Post Inguinal Orchiectomy recovery times?

[rosewoodblues]

I am a bit embarrassed as I have lurked around for a while after May 5th (my diagnosis date) and today however, there you have it. I have had my right testicle removed and am waiting on the biopsy in short and have a question...

I was wondering what others have expreienced as a recovery time from surgery? I am on day 6 afterwards and though I can move around in the house and such I cannot do any lifting (I know that I am not supposed to) but the bigger thing is I can't walk that far without pain and exhaustion. I made it my futherest this morning, which was about a half block before I had to turn around and come back. Is this limited mobility and a (seems to me) long recovery time semi-normal? btw I have progressed a small amount of what I have gone through at kenhawkins.net if anyone is interested. It is more of a journalistic entity and finally a good use for a blog IMHO.

At any rate I will be here more often and though I am new to this I hope to help out as much as I can where we are all concerned.

peace and love,
ken;

[rjs]

Recovery time from the surgery can vary. How old are you and how active were you prior to surgery? This could have some effect how quickly your body recovers. I was fairly active prior to surgery (training for a triathlon) and found that it was slow going for a couple weeks after surgery. But as each day passed the discomfort subsided and I was feeling better. I would say the first week was the toughest with some excruciating pain when I tried to get up from lying down or sitting in certain positions.

DO BE CAREFUL not to lift or do heavy work. You don't want to cause any issues with the incision or a possible hernia. Exhaustion is probably to be expected for now, but with rest your energy should come back rather quickly. Keep walking as much as possible, that seems to be the recommendation most often passed along by everyone coming out of the oriechtomy.

Hang in there, you'll be back soon.

[rosewoodblues]

rjs,

thanks for the reply. I am 38 and was fairly active prior to the surgery, no triathalons though it is a great new goal to have! I think it is the pain more than anything that exhausts me as I bounce back really quickly and do not get winded or sweat during this. Just want to get an idea of others recovery times. I was hopeful that I could be more active than I am right now but it is encouraging to know that is seems to be about a week to recover enough to move around well.

I can get up and down ok now as well as get in and out of cars, walk for a distance, etc. Things like that.

thank you again,
ken;

[dadmo]

Ken:
You're only one week from a major operation. You're doing fine, as long as you see progress everyday I wouldn't worry. By the standard 6 weeks out you will be fine.

[Kev332]

Ken,

Are you on any pain medication? Just curious. I know they gave me percocets after my first surgery which helped. Like others have said, recovery time varies from person to person. I was back to work about a week after my surgery, but it was definitely a little uncomfortable. Having the incision so close to your waistline makes for difficult times. Keep going for walks and take your time,, take it slow.

Do you have a post op appointment to see your doctor?,, just to make sure things are healing right.

Take care,
-Kevin

[IowaBrian]

Hello and welcome
The first 3 days were a little sore after that it was a lot better, but i still got tired easy and I still do for some reason ( I am 4 weeks out ).
It was a pain to put socks on for the first 2 weeks but after that I was able to bend over without any real pain. I think the test is if you sneeze and it still really hurts you can expect to take it really easy so you don't cause and problems. My doctor really wanted me to get out and walk around the block after the first week to get thing moving again, nothing fast just a nice walk.
If you are still having a lot of problems give the doctor a call and talk to the nurse they are the best about telling you what you can expect since a lot of times they have been around longer then the doctors . Things will be fine in a couple day. Good Luck
Brian

[BREwing]

Ken,

While it took Kevin only a week to recover, I myself took about four weeks before I started feeling better. I used TONS of ice on the incision and that helped out a lot in dealing with the pain. It really does depend on the person when it comes to the recovery time. I myself had to have the RPLND surgery and I honestly think that I am recovering from that surgery MUCH BETTER than I did from the I/O!!!

Give yourself plenty of time to rest, relax, and recover and you’ll be fine!

Brian

[Dave40306]

I guess I was very fortunate when it came to recovering from my I/O. I was expecting something much worse and within a couple days I was very mobile and felling pretty good. I think I drove on day 4 (I wasn't supposed to) and by day 6, I was out doing a little light yard cleanup. Pain was never much of an issue after day 2-3.

So, it really does depend on each person. Take your time and try to enjoy relaxing for a while.

Dave

[cbuysse]

I had my I/O on 5/5 and still have a scrotal hematoma about the size of a peach. The pain got a lot better last week and now I have pain only when I sit for long periods of time. I still have pain at the incision site but not bad at all. My swelling was rare and my recovery time a bit longer than normal. Everybody is differant and let's face it some surgeons are probably better than others. My surgery was at 5:00 on a Friday and my room was right near the nurses station and I heard the Dr. say, " let's hurry and get this last one back my wife is out of town this weekend and I am going out." The Dr. is a fairly young guy about 35. So maybe he rushed through mine and I ended up with more bleeding etc. I am thankful it is gone and I am getting better, that is all that really matters.

[Scott]

No need to be embarrassed about waiting a bit to post, Ken, but I'm glad you finally did! I see you've been well welcomed, but let me join in. Welcome!

You'll be recovered before you know it.

[UK Mart]

I think the test is if you sneeze and it still really hurts you can expect to take it really easy so you don't cause and problems.

Ha! It took me about ten days before i could sneeze - i was dreading that moment because my sneezes have been known to cause injuries to others in the past(!)

As for putting on socks... I really identify with that too and found that by sitting on the stairs i could manage it more easily (but slowly)

In terms of overall healing, my plan was to wait about a week before getting too concerned however during that week I'd say that i was improving by about 10% each day.
It was two weeks before i could drive myself though...!

[rosewoodblues]

Thanks all! I guess I am doing better than I thought as I did drive myself 4 days after. though there was no sneeze test I did have a cough test however on day five that stung! I even had a pillow and pressure on the incision area.

thanks all for the input and I am doing much better today. Everyday it is getting easier. Today I go in for the follow up to get results of the biopsy....

on the road to recovery.

peace and love to all,
ken;

[IowaBrian]

Good luck with the follow up.
Brian

[rosewoodblues]

Thank you all for the words of support and encouragement. I have been busy updating the blog and all that jazz. I am as well working again, the joys of a software engineer able to work from home

at any rate about my follow up Thursday last. Well I am healing well enough but the results were not back. They went to the mayo clinic for a second opinion.
Though I am with the doctors on this one to make sure the diagnose correctly I (like others I'm sure) am a bit worried at the unknown. I did talk to the doctor for a while at any rate and his initial inspection when he removed the testicle and cord was that there was nothing in the cord itself and it appeared to be confined to inside the testicle. I took it as good news and that we caught it early on. My alpha and beta blockers where 450+ and 800+ respectively and I almost hit the floor when he told me the normal is <9. I still have a hard time believing such a low number for normalcy so I'll just chaulk it up to denial
Now I am waiting on a phone consultation to come hopefully by this Thursday as I told him I was fine with a phone call in lieu of going to the doctors office.

still waiting,
ken;

[rosewoodblues]

A verbal...

Hi all,

I got a voicemail verbal from my doctor on friday afternoon (after hours of course). In short it is nonseminomic in nature so he mentioned another doctor in Emory (Atlanta) as the next step. I am supposed to hear more today and then on to the next step in recovery. I am going to post over on Treatment and Surveilance Questions and reports as now I have a whole new set of questions and anxieties, go figure

peace and love,
ken;