TURP surgery

[Mike7406]

Haven't posted in a while and things have gone from bad to worse. I was going to have to TURP surgery during the Summer but I fell on my shoulder and had to go to rehab. When I saw my cardiologist and endocrinologist December my CKD had dropped to 40. Retaining urine had did a lot of damage. I was aware of this during the Summer. Because of the prostate resting on my urethra I was getting urine overflow which has gotten so bad that I need replace to my Depends every couple of hours. My Northshore which I use as night routinely fills up so much that the urine soaks my backside and both my legs. 1.4 liters overnight sometimes more. My Urologist told me that my bladder has expanded from urine retention with no guarantee that it will go back to normal.

In any event my TURP surgery is scheduled on Friday. Have to wear a catheter till Monday and hopefully I will be able to urinate. I have no idea how much the surgery will improve my incontinence and won't know for several months. I am basically a prisoner to diapers now. My surgery is in LA and I can't fly there. I am staying for 9 days and can't fit 45 depends, and 18 Northshore diapers in my luggage. Now that I'm driving I'm bringing enough to last for weeks. I won't know how I will feel driving. I will probably have to stay some extra nights but at least I won't run out. I could always order more diapers or buy the in the store but it's too embarrassing. Can have Amazon deliver them to hotel but same reason. I don't want to run down to lobby to carry diaper box to room. In my car I simply go in the trunk and take out daily supply.

I can tell you I have a lot of anxiety over having TURP. Also have never worn a catheter before. Will have to stay in room and order room service for three days until the catheter is removed next Monday. I expect a lot pain. I had a catheter inserted during the Summer for Urodynamics and plus the scope. It took months to get back to normal. Can't even consider additional surgery like an artificial sphincter until I'm fully healed. If can I prevent any further damage to my kidneys I will be happy

 

[Mike7406]

Off to LA with 5 boxes of diapers and pads. I still can't believe I have to drive. I thought about it. If I don't recuperate quickly enough I will have to stay there longer. So that 45 Depends can easily become 70 and 18 Northshore 8 hour diapers becomes 28. And 18 Pads becomes 28. Because I'm staying at a hotel I can't risk any leakage on the sofa, chairs or bed. It's going to be embarrassing enough with plastic bags containing each day's discarded diapers and pads. And even with the plastic bags containing fragrance they still stink. For first three days the diapers will only contain blood stains from the catheter. But after that the spigot gets turned on and I have no idea how much urine will be coming out uncontrolled. If I remember when I was last scoped my IC was cured for a few days. I guess because the urethra is scarred. Once that went away the floodgates opened. I did 1.41 liters last night into the Northshore. You know how pathetic it is to have urine dripping down your leg as you are heading to bathroom to remove diaper. I guess the next steps is plastic pants like a 3 year old.

I don't mean to vent but I hate this. I still can't believe my Urologist said to set alarm to get up every couple hours to go use bathroom. I no longer have urge at night but feel the urine going into diaper. Sometimes I can't feel it all. I do have urgency If I'm walking around or on plane. But if I'm sitting on sofa or laying down it just pours out. If I set alarm my sleep would be so bad. It's one thing to wake up naturally to go urinate. You usually fall right back to sleep. If you set alarm you have no idea what sleep stage your in. You become a lab experiment.

 

[Mike7406]

Simply amazing news. It is now almost six weeks since my TURP. It was a real struggle at the beginning as I was urinating next to nothing. Less than 1/4 ounce and had urgency every minute or so. The pain was terrible. Not from urination but just burning pain in the Urethra. Slowly it increased. Up to an ounce, than two ounces. I plateaued several times. Wasn't sleeping much. Still had incontinence. Then I got up to 4 ounces then 6 ounces. Reached 10 ounces, 15 ounces and last night 20 ounces. That's right my bladder was able to hold 20 ounces with not a lot urgency. I urinate quickly and have a strong stream. My incontinence has mostly disappeared. Still wearing Depends but will switch to boxer briefs and just a pad.

I'm going to tell you. A TURP is no easy ride. The first few weeks was as bad as you can imagine. Sure incontinence was horrible before the operation but the pain in the entire groin area was brutal. And having bowel movements where you strain and pain of urinating was horrible. But I got through it. I should had it done a decade ago. My CKD number immediately improved after operation as did others relating to the kidneys. I got lucky because my bladder was able to return to almost normal. It's never a guarantee. I'm still skeptical if the incontinence is truly gone. But now I can look forward to traveling again. I wasted almost two years of my life with incontinence that I didn't have to suffer with. But make no mistake TURP is serious surgery and it's why I was hesitant. Good Luck to all.