FrankTalk.org

Writing for my husband, by consent. He received the AMS MS on Monday Dec. 31st. Might be repeating myself, but cannot find prior post.

Post surgery went well, slept most of day. Surgery was at 8:05, surgeon saw me at 9:30, and he was released just after 12 noon, to my amazement.

New Year's Day: He insisted on changing thermocouple in water heater that puked out. I tried to get him to limit activity to no avail. He was taking oxycodone 10/325 tylenol at 4 hour intervals. Late in the day he 'hit the wall' with pain and swelling. I won't detail all what he did in case the surgeon reads this and drops him as a patient.

At any rate, day 2 and 3 post surgery has him finally immobile on the couch, with ice packs of frozen peas. Swelling of his penis and scrotum are significant, but I see nothing alarming. There was a single incision in the typical location at the base of his penis. I think some discoloration and bruising has already subsided.

I was amazed he even felt like that activity 24 hours post surgery. I could not seem to get him to understand that 'limited activity' did not mean business as usual except no heavy lifting. The good news: I hope this allays others' fears about immediate post op pain. The bad news: he might be experiencing more pain and swelling than he would have been had he stayed immobile.

Will let you folks know how it goes.

I should add, on day two post surgery he went 24 hours with NO pain control, and has only taken 2 in the following 24 hour interval. He is pain free when reclined, but walking and getting in and out of bed elicits significant discomfort.

I was taking the pain meds for 5 or 6 days after. He is doing well. I am 3 weeks post op, still getting used to how "it" feels. I walk differently, have a different sensation when I need to urinate, and get up and down or in and out of a chair differently. I thinkit is just a matter of time getting used to "it" changing after 57 years.

I concur that it sounds like your husband's recovery is going better than average. Two comments.

First, my doc felt that minimizing swelling and bruising was beneficial in reducing the risk of infection, in addition to making recovery less painful. So, keeping activity down to minimize infection risk is another reason for your husband to take it easy.

Second, my doc recommended heat in the form of hot baths starting at day 3, rather than ice, to minimize swelling. He closes the incision in a watertight manner to allow for hot baths, so depending on what your husbands doc did with the incision, he might not be able to bathe yet. Hot baths a couple of times a day was the best pain relief I had, though I didn't need narc pain meds after the first 24 hours, so like your husband, my recovery was pretty easy. As others have pointed out, you can generate dry heat by putting dried uncooked beans (maybe 2lbs worth) in a sock and heating it in the microwave for a while, 90ish seconds depending on how many beans and what kind they are. It molds nicely to the male body parts.

I concur with the other posters on the board, your husband is having a very good recover. The same was true here. More restraint early on, yeilds a faster overall recover. Took it very easy first 4 days, then worked up slowly from there. By week 4 was ready to go.

Best wishes.

David