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CrazyTrain, thanks for all those wonderful tips, especially regarding the catheter!! I actually think I will only need the catheter in for 2 weeks max (my procedure will be done using BMG), I`ve also reviewed a paper that demonstrates comparable leakage rates when catheter removal is done early at 3 days (anastomotic) and 7 days (BMG), this paper was actually written by the specialist seeing me, I will ask him in an e-mail I am preparing with my last minute questions before surgery time, I will get back to you regarding the de novo strictures forming due to a foley catheter being in the urethra.
Man, I`m going to have to find a way to keep erections at a minimum then, damn, and I thought the pain in the vicinity would keep them completely tamed. I read somewhere someone getting beta blockers prescribed to keep them at a minimum…who knows, maybe they actually help in the healing process, the stretching and compression can stimulate cell growth/response, in the end the stitches are there to make sure everyhting stays in place.
Happy you pooped, talk about RELIEF!! Hope you continue getting better and stronger, keep us updated with your healing process.
Day 10:
Today is my catheter removal day. Couldn’t sleep last night in part because I really just wanted this damn thing out of me! Unfortunately, there are some things bothering me.
I had some minimal debris come out during the initial post-removal void (expected). However, what I didn’t expect was to feel like I was still working at urinating. My first one slow started and was slow the entire time. The second urination was like the first. Finally the third urination I’ve held in long enough to get a full bladder (600 ml). Even with that much i had a slow start to the stream and initial spraying. Once I got about mid-release I was able to kick my bladder up a notch and get the stream stronger, registering a 20 ml/s average on my at home uroflow test. I’ve also been having some bladder spasms, pain, and urge to go frequently.
I understand that the 20 ml/s is where you’d expect an average flow to be at. But the concern to me is that this is fully opened from the Foley. When I had my DVIU performed and Foley removed I was a fire hose registering likely around 40 ml/s and not feeling any back pressure at all. My hope is that either my bladder is a bit sleepy since it hasn’t had to work in 10 days, or the pressure is from all the swelling in that area and that my flow will go up. *sigh*
I played around with getting an erection and found that I, so far, am unable to get a full erection. It doesn’t get fully hard and it isn’t as long as it was (maybe 70-75% of it’s original size). I still appear to have sensitivity in my penis and my scrotum is still a bit painful, leathery and not sensitive. Oh, and I was able to nap without problem. Yay for that!
So bottom line, not the result I was hoping for, but perhaps this will all clear up and get better. And if not, 20 ml/s is technically good enough so there’s that.
Congrats on catheter removal!! Hey, 20 ml/s is not bad, it should improve as inflamation decreases and remember that the most positive outcome of the surgery is that the scar tissue is no longer there and recurrence is very, but very unlikely….so even if your flow stays at 20 ml/sec it will most likely stay that way, that is better than having a 40 ml/sec stream and then having that go down to 5 ml/sec and having fear of urinary retention and other problems associated with a very weak stream.
Be happy and positive, it will heal you faster and better! Happy weekend!
Dan
Thanks Dan! I definitely need to just let things heal for a while and get out of my head about it. I also spoke with my doc after posting this and he says spraying and slower stream isn’t uncommon in the beginning since there are internal stitches and the edges that were re-attached might not be flush together yet. That seems to make sense.
You said your operation is in December. When is it at? Re-reading some of the other posts I could find on Urethroplasty experiences, the worst ones seem to be those who were too afraid of the surgery and put it off. Stay strong!
Hey CTrain,
Glad to hear that things are going in the right direction. Sounds like you are pretty exhausted from all of the goings on. That will play a huge affect on your body too. Rest up and get strong. Stay hydrated and eat well. That will help the healing process too. In a month or two you will look back and say “wow, I went through that?” I am now a little over 5 months post-surgery and have been feeling better each day. Not 100% yet, but a ton better than one month out. You’ll get there and you will be smiling every time you pee (which I am sure you already are).
All the best,
cI agree with Dan. If you are emptying, that is what really matters. Don’t worry about the numbers so much, as long as the urine is getting out.
Chris — It has definitely been emotionally draining. I’ve been going alright lately, still not where I would expect it. I spoke to the doc who told me that they won’t even take a uroflow until at least a month out since its expected for the flow to, as he put it, scatter graph. Things like the stitches and scabbing and probably even swelling will get in the way of the flow while it’s healing.
Week 2:
Decided I’ll try to update every week for the first few weeks then maybe monthly after that. I haven’t found any other running account online of urethroplasty recovery, so I hope this will help those who come after me and are trying to figure out what to expect.
So I got my catheter our at day 10 (math puts that 4 days ago). The first time I went it was slow and sputtery. The second time I went, I had some odd stuff come out along with it such as little red chunks and something kinda gooey. After a few more times going those went away. Only recently, this morning actually, have I been able to start urinating without a delay and had an ok flow (probably around 19 or 20 ml/s).
Stitches are starting to dissolve. Also, the day of/after I had it taken out I had some very sharp pains. They felt almost like the catheter was still inside and I had an erection (neither was the case). The pain would start and stop and for the most part was gone after I woke up. Still not sure what that was all about.
Swelling is continuing to go down. Doc noted that I had swelling and the very solid masses under the incision point was due to how the body reacts to these stitches. Once they’re gone, that hard masses should soften and go away.
Aside from all that, I feel I’m recovering well. At times I completely forget that I had this surgery two weeks ago. I’m walking around fine. Some discomfort in the surgery area, but easily ignored. Erections initially were very uncomfortable even with the catheter out. I’ve had quite a few of them since (still have a nice active libido) and the discomfort is going down. I have not actually been woken up by my erections (I read that others have). Blue balls have been quite painful, and not being sexual is really irritating me, but that was all part of the deal going in.
On the sexual side, my penis is not full length. I think its at about 90% (i didn’t get around to actually measuring it prior to surgery so I’m not 100% sure where it’s at). To be honest, I think I’d be fine if it doesn’t grow back to its full size. I really can’t say how much feeling I have lost in the scrotum/penis. It’s been a while since I’ve done anything with it, and I’m not wanting my girlfriend to do anything with it at the moment, so I guess I’ll have to determine all of that later.
I guess overall I’m pretty happy with where things are. Still nervous about my body healing correctly, but the lack of pain and feeling like I’m almost back to normal otherwise is nice.
Hi CTrain,
Thanks for keeping us updated with your progress.
The one thing that I started saying after my surgery and continue to say is, “Today is better than yesterday.”
All the best,
cWeek 3:
Continued slow progress. I’m now at some where between 25 and 30 ml/s flow. Really not much pain, although I will still have random episodes of brief pain and I’ve also had episodes of urethral itching (really irritating since you can’t scratch it :-/). Swelling is going down more slowly now. I think I’m getting close to normal size, but really it’s starting to take longer to see changes. Also, still have bruising along my penis.
Erections are a bit uncomfortable, but not bad. I’ve had way too many of them (definitely no ED problem here) and have gotten a bunch of raging cases of blue balls. Length seems to actually be normal now. Still unsure exactly how much sensation I have on my scrotum and shaft, although my guess is it’s good enough for intercourse. Incision site is still completely numb. Also, the stitches are working their way out.
I still have very solid masses in essentially a cylinder around the incision site. I think they’ve gotten a little less solid, but they’ve been almost rock solid up to now. Doc warned me about this so I’m just gonna have to wait and hope it dies down. The incision site itself looks odd in it’s healing. I don’t know too much about how these are supposed to heal, but my guess is it will leave a scar at the minimum.
Really the worst part right now are the blue balls and not being sexual.
Oh, and I recently (maybe a week and a half ago) started developing something on my hand. I wouldn’t mention it, but I feel it is related to the trauma that left it numb for 3 days. I was referred to a hand surgeon specialist for diagnosis and treatment, but I’m fairly certain a tendon was damaged and has now inflamed in response. Unfortunately, I can’t get in to see this guy until late January. Fingers crossed it’s nothing bad.
As always, questions are welcome!
Week 4:
Hey folks. Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!
Not too much has changed since last update. Still some random pains/itching. I have noticed a very bad smell coming from down there. Best as I can tell, this is related to the disolving of the stitches.
I still have a hard mass down there as well. So long as it’s not causing problems with urination, I’m not going to go out of my way to talk to the doc about it.
I have to admit i didn’t quite make it to week 4 before masturbating. It was sorta painful and tight (as expected). There wasn’t any blood in it (although previously there had been traces of blood in the pre-cum). One disturbing event was that there was no force behind the ejaculation. It just dripped out the tip (much twitching of the penis however and decent sensation). From what I’ve read, ejaculation consists of the empying of semen into a cavern, then the muscles taking over and push it out. My guess is since I’m still healing (even have a large mass down there), then this likely is the cause for no pressure behind my ejaculation. I’m hopeful that, given gime, i will regain that.
I’m still numb down there, which is irritating but not unexpected. The numbness is restricted to the locations of incisions, so duh it’s going to be numb. Still concerned that I’ll re-build the stricture, but not much I can do about that.
Guess that’s it for my update. Hope everyone is doing well! Enjoy the holiday!
Week 6:
Things seem to be going smoothly. The hard mass noted before is still there, but shrinking. Also, the smell seems to be going away as well (thus it likely was due to the mass).
Sex is just fine. I don’t think I’ve lost much sensation at all. Ejaculation still has no force behind it, but even so the dripping would probably be enough for any practical purpose. That hasn’t seemed to affect anything else.
A few random pains/itching. Nothing bad. Incision site is clearing up a lot (still numb). Bruising is gone and swelling appears to be mostly gone.
Checked the flow today with my self test, and it appears to be around 23 ml/s. This is down from earlier when it was ~27 or so. However, this it’s still within normal ranges. Fingers crossed it doesn’t start dipping again!
Oh, and I definitely have the dripping issue. From what I’ve read, that will tend to stick around for a year or so, likely corresponding to the squeezing muscle down there healing.
Hey Crazytrain,
What do you mean by dripping issue?
Glad to hear you’re on your way to recovery.
Neil
Hey neil,
So dripping has come to be two problems for me. First, once you’re finished urinating, you generally can squeeze the muscles down there to get the last drops out. That doesn’t work for me right now, so I will generally drip for a while after urinating. Also, looks like those muscles are also responsible for ejaculation velocity. So I have zero ejaculation speed and will also drip ejaculate for a while after cuming (that gets messy..).
Glad to hear that you are improving CTrain.
I have the post-void drip too. At a little more than 6 months after, it is getting better.
My doc said that a “milking” technique will help. I do a few Kegels and push gently against my leg and I can actually feel when it is gone. When I first got the cath out I was using pads to absorb any little drops. I was using those until about mid-Decemeber (5 months post-surgery).
My healing has been improving everyday. I have to say that 6 months after you almost feel 100%. I am out of shape as a result of not doing any exercise (lifting, biking…) for 6 months but am slowing building my routine back up.Hey Chris,
This is actually week 7 for me. I’ve heard dribbling comments from most people, so I expected that. However, I do have a few questions for you.
First, did you have issues with ejaculation speed after surgery? On week 7 of recovery and I still have no ejaculation velocity (luckily it does come out so its not fully broken).
Did you have a hard mass in your perineum? If so, how long did it last? I had a pretty large mass down there for a while. Today, I can still feel a bit of the mass and am hoping that it’s the reason why I have no velocity.
Also, what is your before/after on flow rate? I recently noticed mine dip down under 20 ml/s. I’m again hoping this is just something to do with healing and things moving around temporarily.
Thanks
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