Wildross - the I don't know challenge

[Morrigainz]

Surgery is always interesting. 

 

Glad it went well enough and that you're doing okay!!!

[Stronkey Kong]

I keep reading BP, and thinking wildross's bench press is supposed to be high. Lol.

Glad you made it through and hope the rest of your recovery goes well.

[miss_marissa]

Glad it went well. Have a safe recovery and trip back home.

[wildross]

I keep reading BP, and thinking wildross's bench press is supposed to be high. Lol.

Glad you made it through and hope the rest of your recovery goes well.

Ha.  yeah, sorry about that confusion.....

[Oramac]

Glad to hear all went well!  Have a good recovery! 

[ChristArtist]

Waiting for me in the room

this was the least I could do for you - since I couldn't go to the grocery...and I just realized that I have something for you that you haven't seen yet.....[emoji7]

[ChristArtist]

I keep reading BP, and thinking wildross's bench press is supposed to be high. Lol.

Glad you made it through and hope the rest of your recovery goes well.

He kept showing everyone the videos of his last lift...and they drew straws as to whom would pick him up to move him! "Big Guy" - "took more medicine - you big guy!" and such were being commented all around.

I'd like this BPto go down - no problem with the other going up up up!

[wildross]

So what is all of this prostate cancer treatment about??  Lots of too much information and possibly squeamish information below the spoiler tag.

 

First some sort of facts. The prostate gland sits below the bladder and above the rectum and around the urethra down in the lower parts of your pelvis.  Its purpose in life is to produce semen (not sperm) and the fluids it produce account for about 85% of what a guy ejaculates.

 

The main disease of the prostate is cancer, which in the US eventually develops in about 50% of the male population.  But it grows really slow, and in most cases you will die of something else first.

 

Cancer of the prostate is monitored/detected by the presence of the prostate specific antigen (or PSA).  For young, healthy guys, the number will be below 2.  By the time you hit 50, it will probably be headed up towards 4.  Once it goes over that, then the alarm bells start ringing especially if you are having other symptoms (frequent urination, erectile dysfunction, etc).

 

This is where it gets messy...  The next step is typically a needle biospy.  Obviously the prostate is not what one would call easily

accessible.  So they go in with a probe via the rectum and shoot needles through the wall of the rectum into the prostate to take samples of the tissue.  The problems with this are many, mostly all the other stuff in the way (nerves and muscles in particular) and the inability to really get a wide sample.  Some parts of the prostate are just too far away.  There is a high rate of false negatives, a high rate of side effects (inpotence, incontinence and infection) and even the positives may be inaccurate (ie, the needles hit cancer, but it is really thin, but it looks big, etc).

 

If the biopsy comes back positive, most urologists will line you up for either a removal, radiation via the implantation of pellets, chemo or cryo (ie, freezing).  All of these have the same problems (only moreso) that the biopsies do.  ie, the doctors can't really see what they are doing and it is easy to mess things up.  Plus, you have to cut the prostate apart, since it is wrapped around the urethra, which makes it very likely that the cancer will spread.  Some studies indicate 85% recurrence within 5 years, even with complete removal.

 

If you have an aggressive cancer, it can get into your bladder, rectum or lymph nodes and then you are basically dead.

 

I DID NOT like the inaccuracy of all of that and was looking for a better way.  Turns out that there has been a movement over the last decade to use MRI's to detect prostate cancer.  Very non invasive and very accurate.  So I had that done and even the untrained eye could see that something was not right.  The same dr (Dr Wheeler) who did the MRI also does the HIFU treatment.  This uses a special ultrasound machine to fry the prostate and the cancer.  Over the last 8 years, he has treated 400 guys and had 1 recurrence.  No incontince, no impotence.  And very fast recovery times.  Course the catch is that it is not FDA approved,

though it is approved in Japan and Europe (about 40,000 treatments worldwide so far).  So that's why Cancun.

 

The actual treatment has been pretty amazing.  Dr Wheeler and his staff are all geeks and have loved answering my engineering brain questions.  Everything makes sense.  They gave me the contact info for a couple of other patients and they were very positive about the entire process as well.

 

We flew down on Thursday and checked into the Ritz (Dr Wheeler has a 60% discount off the rooms).  Had a good meeting with Dr Wheeler and his head technician, Herman on Thursday night.  Friday was a big breakfast, then clear liquids after 10AM, nothing after midnight.   The procedure is done at an Amerimed, full service hospital in Cancun, where Dr Wheeler has a dedicated suite. Amerimed runs hospitals at resorts around the world and performs a lot of concierge type procedures (plastic surgery, bariatric, etc) as well as trauma.  This facility is buried in the side of a large mall.  According to Herman, the hospital gets lots of trauma cases from when people get drunk on vacation and do some really stupid stuff (trying to jump from the balcony into the pool is apparently a favorite way to get a trip to the hospital).  

 

Dr Wheeler's staff arranges all of the transportation around Cancun.  We met Herman at 7:30 in the lobby of the Ritz and headed over to the hospital.  Hermain lives in North Carolina and runs a business using ultrasound to dissolve kidney stones.  Started talking about all the cool software in the machine, etc.  The disposable 'kit' for each procedure is coded with a DRM sequence that requires him to program the machine just for that kit.  The HIFU machine is all robotic and software controlled.  Since I was the first patient I got a bit more of a tour than the next guy.  Dr Wheeler and Herman monitor where it is aiming with a separate ultrasound and verify the targets as they go.

 

Once Dr Wheeler got there (he was following up on the previous day's patients) they knocked me out (after the whole blood

pressure snafu) and I woke up about 6 hours later.  As part of the procedure they (the Mexican urologist who is the 'host' dr) also widened the inside part of my urethra (near the bladder) to give better urine flow and because the cancer has collapsed the urethra.  The urethra is similar to the liver, in that it will regrow if it is damaged.

 

Due to the work on the urethra, I have a foley catheter for the next 12 days.  I used it with a bag the first night and now I'm just walking around with the tube strapped to my leg.  It is under tension for the first 72 hours to help it 'seat' and to apply pressure to the areas that were widened.  It is very freaky seeing a 1/4" tube coming out the end of my penis.  The biggest problem at the moment is that since it's pulled to one side, the usual things us guys do to make ourselves comfortable are not available.  Lots of baby powder is being used, plus I have some lidocaine gel to use.  The entire area looks a bit bruised.  Dr Wheeler and Herman haven't really filled me in on what all they were grabbing....  I can feel the catheter internally if I move right/wrong, though it doesn't really 'hurt'.  I suspect that its a bit like what women go through with tampons...  Mostly I'm afraid it will hurt and am moving very gingerly.  Also lots of very odd sensations.  A lot of the feelings I would associate with the penis apparently are

actually bladder feelings...  In general I'm finding that a lot of the little pains aren't where I really think they are.

 

We got back to the hotel about 6 PM Saturday night and ate a normal supper.  Christi had arranged a very nice gift tray with chocolate and peanut butter and apple snacks on it.  Dr Wheeler and Herman came and checked on me and I slept pretty well that night.

 

Dr Wheeler says I will be passing the (now dead) prostate tissue for the next few months, but that everything else should be pretty normal in a few weeks (really once we take the catheter out).  No scars, no stitches, no visible signs of surgery.  My next PSA test (in 3 months) should be below 0.01.  It was 14+ going into surgery.

 

Christi had met the wife of the next patient and we met them for breakfast.  He's an IT guy too and prostate cancer runs in his family.  He had gone through a similar discovery process as I had.  Christi had arranged a special breakfast for us which was very sweet.  She has made lots of friends on the hotel staff.  I kept feeling better and better all day.  Still have the post anesthesia phlegm in my throat, but feeling pretty good.  

 

We flew out of Cancun at 11 on Monday and were back in Florida by 1.

 

I'm supposed to "take it easy" for 6 weeks.  The letter of the law is nothing over 25#.  I asked if they gave a lower limit to the

lighter/smaller guys....no.  So I will gently and carefully test that limit as I recover.  I got lots of comments about being 'beefy'.

Apparently I'm kind of hard to move around when I'm unconscious (boo hoo...they should work out more).  As noted, I also took more sedation than normal.  I showed them some of the videos from my max lifts in the Virtuous Valentine competition.

 

So far, it has been a pretty amazing experience.  I'll be back to work tomorrow and intend to hit the gym on Wednesday morning.

[Stronkey Kong]

I LOL'ed at the, "Boohoo, they should work out more."

 

They gave me a 20# limit for 6 weeks when I had my appendix removed. Two weeks out I remember I lifted something that was 48#, without thinking about it. I quickly understood why.

 

But they didn't have to cut anything right? Or did I miss that?

[wildross]

I LOL'ed at the, "Boohoo, they should work out more."

 

They gave me a 20# limit for 6 weeks when I had my appendix removed. Two weeks out I remember I lifted something that was 48#, without thinking about it. I quickly understood why.

 

But they didn't have to cut anything right? Or did I miss that?

a bit of cutting inside the urethra.  no stitches.  I can't figure out how lifting will put any pressure on the urethra...will gently experiment.

[Stronkey Kong]

I can see how intra-abdominal pressure during squats and deadlifts could make a cut urethra feel unpleasant.

 

But I'd bet you can curl. Anything that isolates the extremities without tightening the core.

 

Have a bro day! Or a few.

 

But for liability's sake, remember I'm not your (or even a) doctor.

[wildross]

I can see how intra-abdominal pressure during squats and deadlifts could make a cut urethra feel unpleasant.

But I'd bet you can curl. Anything that isolates the extremities without tightening the core.

Have a bro day! Or a few.

But for liability's sake, remember I'm not your (or even a) doctor.

Sort of the plan. I've already handled our luggage with no apparent effects.

[redtomato501]

Thanks for the lengthy read... lol'ed at several points (balcony-to-pool, tampon speculation, boo-hoo), but also learned a lot about something I knew next to nothing of. Thanks for sharing, educating, glad to have you on the other side, and we'll see how that 25# limit works out for you! Heh.

[ChristArtist]

I really didn't want him to handle the luggage. ..i thought about saying. "Lift with your arms...don't engage your core!"

What i will tell him here for accountability...there was surgery done to his bladder...the shell of his prostate is to heal compressed and forcing can ruin that...and lastly, he can remember how I messed up a surgery by helping with things I did normally, busted something loose, and now well have to redo that surgery!. There's plenty to do that won't put strain on the prostate, urethra, or bladder. Not using spoilers because of the open conversation.

As for them working out, they were talking to me about his strength, and saying "I'm usually in the gym. ..gotta get back to it!" The engineer kept saying "I got to get doc to the gym!"

I doubt it will take 12 weeks, is like to see him take it super easy for two. ..give those areas time to heal. He paid a pretty penny for this, and the bp almost knocked him out of the line up. Don't want to do this again.

[wildross]

she wuvs me...

[ChristArtist]

she wuvs me...

For better or for worse, in sickness or in health....[emoji7]

[chammy]

Glad to hear that everything is going pretty well so far, even with the blood pressure scare.

[Oramac]

Definitely glad to hear all is well so far.  I laughed at a few places (especially the "boo hoo, go lift!").  Learned a few things too.  I'm pretty sure the 25# weight limit would be too low for almost anyone.  Hell, my groceries weigh more than 25 pounds.  

[NightWatcher13]

Christartist&wildross, you two are so darn adorable <3

Glad to hear treatment went great!! Will keep y'all in my prayers

[MasterOfCows]

So so so very happy it went well!!

 

Take it easy - don't push the recovery too hard.

 

*hugs*

[StarGazer]

I'm glad to hear you're doing week so far. I know that everyone is different and you're in way better shape than my father, but even a month after his surgery (also prostate cancer) if he moved too suddenly or tried to do too much he would start to feel pain and discomfort in the area of the surgery. So I know you said you'll test it out carefully, but be sure you do that because you can easily feel fine with regular movements and then go to far and put strain on your body where it's trying very hard to heal to keep you healthy. It's a pain and will drive you mad, but it needs the time it needs.

[wildross]

I'm glad to hear you're doing week so far. I know that everyone is different and you're in way better shape than my father, but even a month after his surgery (also prostate cancer) if he moved too suddenly or tried to do too much he would start to feel pain and discomfort in the area of the surgery. So I know you said you'll test it out carefully, but be sure you do that because you can easily feel fine with regular movements and then go to far and put strain on your body where it's trying very hard to heal to keep you healthy. It's a pain and will drive you mad, but it needs the time it needs.

One of the reasons I did the HIFU is because there are no incisions/cutting.  I'm actually on a business trip at the moment.  I did pushups and air squats in the hotel room this morning.

[nightlight]

 

So what is all of this prostate cancer treatment about??  Lots of too much information and possibly squeamish information below the spoiler tag.

 

awesome recap. i'm glad you came through it just fine. i've heard caths are super uncomfortable. glad it'll be out of you soon. 

also mom had an MRI on her breasts before surgery too. they (apparently) don't do them for most Stage 1, but mom's oncologist wanted it. that's when they discovered the abnormal tissues (not cancerous, just abnormal) in her left breast, which solidified her decision to have the double mastectomy. MRIs FTW.

[wildross]

awesome recap. i'm glad you came through it just fine. i've heard caths are super uncomfortable. glad it'll be out of you soon. 

also mom had an MRI on her breasts before surgery too. they (apparently) don't do them for most Stage 1, but mom's oncologist wanted it. that's when they discovered the abnormal tissues (not cancerous, just abnormal) in her left breast, which solidified her decision to have the double mastectomy. MRIs FTW.

The catheter is amazingly...just not really noticeable.  

[MasterOfCows]

Say that again when they take it out.  I've heard that is the worst part...
Well besides putting it in, but I'm assuming you were fairly out of it for that