Neo Bladder and digestion 8 weeks out

6 years 11 months ago #53158 by Mmaclellan
Replied by Mmaclellan on topic Neo Bladder and digestion 8 weeks out
Your husbands issues sound a lot like my Dads. How is he doing now? My Dad had surgery in October and just is not doing well. This has been a roller coaster ride. I would like to talk with you and see if you have any advise.

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7 years 4 months ago #52308 by Cynthia
Replied by Cynthia on topic Neo Bladder and digestion 8 weeks out
Hi Powder welcome to our community. Following RC most people lose weight so that is indeed normal. Now as for the intestinal problems that varies from person to person. You don't eat following RC until the intestines "wake up" and then they normally tell you to eat what you want, and for many that works. It did not work well for me and others we have talked to on this forum. For some of us it is a little more complicated. And you are right I think it has a lot to do with the intestine being disturbed and needing to heal. Now what to do for us folks that have a bad time with our intestines. Start with the basics is always the best bet. Pretend you are a new baby being introduced to food and add things a bit at a time tend to work for many, bland is your friend. Also things that did not bother you before may bother you for a while. When I got home my husband thought he would do a nice thing and brought me my drink of choice, iced tea with artificial sweetener. It took me a few days to figure out what was going on but I thought I was going to die between the gas pains and running to the restroom. I went back to basics started with cream of wheat and added from there. As soon as the artificial sweetener was added back we had our answer. To this day if I get into artificial sweetener here I go again.
You might want to talk to a nutritionist about dietary choices it does not sound like your husband needs anymore weight lose. But finding something that sits well but is high calorie with some nutritional clout is what is needed. Nut butters, fruit juices and the such once you see how they effect his intestines would be good choices.
Hope this helps and let us know how it is going.

Cynthia Kinsella
T2 g3 CIS 8/04
Clinical Trial
Chemotherapy & Radiation 10/04-12/04
Chemotherapy 3/05-5/05
BCG 9/05-1-06
RC w/umbilical Indiana pouch 5/06
Left Nephrectomy 1/09
President American Bladder Cancer Society
The following user(s) said Thank You: PowderPig52

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7 years 4 months ago #52307 by PowderPig52
Neo Bladder and digestion 8 weeks out was created by PowderPig52
My husband had prostate removal, RC and neo bladder constructed from small intestine in mid September. The cancerous tumor was very aggressive, but no spread of those cells was found in the lymph nodes. He is 71 and was very athletic and strong going into the surgery. There have been a lot of ups and downs during this recovery, as I'm sure everyone has experienced. He is presently working with a physical therapist to train pelvic floor muscles, so as to help with all the urine leakage. He lost 20 lbs after the surgery, going from 160 lbs down near 140; he is 6 ft 2. As his appetite has improved and a little bit of weight has started coming back, he is experiencing days of constantly running to the toilet, although mostly it's lots of gas!

Does anyone else have this experience through this process? I keep thinking it's because the intestine was seriously compromised during the surgery.

Is this merely another bump in the road? The surgeon keeps reassuring us that he's doing great. Thanks for being here. I gain a lot of hope reading others' posts.

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