Post HoLEP operation - how am I doing?

Post HoLEP operation – how am I doing? Mixed bag in answering the question. It is 9 days since I had my HoLEP operation.

They weren’t kidding when they said this was major surgery and I could have a month off work (if I were working). I completely underestimated what it would be like. In my mind, I thought I could take it easy for a few days and then I’d be back on my bike, running and everything else. No way!

Getting over the anaesthetic was interesting

I got given a leaflet which said I shouldn’t do lots of things within 1 or 2 days. Again they weren’t kidding, I wasn’t thinking straight.

I even tried to make a cup of tea and it went wrong. I put a tea bag in a cup and poured the hot water into the tea caddy. Hmmmm. I was certainly muzzy headed and confused for a day or two. Rachel smiled, gave me one of her looks and little smiles before shooing me away while she made me a cup of tea. I love her so much!

Losing blood

Every time I pee I lose blood. At first every time I moved, I’d lose blood. But it is gradually improving now and I’m clearly healing up inside. Conscious effort to have really nourishing food, i.e. dark green cabbage.

Pelvic floor muscles for men!

This is proving difficult, really difficult. As my TWOC (trial without catheter) was disappointing and I still have a catheter, I have a leaflet from the hospital which tells me how to start exercising my pelvic floor muscles.

Yes even men have these pelvic floor muscles and mine don’t work at all. I can tell you it is really weird. I think I can ‘operate’ the right muscles but I can’t hold it. It’s like raising your hand but I can’t keep it there for more than a second, it just flops back.

Truth is, my pelvic floor muscles haven’t been needed since April, over six months. I think it goes back further with the [then] medication masking the problem so I might have 2 0r 3 years of laziness to address. The leaflet talks about months of exercises!

Feeling fragile

In spite of not having a 6 inch scar from the surgeon’s knife, I am very delicate inside. I have to be very careful when it comes to sitting down. As for riding a bike, forget it. With all of the machinery that was being poked around inside me (laser beams, a grinding gadget, something like a vacuum cleaner and something to see what was going on) I am still a little tender.

No bike rides yet

Yes I am feeling disappointed I couldn’t have the operation and just jump straight back on my bike, which by the way is simply collecting dust in the garage. I had even pumped up the tyres quite recently, as a step towards being out on it. I certainly do have withdrawal symptoms.

Phone call from the hospital

The hospital called me a few days ago about my formal complaint. It was the manager responsible for the running of the Urology Department. She said my complaint “was the nicest complaint” she’s ever had to deal with and asked me whether it was okay for her to raise my points of communication in a team meeting. If it would lead to improving their practice, of course that was fine. I confirmed that although I have had my operation and they are taking steps to address the levels of communication, I would still like a formal response.

When I wrote that letter (email actually) I took some time to consider getting the balance right, so I wasn’t simply having a rant. It seems to have worked and I’ll talk about the construction of my complaint letter in another post sometime. It seems people find my blog for all kinds of reasons, so this might help someone, providing I can get the SEO stuff right.

Onwards and upwards

I am really disappointed my body isn’t working properly overall and still feeling a bit tender. BUT these things happen, it’s just I have been spared anything like this for 56 years. Sure it’s a little challenge and I will work through it and I need to learn some patience here (perhaps easier said than done).

Rachel showed me a little clip of a video yesterday. It was a girl beautifully playing a violin. She had an artificial right arm, pretty much from the shoulder down and the bow was attached to this. Now that takes some dedication, talent and sheer hard work; yet she had over come a real tangible, visible disability. That was humbling for me to see; what do I really have to complain about? In the light of day, I feel so blessed, I really do.