture urethroplasty on March 11th with a surgeon who does over 100 per year.
I had my RUG yesterday and the solution wouldn’t even go to my bladder because my stricture was so tight. It was uncomfortable to say the least. Dr. said the cath would come out three weeks after the surgery for me and honestly that’s the part I’m looking forward to the least. Did anyone watch any of the videos of the surgery before they had it? I hate that I’m curious, but I haven’t had the stomach to press play yet.Again, just wanted to share and hope everyone’s recovery is going as planned.
Matt,
I’m glad you found this site. I felt the exact same way before my procedure and this site has been a blessing. I’m happy to contribute and help others along as best I can.
Bulbar appears to be the most common type. Similarly, the complications are fewer (especially with an experienced surgeon). Seeing as you’ve had two failed DVIUs, the Urethroplasty would seem like the correct option here. I personally think 3 weeks with the cath is too long, but I don’t know the entire situation.
I did indeed watch as many as I could find (and hesitated to watch it for a while as well). To be fair, I don’t have a great stomach for any type of surgery movies, so it was a bit queezy for me. But it helped me understand what was going to happen. I’ve also read just about every story of the operation I can find on the interwebs. It took me the better part of a year to be not 100% freaked out by it. In the end, it was the only long term option.
Stay strong and soon it will be in the rear view!
Hi Matt,
Sounds like you’re on the right track. I did watch a video of the surgery. Then I told myself, “I’m going to be under anesthesia while all the unpleasant stuff happens, so what does it matter?” I’m going in for my “wound check” follow up appointment with my surgeon tomorrow and will ask about how important to success he thinks 3 weeks with the catheter in is. I’m on day 8 today, and so far the catheter is annoying but manageable. Good luck!Here’s my day 8 update. My mouth felt better yesterday than it has since the surgery — it’s starting to feel like a bad accidental cheek bite rather than a weird raw wound. It is amazing how fast that tissue heals! Hopefully my urethra is healing just as quickly. So glad there’s not pain down there. The nighttime catheter routing (straight up toward my navel) has improved my sleep a lot — erections are just slightly uncomfortable rather than excruciating. I’m getting more rest than I have since my first son was born almost 5 years ago. That part I can’t complain about at all. My “wound check” with my surgeon is tomorrow and from my perspective things are going well.
Day 9. Saw my surgeon today for my first follow up appointment. He said I’m healing very well and made an appointment for me to have the catheter removed and do a voiding cystourethrogram 6 days from now. That’s about a week sooner than I was expecting! I’m hopeful that all will continue to go well and that I’ll be catheter free in a week. The last few days I’m feeling more energetic but also noticing skin soreness at the incision site as it heals. Still very little bleeding from my stitches and no weird discharge.
Fun fact: my doctor said that many people don’t realize that the urethra makes its own mucus, which normally goes unnoticed because it gets washed out when we pee. But with a catheter in, the mucus comes out a little bit and makes a few sticky little boogers a day — not to be mistaken for pus and nothing to worry about.
Final note from today: the doctor and his resident were impressed with my clean jock strap — they said people often come in for appointments with messy ones. Really, guys? That’s gross. Pro tip: before your surgery, buy a couple jock straps at the sporting goods store so you don’t need to wallow in the filth of the one that comes home from the hospital with you.
I went for my VCUG today and got the good news that the repair is healing successfully. I’m tube free! The VCUG wasn’t too bad. They pumped the X-ray contrast fluid into my bladder through the catheter, so I didn’t have to have anything new inserted. Once the fluid was in, the doctor took my catheter out painlessly. I had a little bit of hesitancy when it was time to urinate on demand, but once it happened it was glorious. My restrictions? No sex or ejaculation until tomorrow. (I was pleased to hear this.) No swimming or tub baths until the sutures reabsorb. No straddle activities until I’m specifically cleared for them.
My doc said that some guys experience stronger ejaculations, some weaker, and this is due to the multiple factors involved. The muscle that pushes out semen during orgasm is one that is cut through during the surgery and sewn back together, so that can lose strength until it heals. At the same time, the stricture that obstructed flow through the urethra is gone. The doctor said that by 6 months post-op, most guys find their ejaculations are similar to how they were pre-op. He said that erections might continue to be a little uncomfortable for awhile and I might have unexpected urinary urgency for a few days. I’ve got a new script for a week of Cipro to sterilize my urine now that the catheter is out, but otherwise I’m not on any other meds. My follow up appointment is in six weeks. I feel great!
Thanks to everyone on this forum for your help, openness and support. I hope my story is useful to people faced with this type of surgery.
22 days post-op update: peeing is amazing (no pain, no straining, no blood, great flow), sex is fine, and my mouth feels almost back to normal. I still have soreness along the incision, but it is no longer draining enough to require me to put a gauze dressing on it — regular cotton boxer briefs can handle it. My energy is back to normal. At this point, I’m very glad I made the decision to undergo this surgery.
In case anyone’s curious, the hospital’s sticker price for this procedure including one night in the hospital was just shy of $54,000. My insurance company wound up paying a negotiated rate of about $8,000 and I was only out of pocket $250. Hooray for health insurance!
Luke thats great news, both about the energy level and the amount paid. I’m going in on Tuesday morning for mine. Doc has me scheduled for 3 hours, end to end repair, no graft planned as of right now. I’ve been dreading the cath because of the experience after the 2 DVIU’s but after some serious internet research I’ve read that they sometimes use a small french cath for a urethroplasty. Just went out and bought 2 new jock straps in prep for the upcoming week. (The one from my hockey bag definitely wasn’t sterile :))
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