Just found a tumor...TURB next week...now what?

Donna49 wrote:
You were off for 3 weeks????? Wow. Wasnt expecting that. I am also in "sales" but on the mgmt side of things. I do alot of desk sitting and I dont have to be on my feet very much. But still 3 weeks? Why? Were they worried about bleeding or something. If even 3 weeks is a possibility, why didnt my Uro tell me about that? My boss and company are GREAT and they will accomodate me, but 3 weeks? Sheesh, I had no idea. I guess I better plan accordingly. I honestly thought I would be down for 24 hours and back to work the next day. Guess not. Boy, I wish my Uro would have told me that...now I will go back and let work know....what were you doing for 3 weeks? Just taking it easy, letting your body heal, alot of laying down? I like to work out and I guess that is now on hold for those 6 weeks huh?

Seriously, thanks for telling me that. Caught me off guard, but thanks again. Heck, even a week off is alot but I have to do right by my body...

Dean

I have had 3 TURBS. Each were different, in terms of length of stay in hospital, time off work, and pain.
My hardest time was my 1st TURB because I had 3 tumors removed. I stayed 3 nights in hospital, off work 2 weeks, had pain for about 1 month.
My next 2 were with 1 tumor, overnight 1 night in hospital, off work 1 week, and not too much pain, but lasted about 2 weeks.
My Uro also advised against lifting any weight for about 4-6 weeks after each TURB.
Hope this helps, I would advise you to book 1 week off work.
Jack

Dean.....this is a hugh variable with everyone. I have a tendency to think its a bit rougher on men than women.
Personally ..i had 2 TURBS and both were a piece of cake.....no pain after..no bleeding after.....and i left within 40 minutes of each surgery. And if i had any restrictions i guess i forgot to read that page!
Maybe its the skill of the surgeon....maybe its the number or size of tumors??? Anyones guess. I believe Mike had both the TURB and TUIP at the same time and i think he's posted on that.
Pat

Dean,

I have had 2 TURBs since December and I can tell you that there is very little pain. Actually, you will feel 'normal' and want to do the things that you normally would do. I found that because of this I overdid it several times. Eat normally , no bed time , 2 on a scale of 1 to 10

My doc wanted me to stay off for 6 weeks - I told him he was nuts! I stayed off of work for 3 weeks. I am a sales rep and am on my feet most of the day - Also, just lifting my briefcase, pushing a shopping cart, walking around etc became a source of aggravation for my bladder.I got pretty sore at times but a bit of rest and a few tylenol would set things right. My doc must have seen the devil in me and told me that the scab could pop and I could bleed if I lifted anything too heavy or over did it.

I did not have increased urgency, I guess because I had more room in my bladder after the tumor was removed!

So, TURB is not really a procedure to get anxious about - but the recovery time is a bit more lengthy than you would think.

Hope this helps

Donna

Quick TURB questions...going in on Tuesday afternoon - my doc says it is a small Ta surface tumor (he only saw 1 tumor). I do not know what to expect. Here are my quick questions for anybody that has had it done because I have to plan:

1. What is the recovery time like? Should I plan on being out of work for 2-3 days afterwords, or can I usually go back the next day? Or should I plan on being out a week (which seems excessive). What is typical?

2. What kind of shape am I going to be in after surgery? Can I walk, work on the computer from home, eat normal foods, have BMs or am I going to be in bed for a couple of days in rough shape until my body rebounds and starts to heal?

3. What is the pain like on a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest) afterwords? My surgical nurse said they will give pain meds, but I am not a big fan of any kind of narcotic and I usually do the bare minimum. I honestly am not expecting much pain because it is internal with no external cuts or anything but I have no idea. What should I expect and for how long?

4. Bladder spasms. I heard these can be a pain in the butt after a TURB. Do they give you meds to control the spasms (muscle relaxors or something like that) or do you just gut it out? How long do they typically last?

5. What about urgency? I have read on line that somebody deal with increased urgency for 3-4 weeks afterwords. What other symptoms besides pain can I expect?

6. Lastly, what about work? I read online that docs dont want you lifting anything over 10lbs for 4 weeks. Why? Bleeding? I work a desk job in a software company, nothing like general labor. I do travel around the US for my job and I expect I wont be flying anywhere for 4 weeks. Does it really take that long to feel normal again?

I am also having a TUIP at the same time. Any of you guys have had the TUIP, can you speak about the recovery times around that as well? If you had both at the same time, bonus! You would be a huge wealth of info for me to let me know what to expect. My uro is a great guy and very talented, but also very very busy and he didnt do a great job setting my expectations. Just "come in on Tuesday to the hospital and we are going to do a TURB on you to find out exactly what we are dealing with" and that was about it. I really would like to know what to expect in regards to recovery because I am 2 days away.

I have had a gallbladder removed and also a hernia surgery in the past and in both situations it took 3-4 days to get back on my feet and I was in alot of pain. I am half way expecting this TURB/TUIP to be the same way but hoping it will be much better.

PS. I am in great physical shape, work out daily, not overweight at all, non-smoker, non-drinker, plus I am somewhat young (44). Hopefully that will help on my recovery. Any help will be greatly appreciated.


Dean

Mike is correct in his last post!!

Jon