im nearly two years down the line with the neo and my experiences have been very positive on the whole. it has its ups and downs and i had your horror at the prospect of having my bladder removed (completely rational let's face it!). I wondered how the hell it was ever going to work like a bladder and, to be truthful, am still pretty amazed. but it does a great job. i can drink beer, cycle to work (i do a fair bit of lifting and travelling between sites on my bike), have sex, travel, go out and do all of the things that i did before. i can't really remember what it was like to have a real one now. its just become a part of me that i manage slightly more than before. the two downers for me are, as pointed to above, the disturbed sleep (im getting pretty good at sleep-walking to the toilet) and a little bit of nocturnal leakage which may get better or may not. ive sort of learned to live with it. there's a corrective op which i could have to stop this but i don't really want to go through another op at the moment. a lot of my fear prior to the op was from the perspective of a person with a bladder and a person with choices. once it's gone, you just have to get on with it and it'll become just another part of you. i was also faced with the option between the neo and the pouch. the neo gives you much less of a reliance on catheters etc and i can actually pee standing up at a urinal which is good. you kind of control flow strength with your tummy so it's a bit different but works really well. also you're giving yourself the possibility of not poking things into your body all the time which appealed to me! the neo would be my choice all over again. i ve heard you can convert from a neo to a pouch but it's never ever crossed my mind. the truth is, if things go to plan, you end up happy with whatever you choose; each have their own foibles. a lot of it is in your attitude also. the hospital is a rollercoaster. i found myself crying at the slightest things and reached a point where i was turning down visitors i felt so wretched. little by little things gradually clicked back into place. we have amazing ability to adapt to things. about three weeks out i was walking in the winter sun, drinking hot spicy cider and starting to laugh again. I had amazing support from my partner which is really advantageous. so to all you guys considering the neo, I wish for you the same experience as me so far.
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