PLEASE READ THIS

[Houtman_imp]

You probably mean the KEGEL exercises , I think they are a pain in the butt to do but hopefully help some of us.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Had the catheter and my shiny belly button ornaments removed this morning. No pain involved, and I feel normal again. Now I just have to hope the tap realized it's no longer hooked up to a catheter.

Progress, I hope you feel the same way, or in fact, better. Stay on plan!

[Nortoon_imp]

I was told to do my Kegel exercises long before surgery. So I repeatedly practiced tap on, tap off with every visit to the throne.

That probably helped. The waterworks are working better than I expected. Slept well and woke up dry. Now it is just a matter of NOT ignoring the signal when I am busy with something else.

They also warned about exerting myself after surgery. I am not supposed to pick up anything greater than 7 pounds. Pretty hard to avoid when you weigh 220 pounds. Getting in and out of cushy chairs is a challenge. Also wish I had bought another SUV instead of a car.

They warned about sneezing and coughing. Sounds like all the lessons I learned the hard way when I suffered a cracked rib playing hockey.

The hardest part is picking up something small you dropped on the floor. You have to place one hand on something for balance, and raise that leg parallel to the floor. Then slowly lower the other leg and arm down to pick it up. I feel like the world's fattest ballerina.

No snow shoveling either. Which isn't bad. But I feel bad watching Penny struggling to keep the laneway clear. We had a lot of snowfalls followed by freezing rain the last couple of weeks. Our street looks and feels like a small motocross track. The salt companies must be working overtime this year.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Nortoon: You couldn't have picked a better time to not be riding. Likewise around the north shore Lake Ontario area, recreational parking lots are shiny ice rinks. Can't remember the last time I saw that. By the time the tulips come in Capital Oh, may your options open up.

[Nortoon_imp]

Nortoon: You couldn't have picked a better time to not be riding. Likewise around the north shore Lake Ontario area, recreational parking lots are shiny ice rinks. Can't remember the last time I saw that. By the time the tulips come in Capital Oh, may your options open up.

I wanted to get this over with so I could enjoy my summer.

Unfortunately Penny and I ran into two bad snow storms going to and from the hospital. What is usually is a 1/2 hour drive was an hour or more. On the day of my surgery we left for the hospital at 5AM in a snow storm with howling winds.

My birthday is right in the middle of the Tulip Festival, and is usually the day of my first ride of the year. That is also the time when the leaves on the trees start to open. Although my cold weather clothes are required, it is usually a comfortable and pleasant ride.

[tommymck]

Dredging up this thread because it's top of mind for me. I'm a relative youngster in this group (58) but have had an enlarged prostate for several years. Folks with enlarged prostates typically have higher than "normal" PSA readings, so as mentioned above, it's as much a change in PSA as it is the raw number that triggers things. In my case, regular bloodwork and MRI guided biopsies were the settled-on course of action. After a few years of this, the biopsy comes up positive in small and localized regions. Tests on the samples reveals that I'm likely in the "die with it" instead of "die of it" category, so more watching and waiting. After a couple more years, additional MRIs/biopsies didn't find any cancer and PSA is stable (this doesn't mean that the cancer went away, just that it's small enough that it's hard to find and that it isn't spreading.)

If it weren't for symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate, I'd have been happy to just keep on the monitoring / waiting plan. Everybody needs to do their own research, and there are now a couple of decades worth of data to look at when making a decision. In my case, with the specific genetic markers and the localization and the PSA, the expected survival rate associated with doing nothing is virtually identical to if I had a radical prostatectomy. While I'm no spring chicken, I'm young enough that some of the potential side effects still matter to me. But the symptoms of the enlarged prostate are significant enough now that something needs to be done. Medication alone isn't cutting it. In my case, after looking at the myriad of options, I'm going with minimally invasive laser therapy where they clear out a channel in the prostate. Not entirely without risks and side effects, but all-in-all, looks to be a good option for me.

My reason for bringing all of this up is that while I have found the urologists that I've dealt with very capable, competent and professional, there is far from a consensus in terms of recommended courses of action. Every situation is different, and the risk / reward calculus is unique to the individual. Also, different urologists have their different specialty procedures that they perform, and they tend to be biased towards using the hammer that happens to be in their toolbox. The understandable reaction of "I have cancer, get it out" might not be the best course in all cases.

[Cormanus]

First of all, tommymck, best wishes for your procedure.

Next: we’ll put and good advice. Prostate cancer is generally not fast growing so, fellas, should it come your way, take time to inform yourself properly of the available options.

[Tev62]

Best of luck tommymck. I get my bloods done at the Dr at least three times a year these days for the very reasons mentioned in the previous posts. Its amazing what we live with as men without even realising until something happens. I have had a hole in my heart from birth (~20% of the population get born with a hole in their heart, they grow over into your early teens) which never closed and I found out at 57 years old.

The Public Sector surgeons couldn't fix it a couple of years back as it was a bit akward so I was referred to a high end private specialist who I could not afford. Then COVID had curtailed all Public Hospital operations the Government paid for my operation with the new guy under a COVID relief scheme, just last year. So I have COVID to thank for my hole closure and the difference is amazing. Fifty nine years with the hole, one without.

You could stick your thumb right through my hole and I always wondered at school why I was crap at Rugby, Cross Country, Basketball etc, I could not understand how everyone had so much energy and stamina, I was constantly wrecked. My lungs were not getting full blood flow even though I would pump at 180bpm.

That is me not bringing up my total exhaustion at everything in life with a Dr, a simple test would of highlighted it. What's the worst part of the story, my bloody father was a Doctor!

[tommymck]

Thanks all. Going under the "knife" (laser) on Wednesday.

[peterbaron]

Thanks all. Going under the "knife" (laser) on Wednesday.

Good luck and heal fast, Tommy