www.incontinentsupport.org

Thanks all, surgery is after 7am tomorrow morning. I'll post later on how it all goes.

So It turns out I just joined another club yesterday. It's call the "I survived being dead" club. See, my "routine-ish" type of ongoing sphincterotomy was on the 26th, but I managed to contract vascular vascuilitis towards the end of the surgery. http://www.medicinenet.com/vasculitis/article.htm It turns out this is one of those hospital infections like staff that you can pick up by just being there.

It attached the arteries leading into my lungs and made my blood 02 levels drop. Shortly there after my heart began to beat slower and slower down to zero. They had to inject my with something called azathioprine, which I understand is really just an anti-inflammatory steroid. The doctors then had to perform cardiac chest compression for about 30 seconds to get the drug to start working and my heart came back online again.

I was completely out for the entire duration (and for them to finish up my surgery). I woke up feeling just normal in the critical care recovery section, but they kept me in there overnight for observations. Aside from getting absolutely no sleep last night thanks to the monitors, beeping, constantly being checked on, poked, prodded, etc, well; everything looked normal except for my usually high blood pressure and lower beats per minute.

Best part of all- I get to go back into work tomorrow. At least I'm feeling ok enough that I can.

As for the sphincterotomy its self- well it turns out my urologist said I didn't even need it to be done. He said both my external AND internal sphincters were both fully open. He did cut out and resection where I had the stricture blocking off my urethra, and also did another round of urethral stretching for good measure. But that was it really. I do have an indwelling catheter in place right now, and he wants me to remove it sometime tomorrow. There was a LOT of blood in my urine when I woke up, but that was completely normal and expected as per my other 4 surgeries.

It is extremely difficult for me to sit down right now (again as expected). I am using a perennial donut seat cushion, and once I'm seated I am actually ok. It's the getting up or down part that hurts bad. I am managing this pain quite well with my usual oxycodone though. The bleeding has already stopped and my urine is draining a clear yellow into a collection bag. I expect the bleeding to kick back in when I remove the catheter, then taper off again. If it goes as before, then I will also get periodic blood clots breaking loose from time to time. I will bleed for about 30 minutes after each one, but it will decrease in occurrences over the next month.

After on month, all bleeding should have stopped, and I will only be somewhat sore down there. This should go on for about one more month, then I should start feeling ok again. Somewhere in the second to third month I should know the actual and final result of this surgery and whether or not I will have any more straining. Personally I believe it will come back since he did not open my internal sphincter up any more (I think it was naturally open when he was doing the surgery so he was fooled into thinking it is ok when I personally feel it is not). Time will tell, but I sure hope I'm wrong. Well see....

Holy shit!

That's all I have to say.

"Welcome back to the world of the living!" I am glad you made it out ok; and I hope you're wrong and the doctor is right so that you can finally be free of your pain.

Brian, I'm sorry about your ordeal, and I'm relieved that you got through it. I wish you a swift recovery with the best possible final outcome.

W.

Brian,
All I can say is Wow, Im sorry you had to go through all of that. Im glad to hear that you are still open and they didn't have to cut on you. One question, is there going to be any lasting effects from your heart stopping. I hope and pray that you are all good now.

Wow, Brian!

Glad you are better.

--John

Brian,

Your saga of repeated sphicterotomies sounds like the biblical saga of Job.

I'm glad you made it through the latest operation in one piece. Let's hope it's the last one you need. You've had enough!

Thanks for all the wishes. My understanding of that infection is it's kind of like getting pneumonia. My chances to get it again are increased since I've had it once, but does not necessarily mean I ever will get it again.

My doctor did say if/when I ever do have another surgery then they can give me the same steroid that brought me back at the beginning of that surgery. This will stop it from happening again in the first place. They do not expect any other complications down the line either.

One real take away I'm hoping everyone else can get from my ordeal is that there are so many worse things that can happen to you, that not being able to stop from having wetting accidents and wearing diapers is really quite paltry in comparison. Not to down play it, but to hopefully get everyone to see how little of a problem being incontinent really is. Be happy with your diapers, because it could be worse.

Wow!

Add my relief and best wishes for your speedy recovery. Vascular infections during surgery? Whew! Thanks, also, for your report. I agree, incontinence, embarrassing as it is, must be among the lesser ailments humans face. And, welcome back. I hope your recovery will be uneventful.