I'm back-with a neobladder

Glad to hear you are on the mend. My husband, Harry is 61 also and in very good shape. His neo-bladder surgery was 10/1/07 at Stanford Medical Center in CA. His "8-10 day" projected hospital stay turned into a very long 28 days mainly due to bowel problems...them not wanting to work right, no real obstructions, luckily, just slow to come back with the pain meds he was taking slowing down the process. Also a urinary tract infection...but the bowels were the major hold up. Anyway, that is all behind us now. The "good thing" about the longer hospital stay was that Harry came home "tube free" with even the foley coming out before he was released. Much of his early surgery recovery came while he was still in the hospital. He is now eating regular food and is still taking a stool softener once a day now (was twice). He tired very easily at first after being home(ready for bed at 8pm at first) but as time has gone on (home 3 weeks now) he has gained strength and stamina. He still tires and rests but we are walking at least a mile everyday, sometimes we even take two walks. He is also able to go shopping and we've had dinner out with friends a few times. In time things do get better. The quote you said is something that we all need to remember. This Thanksgiving, when we are thinking of things we are thankful for, we are definitely thankful for the medical miracle of this surgery and being alive!!!

Margot

mc

i remember brushing my teeth and having to go back to bed for a rest. I lost about 2 stone and looked like a POW for a while. you'll get better, don't worry. i found things like yakult invaluable for getting my guts back on track. and easy to take. it's a good time to catch up on daytime TV but don't forget the outside world and engage with it whenever you can. all the very best to you. i have no regrets now about my neo. it's just a part of me that Im learning to understand. like any other organ.

glad you are on the road to recovery

tim

Instructions on a neo or an Indiana in the case of diet are quite a bit different than with the ileal conduit....a cut of about 5 to 7 "is cut from the ileum whereas for the neo or Indiana we get a lot of our large intestine cut to make the pouches which makes it pretty tempermental. Milk of Magnesia not a good idea with an internal pouch or any bulk forming OTC solutions....stool softener definately a must.
Pat

Great news, hope you continue to make a good recovery.
Take it easy.
Maria xx

Well always best to take the advice of your Doctor, we were home a week or so with no movements so those were the advice at that point. Prune juice also worked but again ask before you take it..I am so happy your doing well, and you seem motivated as well!!!! Ginger

Welcome back. Sorry to hear that your energy is very low.

I just like to share something. I am not sure what "NP" tubes out of the kidney means. My husband had 2 stents into the kidney and after week being home and doing well they were removed as well as the foley. This was probably about 20 days post-op. His blood was not checked before removal, for white blood count, and no anti-biotics were given. After 6 hours he ended up with a major kidney infection that put him again in hospital.
I don't like to scare you, but asking for anti-biotics and a blood test would be a very good idea.
Bowel obstruction were another problem. Stay away from corn and be very careful with your diet. Maybe take a few protein enhanced "booster" drinks, like Ensure. Easy to digest and easy to take.
Walking outside in a discreet way is possible. My husband put the urine bag in a linen shopping bag and put on a jacket, and walked around the park. Nobody ever noticed.
Take care,
Renee