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I reported, in the post 1 Week After The Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG) recently that though the surgery (end-to-end anastomosis urethroplasty) was very successful at fixing what it meant to fix, I was still in some pain. Then I got a bit of insight on Friday, August 16th, that helped me understand some lingering pain where I wasn’t expecting it to be – in the scrotum. See that post here: https://livingwithacatheter.com/causes-of-scrotum-and-testicle-pain-weeks-after-urethroplasty/ The doctor told me I should be putting a towel or something under the scrotum to support it when I sat down. What I was doing was sitting on the donut-pillow, which offered no scrotal support. So I started doing that – putting the towel underneath, on Friday afternoon. I’ve been doing it since then (it’s now Sunday afternoon, and the pain is still there. But it seems like it hurts a bit less. I’ll report back in a few more days with another status update.
Glad to hear that the relief is happening, even if it is slow. I am noticing that there have not been giant improvements through my recovery but many small ones. I have only had a day or two out of the 6 1/2 weeks that have been kinda crappy, which for what I went through, is actually pretty good.
On Saturday I started to lift weights and walk to get back some of the strength that I lost in the last 6 weeks. Today I mowed about half of my lawn. That was very exhausting and got a little achy in the groin after.
But I have to say, I am glad that I did this. I say that with more confidence each day that I am distancing myself from that July 5th surgery day.Chris,
I TOTALLY agree with the “many small improvements” thing. That has been exactly my experience as well. I’m actually sitting down on an actual chair today:). I mean without the donut pillow. There are two small cushions there, but a week ago I couldn’t tolerate just sitting on those without the donut.
I’ve been for two walks of about a mile each last week, and I didn’t feel especially winded afterward. So that seems like a good sign. I’m actually going to try driving today – first time since the surgery (tomorrow is the 5-week point for me).
Thanks for posting on the forum too! There are still some kinks to work out, but I’m glad to have the first post here that wasn’t me.
Cheers!
Ken
Ken,
You say your stricture might have been caused by prior surgeries that involved catheterization. My question is: Prior to your Urethroplasty; when was the last surgery you had, and did you notice any discomfort from the Catheter? I’m just trying to gauge how long it might have taken for your stricture to form? I’m just starting to realize I can only drink water, or I have issues post-voiding. I also can’t have spicy food either. I really miss drinking whatever I want. Before I had that catheter done I had been able to eat and drink whatever I wanted with no irritation whatsoever. On another note, I ordered my medical records prior to putting in a complaint to the hospital, and they left out a few pages of my discharge paperwork. The piece they left out was that the reason they did a catheter was that I was unable to void on my own, which was a total lie because I gave a clean specimen the prior ER visit on my own. The Doctor tending to me that day insisted on it so he could have a sterile specimen. And my girlfriend was in the room to witness all of this. I have already contacted a lawyer. I, like yourself hate the thought of suing, but this is definitely a reason to stand up and fight. The fact they did that while there was a MRSA outbreak in my groin gives me even more reason to sue. My first trip to the ER I WAS TOLD I WOULD BE CALLED BACK IN 2 DAYS IF MY RASH CULTURE CAME BACK POSITIVE FOR MRSA. That first trip was on a WEDNESDAY. They knew it was MRSA on FRIDAY, yet I received no call back. Had they called me back I would’ve never went to the ER again on Saturday where they unnecessarily catheterized me because I would’ve had the appropriate antibiotic for the MRSA. The original antibiotic I left with after the first visit was making me worse because it was resistant to the strain of MRSA I had. I’m sorry for the rant. It’s good to see you’re healing. I know you’re pain will subside. I will say the experience of scrotal pain you’re having could be from slowing you’re sexual activity. I know that I get pain there, too from being inactive. I realize you’re healing still so that prevents you from doing the deed. Only you would know when you’re ready. I myself am having intimacy problems from the trauma of the catheter. I’ve released a few times, and it did relieve some of the pain in that area. I can’t compare myself to you because obviously you have a large incision that heals, but when the time is right and you become active again I will bet that everything will become less tense down there. I’m no doctor, as we all say, but it makes sense. I hope all is well and wish you a complete recovery very soon. I hope I heal up without issues, because it’ll be hard for me to have surgery. The reason being is it scares me to have somebody messing around with my private area and once you have MRSA, it’s there for life. It’s a horrible infectious disease. Mine is CA-MRSA, which is community acquired. It’s hard to do surgery on people with MRSA because they have to be colonized first, otherwise the incision site can become infected with it. And with the overuse of antibiotics these days there are so many different strands of it out in the community and in hospital settings. Sometimes the most powerful antibiotics can’t beat the bacteria. My particular MRSA came out after my PCP prescribed me ciprofloxacin which I had already used before a few years back. I’ve been pretty hard on myself lately. I feel like this is partly my fault. All the times I took Cipro there was never any infection present in the urine. I just felt symptoms of a uti, but in reality it was probably something I was thinking about in my head which made me think there was a problem when there wasn’t. I really wish I could go back and change all of this. All I can do is hope for the best, at this point.Neil
Neil,
It had been 3 years, I think, since the previous surgery. And before that I believe it had been like 5 years. Then 3 years before that. I am by no means certain of the cause though. The literature states that most guys never know the cause.
And about your legal case, yes, it does sound like there was negligence in there. I’m glad you are talking to an attorney! Sounds like you have more positive energy and hope now.
Good luck with everything!
Ken
Ken,
I’m trying to be positive, but every day is different. I have noticed that the past couple of days there is some pain during and after urination. I also feel dull pain in my bladder sometimes. It just a sad situation. I had none of these symptoms prior to that stupid catheter. Somehow I have to find a urologist I can trust. I guess I’m having trouble accepting what’s happened to me. The trauma I experienced has me fearful of Doctors. I know I have to face this, but it just scares me. I meet with my lawyer tomorrow, and I’m quite sure he’ll demand I follow up with a urologist to prove I was in fact injured due to their negligence. I’ll try my best to remain positive about my situation. I admire how strong you’ve been through you’re whole experience. You continue to remain positive and that is inspiring because it’s not an easy thing to deal with, mentally and physically.
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