PERFECT! I'm glad you made it

Not so fast. Please allow me to carp.

The dr. called me this a.m. and said he doesn't want to take the cath out now until Monday. So I went to see him anyway and he was insistent. He was so concerned, that's why he called me before the appointment. He's very concerned that, because I have a stricture in my urethra -- probably due to my lichen schlerosis -- he's afraid that if he takes it out too soon and I can't go on my own, the pressure will build up in my bladder and perforate it which is a very serious thing. Because it's the weekend, he won't be able to take it out until first thing Monday a.m. But he promises me he will take it out then for sure for sure as by then the bladder will have healed enough that the risk of perforation essentially is zero.

Now mind you, I had to postpone my hip surgery because my surgeon was bike riding and broke his wrist, and DH had to postpone his surgery because his surgeon was bike riding and broke his clavicle. I told this doc he is not to get a cold, the flu, go bike riding or anything else until Monday a.m. after he sees me. (Though his nurse assured me even if he wasn't there, she could take out the cath! Yay!)

And see I *knew* it. As I was doing the countdown the voice inside said, you know this isn't happening today, right? My biggest fear is with this stupid thing in, my risk of infection goes up, my risk of incontinence goes up. Plus the discomfort is awful. I feel like I have to pee *all the time*. If I'm very careful and very still in just the right position, I can get some relief. On top of it, I can't sit up straight as it puts pressure on the cath. So I have to slouch and I can't drive. On top of that, given my back issues and hip surgery the PT does *not* want me slouching. And I can't do PT or walk or anything because it's so darn irritated. So instead, I'm putting up with back and hip pain too.

And did I mention I've broken out in a rash on my face from the antibiotic I'm on? So now I have to change antibiotics, hope it works without side effects and take benadryl to get this rash calmed down. He's also keeping me on the bladder pain pill and adding another pill that's supposed to calm the urge to pee. And I hope I don't get any side effects from any of those!

The good news is they gave me a night bag so at least I should be able to lay flat at night and not have to get up every 90 min to empty it. I have only gotten about 3 hrs of sleep at most for the last 3 nights and I'm at the end of my rope... or I should say cath tube!! So Dr is so concerned for me -- he really is a sweetheart -- he will call me this afternoon to see how I'm doing and he will call me tomorrow too. Of course you and I both know that when he calls, I'll have finally fallen asleep and he will wake me!

But the one who is really suffering is poor DH as he has to put up with me for what will be one of the longest weekends ever! Hang tough sweetheart...I'll try not to be too Lucy Van Pelt...

Oh Annie…. excuse my French but that is ”effed” up! I am so so sorry. It’s like when you’re in the hospital and they tell you, you might be getting out in the afternoon and you don’t….😩

Bad news: my 2 polyps were cancerous. Good news: lowest grade noninvasive no follow up needed other than monitoring. Bad news: Still have catheter in. Good news: it comes out on Monday morning. Bad news: May have more surgeries like this in my future. I tell you, getting old is for the birds! My advice, don't do it!!

I came to read the avocado thread and saw yours. I am sorry to see your last post, Annie. The good news: future surgery is an option. Fingers crossed for no "issues" after Monday.

I am having surgery in May for bladder prolapse and vaginal vault prolapse. I had no idea the latter was even a thing until Monday when I saw the UroGYN. Anyway, when I first read "bladder" I thought yours might be a prolapse too.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, and many good nights of rest!

Oh Allison, so sorry to hear you need surgery. That does not sound like fun. I hope it all goes smoothly and that you have a quick and painless recovery!

Gosh, Annie, you've been through the wringer. I hope the weekend goes by very quickly for you and Monday will be a relief. Here's to some peace, healing and a positive frame of mind.

Thanks. Was your surgery robotic? Mine will be. Orchidrain is right - you really have been through the wringer lately!

No my surgery was not robotic...not as far as I know. I never really asked. I'll see him on Monday and can find out then.

Annie! what an ordeal! I’ve been following along with your cath saga, but what more could I say? Now this!! I wish you comfort this weekend, and some additional sleep which i hope comes with the larger bag.

And Allison, sorry to hear about your coming surgery too. I have heard about the uterine prolapse some time back when a friend had that surgery. Seems like maybe it went along with the bladder prolapse as well but my memory may be bad.

Oh gosh, Annie, I thought of you this morning, thinking you were going to be rid of that thing. So sorry for the bad news but happy for the good news.

I hear you about aging. Every day its some thing new gone wrong.

🫤

I'm sorry about your news. You know we'll be here for you

I'm so sorry to see this. Hang in there; hoping Monday comes soon.

Oh, what a disappointment to have to wear that thing until monday. I hope the larger bag gives you a great deal of relief. It does sound as if the cancer will be easily monitored, which is good news when cancer is involved. Slee Sleep well tonight (hopefully).

Aw you guys are the *best*!! So thankful for this space for me to carp and all the wonderful words of support and the caring people behind those words. I am so grateful for you all.

It's 4 am and just woke up now after *8 hours* of sleep! Yay!! The night bag is a blessing for sure. Being able to sleep through and being able to lay on the bed normally and change positions is a total game changer.

I'm actually with it enough now to realize how much worse this all could've been had those polyps been an aggressive sort and the misery I'd be facing with cancer treatments and all the risks, pain and suffering involved with that including losing the bladder entirely and having a bag for a lifetime! A few days of discomfort is nothing compared to that!

I had tried to rush to get this taken care of before the hip but it was too close to have both surgeries done. I'm now so glad I waited as, the 2nd polyp wasn't there in Dec. It had grown since and he said it was very small. So this way he got them both at once and hopefully I'll be clear now for some time to come. Amazing how things work out. My guardian angel has been *very* busy!!

One more day down, two days to go, and so the time line has changed but the countdown continues. I've got this!! :)

So glad you got a good night of sleep! Yes, this is a small inconvenience to what it could have been.

I'm following along....this is painful for us too. We want you to be on the mend. OK, Monday it is....and a night bag....ok....geez....😟 Just glad it wasn't worse.

Wow Annie.

I had a catheter taken out too soon after surgery and you definitely do not want to go through that. I couldn't pee and the nurse ignored me. It was horrible.

So glad you are finally getting some rest. Keep getting better.

patriciae

So I'm starting a new countdown. I'm at 40 hours to go...but then I remembered, with the switch to DST, it's actually only 39!! Yay!!!!

Nope. Can't do it. Too early to start a countdown as time has crawled since then.

But I'm taking the bull by the horns. With or without his approval this thing is coming out on Monday. He said he would have no problem with it then, but if he changes his mind, too bad. It's coming out. And if he changes his mind, I'm kicking him in the family jewels!! Grrrr!!!! He really is a sweetheart though...called me twice yesterday and again today and kept saying I'll see you Monday morning. His nurse said he's coming in just to take care of me on Monday before heading to the hospital to do surgery. How sweet is that!

But dagnabit!! It's coming out. Enough!!!

Wishing you the best!

I don't think you should let go of the countdown. You got this bull by the horns. You will get past certain point and you will be on the downhill slide. It will build momentum. You totally got this ❣️

If you don't want to, you don't have to. But you got this even if you don't want to. I can understand being there

When I had a hysterectomy they sent me home with a cath and night bag for a few days. Years later I had another surgery and they removed the cath at the hospital. I came home and couldn't urinate. I was in such pain I thought I would have to go to the ER. I finally was able to go on my own, but that scared me.

The next time I had surgery, I made sure that I was able to pee BEFORE I left the hospital.

I realized it was better to be safe than sorry.

Yes Annie, you've got this!! Best wishes for continued recovery.

Thank you PattiG. Maybe I should wait in the waitng room for awhile to make sure I can go on my own before I head home. His office is 30 min from home and so is the nearest ER....

My biggest concern is that I can't go...my 2nd biggest is that I can't control it....my 3rd is that this is just 'practice' for what's to come if I keep making cancerous polyps. But then again, I'm an expert at awfulizing and catastrophizing!

I'm guessing you have supplies just in case you experience any leaking. I purchased some small pads two months ago, already had pads for the bed since we had for dogs when they were sick.

I am like that too, Annie. It's sometimes hard to control our thoughts. If you start feeling anxious, use the 3-3-3 rule: look around and name 3 things you see, 3 things you hear, and move 3 parts of your body (ankle, fingers, arm). I started doing this, going slowly, recently and it seems to help a bit. Hoping it helps more as I do more. Then there is always focusing on my dog by petting and talking to her.

Annie, I’m following along. Allison, I like that 3-3-3 rule. Having a cat or dog helps. Just their presence helps.

I was going to put this in ”smiles” one of these days but it seems to fit here today

Yay! It's 8 o'clock! 24 hrs to go.... My theme for the day:

Thank you Allison and Michele. Living in the now and being present is certainly the best way to handle situations like this. Sounds like the 3-3-3 rule is a way of doing it. But I'm finding it very hard to stay present...I need to focus on breathing. Maybe I can try to head down to the pondio with the kitties, maybe even sit for awhile by the waterfall. That is always soothing.

So sorry to read through your ordeal which was bad enough until I caught up to Friday only to discover that you have to wait until Monday for relief. That's awful that they didn't provide the larger bad from the start. You have been a trooper all week!

And that is good news that the polyps were low grade non-invasive.

And at least with the clocks changing that's one less hour you have to deal with - yeah, I know, that's a really feeble attempt to help.

Hope you have an early appointment tomorrow.

Thanks maire...yes my apptmt is at 8am...but I'll be there earlier for sure!!

I hope all goes well with you tomorrow. I'm like you, always fearing the worse case. I'm frankly sick of my bad back pain over the last two weeks after my fall. I read you can have psychological damage from a scary event like a bad fall. I have enough anxiety to not need more. Getting old sucks!

Sorry to hear about your back pain, lily. Yes I think we can have ptsd from the various things that happen to us including falls and illnesses. I hope you get whatever help you need to get better.

12 Hours to go!!!

The tube will come out tomorrow! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow it'll be gone!

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love you! Tomorrow!...

Under 3 hours now!!

Less than 90 min away. My new theme song for the day will be

Down to 60 minutes - we'll all be thinking of you this morning.

Free at Last!! Quick process to get it removed...nurse did it right away, thank you!! And I told the dr to make sure they send patients home with both leg and overnight bags! He said they're supposed to, but with the high turnover in nurses, some aren't with the protocol, but he said he will reinforce it with the staff at the hospital. I said, if I knew to ask, I would've made sure, but I not only didn't know, but was still affected by the anesthesia at the time. Next time I'll know for sure.

He said I will need to come back in June to look for any new polyps and then there is a protocol for follow up if we find or don't find them. But he said, if he finds any more, since we now know what we're dealing with, he won't have to dig into the bladder wall for a biopsy, so needing a cath is much less likely. Yay!!

I asked about the stricture which is why I needed the cath in the first place and he said that he doesn't do that, but it would be a dermatologist, and he doesn't see a need to go there unless I am struggling in the future to go on my own.

I can't tell you what a relief getting that thing out is! I can sit up straight!! And to not have the urge to go *right now* *all the time* is fabulous! My friend's DH had bladder cancer and is on the bag for life now. I have a whole new sympathy for what he's going through. More power to him!

Thanks again for all your words of wisdom and support and for giving me a place to carp. I'm most grateful.

Happy for you Annie and I know you must be so grateful this has been a temporary situation. I cannot imagine.

I recall resisting the catheter when I was in the hospital last summer. Turns out I really did need it as I wasn’t able to ’go’ enough on my own and the nurse could tell I needed to be producing more. She was right. It wasn’t painful or bad in any way at all but necessary since I was unable to get out of bed for over 24 hours due to the surgery.

It’s really good news! I’m so glad

Hurrah! Glad to hear the good news.

Glad everything went smoothly, and you're feeling good!

I think you meant a urologist, not a dermatologist? Either way, I hope there are no more polyps in your future.

No, Allison, the urologist told me I need to see a dermatologist for any strictures...I guess it's more of a skin issue than a urology issue?

Glad the torture is over. Glad the situation with the bladder going forward sounds pretty simple. Whew! This is now history.

Yay!

OMG! Back to your "normal" is a relief. 👍

👍

I’m so glad for you that you are free of that ball and chain (bag and drain). You were a good sport about it.

Yay you!

Love the pun Petalique!