Details of last week's TRUS prostate biopsy

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(Hey , lidocaine is the only painkiller I had too, but it worked wonderfully, as it also did for my cystoscopy!)One

week later update: The antibiotic and painkiller prescribed by my

urologist (Ciprofloxacin and Celebrex) ran out last nite, so today I

switched back to ibuprofen for aches and pains, also resuming my

calcium supplements for osteoporosis.The first two or three

drops of my urine continue to be bloody but then the stream fast

turns to slightly rusty yellow, which is what my uro predicted. He

also suggested I delay ejaculating for a week or more, to allow time for my prostate to heal.I need to reword how it felt

when he was injected the lidocaine into my prostate. I first reported

that it was like a dentist injecting that painkiller into your jaw in

preparation for a dental procedure. Clearly, it was not painful like

that, but rather an odd intense feeling in the prostate's sexual nerves

(discomfort is too strong a word) that passed in a few seconds, when I

was soon very relaxed even though he started immediately firing the 10

biopsy needles into my prostate.My

uro wants to see me next Tuesday, which I suppose means he has my

biopsy report back in hand to discuss. Damn him for making me wonder and worry

all that time!BigCrix on Yahoo messenger----------------------------For my biopsy I did not have any pain medication other than the lidocain gel to provide a very localized anesthetic effect. The uro had me lie on a table, on my side, and face the wall as he prepared the "gun". He had a nurse in the room with us and as he bagan to collect the samples he handed each one to her for close examination and sorting into the vessels for transportation to the lab. He said he was going to collect 16 samples. Of course, each time the gun went off I registered the count. When we got to 12 he asked the nurse how many samples she had. I blurted out, "12", but she responded, "9". I protested but she said that not all of the samples were suitable based on her scrutiny and only 9 samples were viable. The doctor had to collect 22 samples to get 16 keepers. After the collection process I asked about any limitations and he

said to take it easy that night (I had the procedure at about 4:00 pm) and return to normal activities the next day. I went to work the next morning, no problem, but then went for a 15 mile bike ride after work. The bike ride was a mistake. It hurt every time I hit a seam in the pavement and I am sure it contribued to a greater than normal flow of blood into my urine stream and ejaculate. When I went back to see him about my results (Yeah, PC diagnosis with 2 positive samples and a Gleason of 7...3+4) I mentioned my bike ride and he looked at me as though I was crazy. I reminded him that he said it was ok to return to normal activities the day after the biopsy and he laughed good naturedly and said he thought it so obvious that no one would ride a bike after the biopsy that he never mentioned it. End result (hope it's the end) is that I had a nerve sparing RP at Northwestern Medical

Cener in Chicago with Dr. Nadler at the controls of the DaVinci in September 2007. Great results with which I am very pleased. I regained complete bladder control within two weeks of the catheter removal. I went over three months with no erections but did participate in an agressive rehab program under Dr. Nadler's care and instruction. Limited functionality returned at the fourth month out and improved pretty rapidly from there. I will go back for my one year checkup in September and am very nearly back to where I was pre-surgery. I am very satisfied with my progress and current condition and consider myself very fortunate. I also give mega props to the nurses who introduced me to kegals several months BEFORE the surgery. I did lots of kegals every day for about 3 months before having surgery which really helped both my bladder control and, in my mind anyway, return to

sexual functioning. I still do at least one set of kegals every day and sometimes two sets. I can complete a set of 20 winks, 20 squeeze and holds and 20 more winks in less than 5 minutes. Gives me something constructive to do in meetings. Best regards.From: B <bigcrixyahoo (DOT) com>Subject: [ProstateCancerSupp ort] Details of today's TRUS prostate biopsy (thank God for painkillers! )To: malemedicalproblems @yahoogroups. com, malemedicalproblems @googlegroups. com, ProstateCancerSuppo rtyahoogroups (DOT) comDate: Wednesday, July 30, 2008, 4:51 PM Of the 3 invasive tests I’ve had the last 15 months, today’s TRUS biopsy was the most stressful (over which I’d lost the most sleep). Both the colonoscopy and cystoscopy were far more tolerable than I could possibly have dreamed, generally agreeing with st reports I’d read on various web sites.But researching the prostate biopsy had turned up mixed results, with one prostate cancer site’s description of each biopsy needle as feeling like a hard kick in the ass each time the biopsy gun

fired. Fearing those “kicks” I’d refused to sign the consent until my uro explained what pain meds he’d first give me (lidocaine gel in the rectum and then long injections of same into the base of the prostate, with the pain being about the same as that for the pain shots my dentist gives before any serious dental work). A few minutes after the lidocaine shots, I felt no more

pain and relaxed.Urologists stretch the truth when they describe the ultrasound probe as being the size of a finger, it’s more like the Jolly Green Giant’s finger! See the photo attached (also posted in our Yahoo group PHOTOS in the !Prostate Biopsy! album). My uro took 5 biopsies from each lobe of the prostate, for a total of 10. I heard each “pop” but felt no pain, except each felt like something hot was shooting out of my penis. Nothing painful at all, but I’ll bet it would have hurt like hell without those lidocaine injections.When I arrived home, my pee was slightly red colored with bood, which the doc said would be the case (also my stool and ejaculate) for a few days up to a month or two. Now I'll see if my balls and my prostate start aching, which usually is the case for a few days.Stay tuned.BigCrix on Yahoo

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