May 17 2018. Thursday

Mwah! Thanks!!!! I am, too. I needed my little wake up and emotional bottom. Though reading back logs I did see that some people poked a little fun at me.... ANN! LOL!

Actually, it made me chuckle - her line about if you found a back door in, then know we talk about you when you're not here! It was very sweet. Somebody also wanted to give me a kick in the ass. I forget who that was, but I liked that, too. Your comments made me feel wanted and a part of things. F*ck it, if I'm not "thin". I.AM.A.WORK.IN.PROGRESS.

Devon ... xoxoxoxo.

Surely, you know we CARE about you so much.

More xoxoxoxo.

Ann

157.2.

Well, this is it- the beginning of summer break for me. I'm thinking I have maybe one more year's para-ing in me. As much as I absolutely fell in love with the 10 year olds, I requested and received a transfer to the high school this upcoming August. My supervising spec. Ed teacher was a kindred spirit, and the resource room a safe haven, but the building atmosphere as a whole was toxic- full of "mean girl"-turned mean teachers who were supported and encouraged by a principal who was a bully. God help whoever happened to be (student or staff) on the **** list. I found it ironic, and very sad that the grownups who spouted a "bully free" environment modeled just the opposite- a very sad and dangerous lesson to teach-ie- that if you are in a position of power, you can do damn well as you please to whomever you please....Sucked the joy out of the experience.

On a happier note, had coffee with the Kurtbear and dogglett on the deck--Peace, joy and contentment are with me. And now,

Off to get the pry bar and other nefarious instruments of mayhem and destruction and deal with floor furring strips and carpet staples. Yeee-ha!

Oh, carbondated is there a more unnerving sound in the middle of the night than growling wild animals near you?? Glad your trash pandas didn't cause too much damage.

My scale is upstairs so no weight for a few more weeks. My feet and ankles are so swollen/fat, it's probably not a number I want to see.

Humiliating admission: So I am officially having incontinence problems post catheter removal. I don't even have to really go, but as soon as I start heading for the bathroom it's all over. This full body compression suit with hooks/eyes, zippers, shoulder straps, bandages held in the crotch area, 4 drain bulbs in the crotch to move out of the way, plus an extra abdominal binder is proving to be too much fiddling to get through when urgency strikes. I don't know what to do other than kegels. I've tried going before I have to go, but that doesn't seem to make a difference. Once the thought is in my head, the launch sequence has begun and I lose the race, which requires cleaning me up, changing my bandages, betadine-ing my groin/thigh incisions, getting all the way out of this incredibly tight suit, redressing and worst, asking a friend to put it in the washer.

Any ideas for strengthening those sphincters again or bringing back my bladder control?

Hopefully, Dave, our nurse will chime in.

I don't think your surgery made an structural changes in that area. I'm hoping that your body is just working overtime to get rid of extra fluid and surprising you with needing a sudden fluid release. I really think this will naturally resolve if it wasn't an issue before. It seems like it has been long enough that it wouldn't be a side effect of anesthesia (for example)

You might need a incontinence type pad for women (amazon search this) There will be pads that could be held in place by all your other things on you or maybe a diaper like one. Maybe get both and see what you prefer. Don't buy one meant for periods, you want one for urinary incontinence.

Ummmmm, silver lining to possibly wearing a diaper is that you won't have trouble finding one that fits. Don't buy any pills on amazon --- they won't work for you.

I was thinking my bladder sphincter got lazy or something and needs to wake up after not having to do anything for 8 days....

I've thought of the poise pads. I may have to cut them to go around the drains that exit in my crotch too. Getting on that now.

cutting might cause the pad itself to leak but I think bottom line is that you will have to experiment.

This must be beyond frustrating. One of those hard to predict issues that come up after PS.

x1000! Thanks, Shel!

Worked 10 hours today. Now I am home, thinking about your incontinence :)

Have you talked to your doctor's office about this? I'm thinking about the catheter, in particular. Maybe it caused an irritation (riffing on Liz's comment) but sometimes they also are an entry point for infection. Frequent, NEED TO GO NOW, urination can be a sign of UTI, I think. (Let's pause to remember that pharmacists don't diagnose.)

If you haven't already, give them a call. (The weekend is coming.) If they strongly suspect UTI, there is a possibility that they won't even have you come in to leave a sample. (My office, for example, has a protocol for this sort of thing. But, all bets are off for a surgical office and a recent surgical patient. I have no ideas what their concerns might be.)

Or, they will give you reassurance. Not a bad thing, either.

Calling the doctor is a good idea. Maybe I'm not the only one and he has ideas. I am on Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride 500mg 2x a day for as long as I have drains, which I thought would be something they'd me if I had a UTI. Does that sound right?