October 8th I got full meta with Dr. Santucci in Austin. I debated on posting later on my first post op appointment but thought I’d do it now since yall saw how gnarly it first was.
I’ve had some ups and downs regarding pain management and bowel movements. I’m going to be TMI in this post, hoping I’ll help someone out in the future if they go through what I’m going through.
Everything has seemed to be healing good and quickly but the amount of bruising and swelling I have is absolutely crazy. It’s slowly started to go down and bruising has lightened. I’ve been able to clean up pretty well and my only concern as of now is keeping things clean and moisturized. I’m noticing my “tip” is dry frequently and it becomes a bit uncomfortable and the itching has begun to swell. No bueno! The itchy has been no fun right now and I only predict it to get worse, lol…. I’ve honestly not placed a bunch of dressings on and when I do, it’s a quick cover up after applying ointment in the incisions, dry or itchy areas. Otherwise I don’t necessarily keep gauze on it and let it breathe.
I’ve been able to get up and around fairly easily, especially now I’m further post op. At the very beginning I was in a lot of pain, a bit unbearable but it was also without ibuprofen and I begun meds to chill out muscle spams, which I discovered I was having. Everything has been incredibly tense and I’ve been taking stool softener once or twice a day and it helps. Here’s the TMI- my bowel movements were incredibly painful and still aren’t the most fun. Theyre very pastey and… well, explosive. I’m very gassy too. I may be taking too much stool softener but I don’t want to take less right now because fear of straining and popping something open. Having bowel movements have been uncomfortable and I have to mentally prep myself when I feel it coming. Once again, my bowel movements hurt real bad the first two or three days. Intense cramping, sweating and hot flashes and light headedness. Not fun. It’s mellowed out since but again, still not fun but not hurting like it was.
The catheter has been the least of my problems, I am starting to notice it more though and it’s becoming more annoying and I’m sure I’m going to get sick of it quick. It doesn’t hurt. It’s just in the way. It’s not fun when there’s a slight pull, that kinda hurts. My first appointment in on Wednesday and that’s supposed to be me swapping to a valve system. I don’t know much else besides that though. If anyone has questions, let me know. These photos are from most recent to day of surgery. And one before
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BlueCatStripes[
S] 7 points 17 hours ago
I think it has mellowed out, absolutely! It was super not fun at the beginning but was also happy to be having those bowel movements and I wasn’t completely clogged up. I’m doing better, that’s for sure.
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BlueCatStripes[
S] 6 points 17 hours ago
I just have the suprapubic catheter. Some surgeons just decide on using that which, I’m super happy mine didn’t use urethra. I believe he said it was because it’s less likely for infection and risks of fistulas. I also believe Santucci will have me doing some “pee trials” with the flow valve once I get the bag off and switched over.
