I'm back-with a neobladder

I was told to avoid milk of magnesia, citricel, as a first choice because diet and fluids were paramount, preferable over other approaches to handling the bowel thing (fruits, veggies, fiber, nuts, water, fish is so much easier to digest than steak...)

early on, daily servings of jello (2 or 3) worked just fine, were helpful....

just don't start the nuts and veggies too soon, wait awhile, then start with small portions...

use stool softeners early on, taper off as appropriate

I love dmartins way of putting it, drag your butt down the driveway,,but he is right about not over doing it..your body tells you when to stop, stop.. the bowel thing also is critical. Were you told to take milk of magnesia or citricel???Gotta keep it moving, and the walking helps with that to. Three weeks of, MOVE IT MOVE IT, (Madagascar) BORING, but it is what it is for now,, try to work with it. Glad to hear your home and doing okay!!
Ginger

I also had about 13 days in the hospital (was readmitted once). And also I was in very good shape before surgery, and was able to do nothing for awhile afterwards.

When first discharged I would get off the couch a few times a day and wander around the living room and hallway. Just taking a shower was a major accomplishment!!! Then after a day or so I would drag my butt to the end of the driveway. Then the next day I would set a goal to make it halfway down the block. Then to the end of the block, then around the block...

So just keep moving every day, DON'T OVER DO IT, and you'll be amazed at how quickly your body recovers, day by day.

And watch your diet for awhile. Keep eating easily digestible foods (just to be on the safe side). Avoid popcorn and string beans and stuff that are tough to digest...

Glad to hear you're back home.

Well you get an A+ FOR YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR, I LOVE IT...You are right on time with recovery, as boring as it is it will get better, I know from experience with my husbands surgery just Sept. 14th, that it seems very slow, he is 66, were 9 weeks out and he is back to work two weeks now...But,, the first few weeks just one half hour at Target and we were home bound . Following week we did walks, did one mile that week. After that it proceeded to be slow but to look at him now after loosing 30 pounds its truely amazing,, he has gone from lookin like he was 90 to looking 60 again, gained 18 pounds back. I agree, the first 4 weeks are sooooo boring, as you try to do things only to be thrown back to the couch, it takes so much effort while having the desire to just do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, and I of course remained in that mode to as I didn't want him to feel bad that I was on the move and he wasn't able. If your interested in how it proceeded for us I posted starting Sept. 16th and went on to describe how each week progressed, I think you will find it what you are now experiencing. under Gene Beane.
I bet in one week you will have a new story for us,let us know,,Ginger

Hello, octopus! The wonderful angels on this site told us to count the number of hours you were in surgery, and then count this as the number of months of recovery. Maybe that will let you know how much your body needs you to help heal!

My husband had a tube put in this weekend 'cause his kidney wasn't draining right, either, so he can relate. How much pain meds are you using at the present? Are your "innards" working yet? And if you're watching TV, you're doing pretty good! It took several weeks for my husband to even feel like a book or a program.

Hang in there, and let us know when you name your bladder.

Stephany in Iowa

Thanks for the update.

It sounds like you are probably right on time with recovery mode of the surgery.

Do as you are told not as you want and you will recover faster I would think!

Keep us posted on how you are doing.

hugs
just me pat