Update 03/06/2024: After my surgery PSA level is now 0.0.  No further treatment will be needed.  


I had a RARP 16 days ago. Since I was diagnosed with PCa, several people have started conversations about going through the same thing and I know some here are facing it as well.  If there is anything you want to know about my experience I'll be glad to answer questions.  If you'd rather send questions in an IM that's fine too.  I'll give honest answers and won't sugar coat it.

ETA:  4 weeks post-op as of today 01/09
Released to normal exercise and lifting over 10 pounds "within reason"
PSA test scheduled for March. Doctor says he doesn't expect anything to come from it given how the surgery went.

Glad you're ok now.

Been there, done that, had the catheter.

Haven't had any surgery but had prostatitis start in July. I'm still dealing with the aftermath. Most days I feel pretty good but other days I feel like it's going to show it's head again. Doc says it can take a while to finally go away. I'm not on anything but tamsulosin now

Feel for you guys that have had surgery. I hated having a catheter for a week with a passion.

Thanks.  Still have a couple hurdles but the big ones are done.  I still need a 0% PSA level.  Everything went as well as it could so I'm grateful for that.




Yep, that part was no fun.  I've had mine out since 12/19.




Take care of yourself and I hope you get better soon.

Will you have to wear a Cone of Shame afterwards?

Not exactly, but not too far off.

Hoping for the best possible outcomes for you, OP.  I monitor this kind of thing because my BPH may go the same direction at some point. Thank you for being willing to share information.

Best wishes to you and those close to you.

Hate to sound stupid…. I’m 40 in 3 weeks, what the heck is the cone if shame…?

Thank you.  So far, so good.




Good thing you're keeping tabs on it.  The only way I found out I had an issue was my doctor suggested I have it checked since I was "nearly 50".  It was the last thing on my mind.

My urologist has been good to give me realistic expectations but there were still things that have been a surprise.  For one, I had a really hard time sleeping and I didn't expect that to be as bad as it was.  It's getting better thankfully but I'm still not where I'd like to be.

Elizabethan collar for dogs to keep them from licking their wounds to allow them to heal.

So then in this context it is simply a metaphor, you don’t literally have a cone to get it to work… straight were my mind went.

Damn, I love this place. LMAO

When you wait in the Emergency room for an hour and your bladders full and your kidneys start to scream and nothing's coming out a catheter is your friend.

OP can I ask what your Gleason score was and what all treatments you were offered ?
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a month ago with a Gleason six

Was the problem discovered from a PSA test?

I'm 49.  My PSA was 5.1 which didn't change after antibiotics so I moved on a biopsy.  The biopsy showed cancer in 8 of 12 samples with a Gleason score of 6.  That resulted in a surgical consult who ordered an MRI which showed a Gleason 7+.  They initially offered a consult for radiation but due to the long term effects I decided that a RARP was my best bet to get rid of the cancer

If I were 20 years older my choices would have been different.

Yes.  My primary care doctor suggested one in the spring.  I owe her a huge debt of gratitude.

Thanks for posting this

I’m 55, no histories in family but what is a RARP?

Robot assisted radical prostatectomy.

Damn. That sounds awful. Do things still work?

Good luck and a speedy recovery.

Glad your doing good

I’ve had my first run in with prostate problems starting at 25

No, they don't.  There is a chance they may never work again.  But typically, given my age, things start working again when the nerves begin to heal in 3-12 months.  If not on their own, there is Cialas and Viagra. Beyond that there are injections and implants, neither of which I'm interested in.

Why can't you sleep? Physical issues like urge incontinence/overactive bladder, or just can't turn your brain off after all the drugs?

Been there, done that (2012) at Cleveland Clinic. All good since then. Dr Eric Klein was outstanding, did the surgery manually.

I was gonna ask if you were gonna have to take up juicing.  Hope everything works out for you, OP.

I knew a cancer survivor in one of the units I cycled through, he had some of the biggest balls there even though he didn't have any.

Just had my 6 year 0.00 PSA, prayers you get your first one soon and many more after.

At first it was was soreness from the surgery and  not being able to get comfortable, then it was because of joint pain from being down so much in one stretch,  then I had to get up and piss 6 times a night after the catheter was removed.  Now I only get up 3 times or so but I still just don't sleep well for whatever reason.




Not to brag but my balls are yuuuge.  Apparently testicular swelling is a side effect of the surgery.



Congrats on the PSA level and tbe prayers are much appreciated.

How soon before you can pork your old lady?

That's the million dollar question.  3-12 months is the typical recovery time but thats no guarantee.

Hopefully you at least got to take a second honeymoon or something first and put a few in the bank.

We made lots of hay while the sun was shining.

Holy hell that would suck.  I feel bad for you brother.  I can't go 24 hours let alone 3-12 months.

Had that shit at like age 33, probably due to an infection they couldn't find.  Apparently you have to biopsy to really find a prostate infection.  I suffered for months and the drs thought it was overactive bladder because they could never find an infection.  They finally put me on antibiotics after like 8 months and i was pretty much back to normal after 6 weeks of antibiotics.

Absolutely great that you found it when you did,  did you have a symptoms before the psa scores.  

Thanks for sharing, it is certainly something I know little to nothing about, but fully recognize that it could be my circumstance tomorrow.

I thought

Remove
And
Reinstall
Penis

Yours sounds better.

You all are making me more worried.  I did the radioactive seed route last year.  My PSA went down but last check was up some.  I'm still not 0.

May we all live long enough to suffer OP's fate.  It's not if you get prostate cancer, it's do you live long enough to get prostate cancer?

I was offered removal, radiation, or active surveillance. Doctor told me if it were him he’d go with active surveillance for now.
Being 61 years old, if I live to the SSI index age of 83 it may be a problem before I kick the bucket. If I had the Gleason 7 or higher I would have went route you did.

No symptoms at all, apparently that is somewhat typical.

What does “RARP” stand for?
I had a radical prostatectomy on 6/6/23. I opted for the DaVinci robotic procedure which went well. I did have some bad complications due to sutures separating (bladder to urethra) and do not know the cause, whether it was my own doing by trying to get back to doing “ normal” activities too soon despite being given the go ahead by the urology nurse at my last appointment a week after having the catheter removed. Anyway, progress was good until a slowly increasing groin pain became too much to bear. Couldn’t walk or get up from a chair without excruciating pain. Wife called 911 and off to the local hospital we went. It was July 4th weekend. The ER at the local hospital had no urology specialists so it was a trying 24 hour wait in an ER bed with all the madness of a holiday weekend. The ER doc eventually connected with my 1st  urologist Dr and he said “get him a room in Concord” where my surgeon/support team was. Longer story longer, they got me into a room and began to try to figure out what was going on (they didn’t know about the sutures yet). CAT scans and MRIs all week  told them the story. The infections disease dept. was working to find the right antibiotic treatment for blood and urine infections I had developed. Catheter went right back in immediately and by week’s end they put in a PICC line in my bicep (peripherally inserted  central catheter) so my wife could administer their antibiotic concoction at home via 5 different syringes.  A visiting nurse trained my wife (bless her heart) to administer the meds in a strict sterile environment. The antibiotic did its job and I began feeling better but was very weak and still had the catheter in besides having to use a walker. 2 more weeks of catheter ahead but day by day I was getting stronger and went with a cane for walking.  Mind you, there were bi-weekly visits to the urology center to monitor progress. Finally, my surgeon decided I could have the catheter taken out again. Man what a relief!
I continued to build strength  and when I had my “2 month out” blood work done, my PSA was at zero. I just turned 74 this month. Summer of ‘23 was the summer of hell.

That's a pretty close description of the after effects..  After surgery I felt like Mike Tyson had been to work on my midsection then kicked me square in the dick for good measure.

You won't get a 0% PSA  level unless you have your prostate removed.  Best of luck to you.

Hoping you have optimal recovery. Would be great to get an update at 6-12 months post-op.
Prostate cancer killed my father. Not a good way to go. Really not ready to give up making whoopee yet but if the choice is ever that or slow, painful death that's really no choice at all.

Glad you got through your procedure and 2 week mark! Funny you mention the Mike Tyson thing but I had no pain whatsoever following the surgery. I did wonder if my balls would ever contract back to their normal size though!

The NP explaining that I'd need use a towel to make a "hammock" for my testicles to relieve swelling was cause for a good laugh at least. I just shook my head and told her that none of this was in the brochure.

I'm not sure how long until a thread goes to archives so I wanted to bump this since I'd like to post an update with my PSA level when I find out.  If anyone has any questions I'll be glad to answer them.

Hoping to hear good news