Mets Day 80 - 2 month post-surgery report

Sixty days after my surgery, here’s how things stand:

1.  The primary incision has completely healed.  There is no pain associated with it.  It is still hard to the touch, but it can be moved when touched, indicating that it is not deeply connected, which is good.

2.  The SP tube scar has completely healed.  For much of the past month, I had a considerable amount of pain associated with both that incision, and the muscles below the SPT scar.  About 10 days ago, I had a massage by Mike Taylor, who specializes in rehabilitative massage therapy – he works with a number of professional athletes – and he worked on the area below the SPT site for 15-20 minutes.  It was somewhat painful, but he loosened up the muscles below the SPT scar, and in particular broke up a tight cord that coincided with the most amount of pain.  Since then, I have felt almost no pain in that area.  It’s wonderful to not have constant pain there.

3.  My abdominal strength is much improved, especially post-massage.  I can get up normally from chairs, roll over in bed without pain, go up and down stairs normally, and otherwise generally move normally.  I still try to avoid lifting very heavy things (over 50 pounds) or quickly twisting my torso, but each day is a slow improvement. 

4.  Voiding the neobladder was getting easier, but about recently it has became much more difficult.  I used to be able to use my abdominal and pelvic muscles to get a relatively steady flow of urine, but now it is much weaker and sporadic.  I am wondering if perhaps I have some mucus that is blocking most of my urethra and impeding the flow. No matter what I do - stand, sit, squat, lift one leg, push on my neobladder, etc., I am unable to do more than a short squirt.  This makes emptying the neobladder a time-consuming process, and virtually impossible to do completely. 

5.  I likewise have noticed a reversal regarding continence.  I was consistently continent during the days, and slowly extending the amount of time between voiding during the night.  In the past week or so, however, I have found it to be much more difficult to maintain daytime continence – frequent leaks are common, even without sudden movements or sneezing.  And nighttime continence is nonexistent.  With no ability to completely drain my bladder like I used to, I will wake up with frequency to a sodden Depends diaper.  At my next appointment with the urologist (July 16), we’ll be exploring this issue in some detail.  Until then, I’ll be reliant on pads and diapers.

6.  The overall level of pain has been declining, although I take the prescription-level Naproxin when I find I have the lower back pain, which comes and goes. My stamina is slowly growing, but I still feel weak.  On occasion, I've gone into work for a couple of hours, and am exhausted when I come home.  Last Sunday, I taught the adults in Sunday School -- the first time I've done that since my surgery - and while that was an invigorating and pleasant experience, I was tired when I sat down. 

7.  My voice is slowly recovering from the scarring caused by the surgery.  It does not break like it did for the first month or so, although I cannot project as much as I used to. 

8.  My hair is slowing growing, but is much thinner.  Jennifer tells me I have a bald spot on my crown – something unimaginable before chemotherapy. 

9.  My appetite is slowly recovering.  I find myself still eating less than before, but my weight has stabilized.  After weeks of hard work, I am approaching my pre-surgery level of Diet Coke consumption. 

10.  No change on the impotence front.  My urologist gave me a script for Cialis, but I have not filled it yet.