Question from SledEd

Hi Pat..Thank you so much for the tips and good wishes! Ed

Ed,

No reason to sell that stuff. It will be out for the season but not down for the count.

Next season you should be fine to do all of that again!

Mike

Oh, and I went on a weeks vacation with my husband and college aged kids eleven days before my surgery. Hands down the best decision I made in this whole process. Have a great trip!

Hey SledEd.

I had more trouble than most with the digestive thing for the first couple of weeks after surgery. My doctors attribute to me having finishing up chemo just a few weeks before surgery. I had managed chemo very well and just "knew" in my heart that if they projected a hospital stay of 7 to 10 days, I would be out in 6! The thing is, you can't will your intestines to cooperate Anyway, I am now almost twelve weeks post surgery and have been eating regular food for almost 8 of those. Once I finally was able to keep nutritious food down, I rapidly improved. I have been walking 3 miles almost every day for a number of weeks and in general feel very good. I am almost to my new normal.

Once I got strong, my memories of that time were "tough but doable". While I was in the middle of it and feeling very weak, I felt a little bleaker. I bet you will do great!

InTransition

Hi SledEd.......well i can help with a few questions. They usually tell you you will lose about 20lbs....a thinner person a bit less. It takes a while to get the appetite back and the shortened bowel tends to want to punish you a bit...it varies from person to person. But the bright side is...hot fudge sundaes, Mocha lattes, ..ok i'm a chocolate freak but it helped put the weight back on. Eat a banana a day...keeps the potassium up. Just take it a day at a time..but do eat even if its several small meals a day.
As for the kegals....sort of keeps it in....pretend your picking up a pencil with your ummmmmmm butt.....graphic i know but thats what they tell the guys!! Don't over do it though...
here's a guide
Finding the correct muscles
Sit or lie down. Relax your thighs, buttocks and stomach. Tense your muscles as if you are trying to stop peeing or passing wind. You should feel a lifting sensation inside and a tightening of the muscles
around your anus. You should not be tensing your thighs, buttocks or stomach. You can also learn what tensing the correct muscles feels like by stopping and starting your stream whilst peeing. Don’t do this regularly though, only to find the muscles.

The exercises

Once you have found the correct muscles, and know what it feels like when you tense them, you should do the following exercises.

1 Tense the muscles so you feel a lifting sensation. Hold this lift for as long as you can up to 10 seconds. Don’t hold your breath whilst doing this. Relax. You should have a definite feeling of letting go.
2 Wait 10-20 seconds then repeat the ‘lift’. You should aim to lift then relax 12 times.
3 Do 5-10 short fast lifts.
4 You should try to spend 5-10 minutes each day on this exercise routine.
As you get better at the exercises, you should try to increase the time you hold the contractions. Try to see how many you can do before your muscles start to feel tired. Also, increase the number of short, fast lifts you do.

Regular training of these muscles for 4-6 months will improve the control you have over peeing. If you suffer from stress incontinence, remember to contract the muscles before you sneeze, cough or try to lift anything.

Yeah the sled may have to be put in storage for this season..don't want to injure the new neo.

Wishing you the best possible outcome....Pat

Hi All
I apologize for taking so long to respond to you. I did write a post a while back about 3 hrs after George posted his post on this thread. I knew my battery on my laptop was low but when I tried to send it ..it choked on me and wasn't able to send it...ugh!
I have really appreciated all of your words..u seem like such a great group of people. Though I have not been posting I've still been reading. If it wasn't for you people and others like you I'd be lost. Everyone of you have had something special to say..and all of it helpful.
I have one week left before my RC..and am getting most of my "living" bucket list checked off. The part that I have found the hardest so far was walking into WalMart in the Health n Care Dept. I asked a busy attendant if she could help me find the products necessary to help keep my "Dads" bed dry. After asking a whole lot of questions and getting answers that were hitting real close to home I started to flush up a bit. The attendant noticed than asked if I was OK. Feeling kind of foolish for pretending it was my Dad who had the issue I fessed up to her and told her it was really for me and why I would need Depends. (this is the first time I have written the word). The lady looked at me and asked if I knew God than asked if she could hug me. Wow...I wonder if they do that at Zeller's!!! I can't get over how this stranger helped me to get over that moment. I still didn't buy pads n stuff yet but I did buy two sets of bedwear that I'm happy with and in general doing a great job at putting together my nest.
George you give me hope..don't go changin'! You seem like you are handling it well! I read your post aloud to my g-friend..we like how you put it together!
Intransition..sounds like you went through h...! I hope you are doing better now and more able to hold food down.
If any of you have any last minute tips or suggestions..I would be very happy to read them. I go in tomorrow nov 12 for my pre-op stuff than surgery on nov 19
What sort of weight loss can I expect?
Any tips on pelvic exercising???? How does exercising this muscle keep my fluids back or is the new contraction muscle used to release fluid. I am confused here.
Any tips on preshopping for my home..

Anyway...My girlfriend and I are going away to the lake in Ottawa for a few days of R&R before surgery day..can't wait!!

PS..Almost forgot...Snowmobiling is my favorite winter sport. My sleds and all my equipment are ready. Am I fooling myself to think there is still a good reason "not" to sell everything? I suspect that this season may be out of the question.

Wish me luck...Ed