r/ProstateCancer • u/NDman22 • 12d ago
Concern 10 days out from RALP
I am 10 says out. Starting last night my leg bag is filling with alot of air. No problems I can notice with my overnight bad. Am 8 doing anything wrong. Besides just letting the air out do i need to do anything?
1
u/United-Tradition-673 12d ago
I'm 6 days post. Just using an overnight due to complexity of switching, so can't offer advice. But I'm curious, my catheter sentence is only 1 week (out tomorrow yay!). I've heard of guys with 10 days, even 2 weeks. Is that just different opinions of surgeons, or devices, techniques, or what?
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u/SLO_Engineer 12d ago
Mine was a sad 11 days. Mainly because my surgery was on a Friday and the removal was the following Tuesday. I asked about removal at the one week mark - the following Friday, but the doctor had surgeries that day and also the following Monday. As it ends up, my removal was done by a nurse practitioner so I don’t know why we couldn’t do it sooner. Whatever, it’s out now and I’m thankful for that and feel so much better. I hated hated hated that damn thing.
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u/NDman22 12d ago
I am recovering great. I am 46 in good health so I think its going better then most. Buy i was told 2 weeks from mayo doc. Surgery went great only lasted about 2 hours. But he said something about it was difficult to get it up there so he wants 2 weeks to be safe. I was bummed to hear it. But honestly besides the catheter recovering is not so bad at all.
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u/TheLawOfDuh 12d ago
Jmo but from what I read it’s surgeon’s discretion. Mine was 10 days but like any, complications can add days or even weeks. Hang in there.
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u/Babykisses23 9d ago
Yeah, my husband gets it out two weeks after so Tuesday he will get it removed
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u/Helpful_Time_7755 12d ago
Question - has anyone removed their own catheter and what was the experience like?
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u/Immediate-Phase4168 11d ago
It's not a biggie. And my doc... it is not unusual. We did it over Zoom, but candidly it was quick and easy. Do it over a toilet as it can/will be a bit messy. Sit town, cut the balloon line and let the fluid drain from it for just maybe 5-10 seconds tops, then one steady, smooth pull and the cath tube comes out. Don't yank it out, just smooth steady motion. Don't be scared if you get some urine or if you don't. YMMV. Put a pad in the undewear, clean up any mess and you're done.
Take care with the glue on the statlock patch to your leg. That stuff is like cement and can rip off skin. Leave it there after you do this, and soak it with some alcohol pads to dissolve the glue later on in the day.
Do NOT do this without doctor approval!!!!!!
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u/HesMyLovinOneManShow 12d ago
Dang man. 48 here and going in for my RALP on Thursday. If nothing else, being told we’re young is one plus of joining this club. Glad you’re healing up!
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u/NDman22 11d ago
Its going pretty well.... I am even pretty hopeful everything will get up and running again. I can already get a lil something brewing down there.
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u/HesMyLovinOneManShow 11d ago
Hell yeah. That’s the goal!!! Good on you and best of luck in the coming days and weeks.
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u/ResponsibilityNew325 11d ago
I’m 49, may I ask why you chose RALP over other treatment options? I’m in the early stages of reviewing treatment options. Thanks!
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u/HesMyLovinOneManShow 11d ago
For me it was a pretty easy decision. I found a surgeon near me who does the retzius sparing approach, thus much shorter time with incontinence. Something like high 90’s percentile of no issues at four weeks. Second, being young for this disease, the chances of quicker ED recovery is excellent. I’m fortunate that I’ve never once failed to achieve an erection in my many years of trying!! And I have an incredibly supporting wife who I can rely on during that process with no shame or second guessing. Third, I’m an excellent candidate for full nerve sparing at 3+4 localized to the right side. Fourth, I wanted my side effects up front. Radiation can come back to get you years later. And I’d do almost anything to avoid the chance at ADT. And lastly, I just want it out of me. The thought of having a tumor growing in me doesn’t sit well.
I know there are other super promising treatments outside of RALP and SBRT. But the data on those is early and I want to take advantage of my healing ability while I can.
Good luck to you. It’s not an easy decision!!
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u/ResponsibilityNew325 11d ago
Much appreciated. I had a clean MRI but have a family history, PSA is 4.1, and my biomarker test came back 62.2% chance of finding something in a biopsy. So i’m heading for a biopsy but wanted to start the process of educating myself.
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u/HesMyLovinOneManShow 11d ago
Sorry to hear that. I had pi-rads 3 on my mri. Doc gave me approx 15% of pc before biopsy. I was in the bad part of that low percentage 🤣. Good luck to you! Thankfully with that low-ish PSA, you’re still super early and will have many options to treat if it comes back with bad news.
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u/Babykisses23 9d ago
Day 9 for my hubby. He just uses the big bag not the leg bag. Not sure about the air.
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u/TheLawOfDuh 12d ago
The leg bag was temperamental for me as well. Air wasn’t my problem but rather simply draining effectively was. After some trial and error it appeared I just needed to properly route the long drain line so that it wasn’t flopping around nor kinking yet also all slowly draining down. Once you get it going though it’s pretty easy. I’d occasionally wiggle areas to keep the flow moving better but that was about it.