Prostate cancer

[Manc baggie]

Absolute superb shared experience MB !!!
You couldn’t have shared it any better.

Cheers pal, I have taken so much from this thread, just hoping my posts are of some help to others.

 

[SilverFox2]

Trying to get what on the surface might appear to be a simple symptom checked with a test is the hardest part, so many people say the same thing it was ignored or brushed off.
After you see the doctor and he says nothing to worry about, if it’s still the same go back and ask for a test insist on it next day.

Scans really are one of the most useful tools and now blood tests the one I have is a CEA test it’s not part of any other blood test I copied this from WIKI

“I The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test measures the level of CEA in the blood. CEA is a protein normally found in the tissue of a developing baby in the womb. The blood level of this protein disappears or becomes very low after birth. In adults, an abnormal level of CEA may be a sign of cancer“

When I lived in Yorkshire i remember having a routine lipid profile blood test and was astonished to find it did not include a triglycerides value.

I just wonder if there is or was a deliberate cost cutting reason to not find further problems in an already overloaded NHS.
It's not as though modern blood tests don't do multi functions whereby a single standard tube of blood can test for many things at the same time.
Disgusting to me that say psa test is not done as a matter of routine when any regular blood test is done.

 

[city saint]

Apologies, Very long post alert.
Like you, I was quite worried about having a catheter, but it was all ok.
I just want to reassure you & share my experience following my successful rezum surgery at Stepping Hill Hospital in February.
I was told pre surgery that I would have the catheter in for 10 days. It was fitted whilst I was in theatre under the anaesthetic, so I didn’t feel a thing.
Upon waking up, more or less first thing I did was take a look. The tube going in was larger than I was expecting, about the thickness of a pencil. There was no pain at all, just a feeling of being a little uncomfortable. There is a short tube attached to a small bag (500ml) known as the day bag, which is strapped to your thigh by adjustable elastic straps with Velcro fastening & has a tap at the bottom of the bag so you can empty it. When the time comes to empty the bag, you just point it down the loo & open the tap. You don’t get the normal feeling of needing a pee, you just get a sensation of ‘passing’ fluid into the bag. You will probably be surprised how often you need to empty it. I was encouraged to drink plenty of fluids & emptying mine up to 10 times a day.
You soon get used to having the bag. There is no chance of accidentally pulling it out as It is held in place with a fluid filled ‘bladder’ inside your bladder which holds the catheter in position.
For overnight, there is another larger (1500ml) bag with a long tube. This is the night bag. This is attached to the tap at the bottom of your day bag & typically will sit on the floor next to your bed. Once connected to the day bag, just open the day bag tap & you are all set for the night.
I was a bit paranoid about the bag leaking, so I put my night bag into a washing up bowl on the floor next to the bed.
every morning I awoke to find both bags full, sometimes it seemed they were full to bursting & I was very quick to empty the bags. However the chances of the bags actually bursting are nil.
Emptying the bags in the morning are simple enough. Just open the tap at the bottom of the night bag into the loo & both bags will drain away.
The night bags are single use & get binned once emptied.
Just close the day bag tap & unplug the night bag tube.
The day bag gets changed after 7 days.
In my case, this was done by a visiting district nurse. The nurse was organised by the hospital & I didn’t know anything about it until she rang me a day after I got home to make the appointment for the 7 day change.
Changing the day bag is straight forward. They just unplug it from the tube & plug a new bag on. The tube remains in place & is not changed.
You can shower normally with the day bag strapped to your leg.
I was sent home with a carrier bag full of kit. 10 night bags, 1 day bag & a couple of spare leg straps to use when the straps get wet when showering.
When it’s time for the catheter removal, you will attend a trail without catheter (TWOC) appointment.
At the TWOC the catheter fluid bladder is drained via a syringe that is attached to an outlet at the catheter valve. The catheter tube is then removed.
I was worried that this would be painful after 10 days, but I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort at all as the tube was being pulled out.
You will be at the TWOC clinic for quite a while as once the catheter is removed. You are monitored closely & have to drink fluids & empty your bladder, twice, before you can go. Once you have pee’d twice, your bladder is scanned to check it is empty. If you are managing to empty your bladder successfully, you can go home.
If you can’t empty your bladder, then another catheter will be fitted at the clinic & you will be sent home.
Assuming all is good & you get home without another catheter fitted, the TWOC clinic will give you emergency contact details & instructions on what to do if you find you can’t pee when you get home, but it’s basically a case of get to A&E where a catheter will be fitted.
Overall, you will soon get used to having the catheter in place.
I have some tips I would suggest.
The taps on the day & night bags are simple lever taps & I found it was easy to accidentally open the day bag a little when the lever caught on my clothing, so I just wrapped a little pvc tape around the tap to stop this & just removed the tape each time I emptied the bag.
I used a washing up bowl to sit the night bag in next to the bed.
Don’t wait until the day bag is full before emptying it. The fuller it gets, the more it weighs & is more likely to pull on the tube when you walk around, which can be quite painful.
Finally, after surgery, you can expect to be passing blood & tissue into the bag. Don’t be alarmed, this is normal. I was told to expect this for the first few days, but I had this for more than a week & mentioned this to the district nurse, who reassured me it was nothing to be worried about.
Hope everything goes well with your surgery & if I can help with any questions you have, just get in touch.
Apologies again for this very long post.

Thanks for taking time to post this mate much appreciated