Pre surgery advice (cysto w/ neo bladder)

Thanks, Jim. I always appreciate the prayer. This has been a very challenging week, but I feel I am progressing toward recovery. Have had some setbacks, but the trend is upward.
Joel

Good luck tomorrow Joel. Sending some prayers your way.

Jim

Joel

Welcome to the group. It may seem sudden but I was fast tracked into Surgery just like you. I never saw this site. But I DID have a surgeon that "had done it a thousand times" They have the experience with everything that comes up. They are more like assembly line workers. A Dr. who has done it so many times will fix you up quicker, and has seen everything that can happen, gets taken care of.

Walk Walk Walk.... Chew gum. and Be positive.

This site is good for a lot of things. Support. A place to Vent. A place for information. There are no rules (except courtesy) You are about to go through a big operation and a rather long recovery. The physical side is important, but the mental side can make recovery tougher. Keep in mind that we are here to keep you focused on that.

One last thought. Your caregiver is going to be recovering right along with you. Make sure you are on the same page. Don't think you are the only one suffering here. She(or He) is right there on the road to recovery with you. Sometimes they hurt MORE than you. Talk... A lot! It will help you both. I think my wife had a harder recovery than me because I could feel myself getting better and she couldn't.

Just MY perspective

George

Joel,

The most important thing is to have a surgeon who does these on a weekly basis. The more the better.

Next, relax. No need to worry before the surgery, just get some projects done that have been outstanding.

After the surgery, walk. You probably will not feel like it so have someone with you to make you do it. This is very important for getting your intestines going again. Also, chew gum after. Don't swallow it. Chewing helps send signals that get the digestive system going.

Day one: Walk a little. Even if you just walk in place in your room. Day two: Try to walk out of your room and down the hall. Have someone with you because you will be a bit shaky on your feet.

Don't get too carried away pushing that pain medicine button. Keep the pain under control but you don't necessarily want to have enough morphine to have absolutely no pain whatsoever. The morphine affects the intestines and it can make it take longer for them to awaken.

The sooner your intestines are working, the sooner you get to go home.

You will have lots of of tubes and drains when you wake up.

That's the main stuff I can think of now...

Best of luck on your surgery!!!

It's not easy but it IS worth it. It is an investment in the rest of your life (and you will have much more of it by investing your time and energy in the surgery and the recovery).

Don't expect to be back to normal in a month. You'll be in fair shape in a month but it takes a good while to fully recover from this surgery.

If you don't walk after surgery, things can go downhill quickly and you can feel even worse so really push yourself to walk. I'm not saying run up and down the halls but walk a little as soon as you can.

Mike

Hi, I'm Joel and I have invasive bladder cancer.
Hi, Joel.

Now that we have the formalities out of the way, here's my story, or the beginning of it.
I'm new at this, and have been reading the thread "Post Neo bladder "Real time Frames" and am frankly a little encouraged. See, I'm set to have the cystoprostatectomy and neo bladder creation surgery on Nov. 8. Kind of abrupt for me, as I was just diagnosed two weeks ago. My cancer is super aggressive, and I was told not to wait, so here we go.

Any words of wisdom on preparation and what to expect would be helpful this week...