Alright, let's start from the top of the morning today, right where the previous left off. The nurse on the morning shift realized that I had an ice pack, and it had been fully melted for a while. I didn't even know I had one! Probably why the pain started creeping up. Either way, she started swapping ice in, and it was heavenly. The main discomfort I was starting to have at this point was from my bowels...I was full of gas that I couldn't seem to get to come out, and some pretty solid fecal matter, and it was causing cramps...I think the pain/discomfort from that was more than I was getting from my penis...They had prescribed me Colace, but it caused me massive stomach pain (worse than when I had an ulcer), so I ordered some Miralax instead. It hadn't arrived before I went in, so that's probably part of why I got so backed up.
At about 8am (24 hours post surgery), Dr Karpman's main assistant came in to unwrap me and take out the catheter. It was every bit as horrible as I expected...but it was 3-4 seconds and the damn thing was out. Honestly the most painful part of the experience so far, but I have a really small pee-hole (urethral meatus for the med students out there), so your experience may be better. Either way, once it was out, it was out. She removed the drain next, and that was a piece of cake after the catheter. Superglued up the drain hole, and I was finally de-tubed. She showed that the penis was fully inflated, then dug around to find the release button and brought me down to 70%. It was all very uncomfortable, but I'm really glad she was moving confidently and not giving me a chance to react too much.
Dr. Karpman showed up a bit after that and gave me instructions. I'm to keep the wad of gauze in the support overnight to give my testes and scrotum some rest, but I'm to wear the support all week until our visit. He demonstrated how to pull down on the pump (gently, and from above the deflate button) and instructed me to do it every time I go to pee. He said the surgery went well, he implanted a 23" device, and when he initially inflated it, he heard some sounds that he usually associates with scar tissue or otherwise unstretched tissue. He said that I'll probably gain some girth over time now that he's stretched it. He also said I could probably expect some pain over the next few days as the local anesthetic wears off, but by Sunday things should be much better. Hot shower tomorrow, hot baths starting the day after.
Then it was my sole purpose to figure out how to pee, as my body had completely forgotten. I was full to the brim of IV fluid, I had a cup of tea and two bottles of water and couldn't get anything to happen. I was starting to panic a little, but eventually I got a few drops out. Then a short stream. Those first bits felt like lava, probably minor tearing from the cath. Once I got a stream going, it was like Niagara, and I felt MUCH better...the stinging went away too. My husband arrived and we were cleared to leave! Since getting home, I've used our bidet (which has a turbo jet feature) to break through the impacted bowels and clear things out, and I'm feeling SO MUCH BETTER. TMI, sure, but you're getting the full story here.
I'm currently on 600mg Ibuprofen and 500mg Acetaminophen, and it's keeping the pain at or below a 3 as long as nothing hits my dick. I'm saving the good stuff (hydrocodone + acetaminophen) for bedtime, because I can tell sleep is going to be tough. Used to be a side/belly sleeper. That's not happening with the boner I'll be sporting for the next week!
This pic was not long after the penis was unwrapped and the catheter removed:
- IMG_2740 (1).jpeg (308.98 KiB) Viewed 1035 times
More as the week goes on!