I had a cytoprostatectomy with an illeal neobladder reconstruction in June of 2003.
They took the entire bladder and prostate, and made a new bladder out of a section of small intestine.
The only thing that was a real bother, was the tube down my nose, into my stomach, so nothing would go into the digestive tract, until it healed. That took 11 days.
After the 5th day, they let me suck on some ice and hard candy...IF I agreed to spit out everything and not swallow it.
I agreed, and having some taste sensation was a real treat.
There are perks to being a good, cooperative patient!
Other than that, no real pain - a morphine pump helped, and I was up and walking the next day...with tubes in just about every opening I had! A little discomfort but I wanted to recover ASAP, so I gave the effort 110%.
I can only suggest anyone, who has the radical procedures to be nice to your nurses and doctors and make the efforts of recovery, right away. They notice this and they are more willing to let to have some perks.
Good luck, and get ready to walk around with an IV, and lots of tubes.
Make it a learning experience, have fun with the new knowledge and remember, you are the one who has to recover.
So hit the ground running, be confidant and informed.
Be glad they can operate, that you have a excellent chance of recovery.
I accepted the things I would need to do, in the future, as simple biological processes.
I refused to play the victim. It was my own fault for smoking, which is the likely culprit of my cancer.
I was lucky to have had survived, a stage 4 cancer, and be here today to blog as irreverently as I do.
Take that bladder cancer!
PS: My first meal was nice hot french fires. The hospital has the best in town, and the cook ran them up, hot and fresh at 2AM. I shared them with the night nurses, and we didn't tell the doctors in the morning!
He saw me eat some cream of wheat!
Shhh..don't tell anyone!