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Hey gang,
Just found out that my TURBT has been moved up from June 18th to June 13th (this Thursday). Looks like I will be using that hospital soap even sooner than I expected. Oh how I love to smell like a medicinal wet dog.
The positive part of all this is that it gives me extra time to bounce back before I go away on a cottage weekend the following week.
Other than the usual things (no eating after midnight..etc), any suggestions or advice from the wise bunch (don’ts and do’s)?
Hi Eddie
As you said you will need to fast after midnight. Take some personal items in case you have to stay overnight, including some reading material. Surgery lasts from 1/2 to 1 hour and you will wake up with a catheter. They might send you home with the cath still in place.
Good luck my friend and don’t worry,
JackI was advised to eat and drink extra the day before. I’m glad that I listened because I was told not to eat or drink after midnight but my surgery wasn’t until 2:30PM! Talk about starved! This despite the extra food and liquid. I brought extra snacks and peppermint teabags. I was kept overnight in Day Surgery and found that once the anesetic wore off I was ravenous and was glad for those snacks. Get clearance from the nurses before resuming food intake. I found the peppermint tea felt good on my stomach before eating and helped me start peeing on my own sooner. I brought a Walkman with some relaxing music that I listened to up until they took me for surgery. It helped afterwards too. Don’t hesitate to ask for pain relief. I found the most painful thing was my bladder was spasming something fierce as it was trying to expel the catheter. Painkillers and warm blankets calmed that down and I was able to sleep. Take your time recovering. Short walks combined with lots of rest and drink lots of water will speed healing. Good luck and keep us posted.
Eddie:
I suppose each hospital has its own protocol and each patient his own resilience. My 6 TURBTs took about 40 minutes each. I awoke with a catheter in place for a total of two hours and then it was removed. I was given Arrowroot cookies in the recovery bed to quieten my growling stomach and once I could pass urine, was allowed to be driven home. You need a driver with you, however, as you won’t be driving following anaesthetic and it will be several hours following surgery before you are released. I suppose I always went home the same day (except the first time) because I was always operated on in the early morning since I am a diabetic and that always gets you close to first in line! Later day surgery may mean you are kept in overnight, I suppose. Mostly my recoveries were relatively uneventful, but I usually took a day or two off work at my sedentary job. Others take a little longer depending on how they recover and what their job entails.
All the best on Thursday!
GregHi Eddie, I’ve had 3 TURBT so far and twice I stayed overnight. You will experience some pain when you wake up because they want to keep the drugs in your bladder for 2 hours. Your bladder will not be happy as it will want to also push the catheter out.
The main reason I stayed overnight was to allowed the bladder to be flushed out to prevent any blood clots. It was very difficult to sleep with a catheter.
The third time, I decided to go home. Two days later I was back in emergency with alot of pain due to a blockage caused by a blood clot. Just after I was examined and they were about to insert a catheter I manage to push the clot out and what a relief. If I need to return for another TURBT I will definitely elect to stay overnight. The discomfort is alot better than the pain.
All the best and keep positive.
Gord
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