At the back of my mind
January 11th 2009 23:47
Down to the Urology department at the hospital today. My original appointment for tomorrow got cancelled – there was some bereavement – and so somehow my appointment got brought forward, which was good.
Took my whanau with me (my wife, in other words), mostly for moral support, but also to ask questions, clarify things that I missed.
Saw yet another doctor (as you’d expect) but he was well-informed and friendly, and helpful. He had all my notes with him, and got me to ‘walk through’ the process so far so that we were ‘on the same page.’ (It’s cliché day; my clichés, not his.) Plenty of time to look at where things have been and what’s happened so far, so it was all very useful. Also useful to have confirmed again that it isn’t anything I’ve done that’s caused the water retention problems (and hence the wearing of the catheter). Nothing I can do can make my bladder stop working.
After the initial discussions, and some confirmatory consultation with his boss, he said there were two options: TORC or TURP. TORC is what I’ve already had done once – the trial removal of the catheter. He suggested that he put me on Hytrin for a few days beforehand and then see how we went with another removal. I said, but I’ve been on Hytrin for several years. This rather puzzled him. Did I mean for blood pressure? No, I said, for the prostate.
Seems like this wasn’t quite the norm, although Hytrin is definitely used for prostate enlargement problems.
Well, that only leaves the other option, he said, as another TORC would achieve nothing. Option number two therefore: TURP. I can’t remember what TURP actually stands for, but it means what I thought would be the only option: scraping out the inside of the prostate so that the urethra can get on and do its job, and relieve itself of wearing a catheter.
He explained how it’s done, but I didn’t ask him for too many details. I already know enough to keep me going. (Just checked: TURP means transurethral resection of the prostate – those who can cope with medical diagrams, have a look here. There are lots of references to it on the Net, but at the moment this is all I can take.)
Seemingly the urethra wall and the prostate’s exterior are virtually the same thing just below the bladder, which is why the surgeon doesn’t have to do any cutting of the urethra itself to achieve the job.
As for when the op is going to be done: I've been put on the 'urgent list' because they don't want to keep the catheter in longer than necessary (constant risk of infection) and because they can't do another trial of void (that more fancy name for TORC). Urgent may not mean tomorrow, but it will mean I'll be up for any cancellations, and should see the thing done in a couple of months at the outside.
At the moment I can’t actually imagine it being done to me. I was reading the TV review page in the latest NZ Listener on the way home. The writer was talking about a documentary in which someone went with the British soldiers to Afghanistan, as part of their tour of duty. They kept saying ‘they were putting that to the back of their mind’. Think that’s the attitude I’ll have to take with this as well!
Took my whanau with me (my wife, in other words), mostly for moral support, but also to ask questions, clarify things that I missed.
Saw yet another doctor (as you’d expect) but he was well-informed and friendly, and helpful. He had all my notes with him, and got me to ‘walk through’ the process so far so that we were ‘on the same page.’ (It’s cliché day; my clichés, not his.) Plenty of time to look at where things have been and what’s happened so far, so it was all very useful. Also useful to have confirmed again that it isn’t anything I’ve done that’s caused the water retention problems (and hence the wearing of the catheter). Nothing I can do can make my bladder stop working.
After the initial discussions, and some confirmatory consultation with his boss, he said there were two options: TORC or TURP. TORC is what I’ve already had done once – the trial removal of the catheter. He suggested that he put me on Hytrin for a few days beforehand and then see how we went with another removal. I said, but I’ve been on Hytrin for several years. This rather puzzled him. Did I mean for blood pressure? No, I said, for the prostate.
Seems like this wasn’t quite the norm, although Hytrin is definitely used for prostate enlargement problems.
Well, that only leaves the other option, he said, as another TORC would achieve nothing. Option number two therefore: TURP. I can’t remember what TURP actually stands for, but it means what I thought would be the only option: scraping out the inside of the prostate so that the urethra can get on and do its job, and relieve itself of wearing a catheter.
He explained how it’s done, but I didn’t ask him for too many details. I already know enough to keep me going. (Just checked: TURP means transurethral resection of the prostate – those who can cope with medical diagrams, have a look here. There are lots of references to it on the Net, but at the moment this is all I can take.)
Seemingly the urethra wall and the prostate’s exterior are virtually the same thing just below the bladder, which is why the surgeon doesn’t have to do any cutting of the urethra itself to achieve the job.
As for when the op is going to be done: I've been put on the 'urgent list' because they don't want to keep the catheter in longer than necessary (constant risk of infection) and because they can't do another trial of void (that more fancy name for TORC). Urgent may not mean tomorrow, but it will mean I'll be up for any cancellations, and should see the thing done in a couple of months at the outside.
At the moment I can’t actually imagine it being done to me. I was reading the TV review page in the latest NZ Listener on the way home. The writer was talking about a documentary in which someone went with the British soldiers to Afghanistan, as part of their tour of duty. They kept saying ‘they were putting that to the back of their mind’. Think that’s the attitude I’ll have to take with this as well!
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