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Four Weeks Post Op: Enlarged Prostate Surgery - Bicycling!

Four weeks ago today I had Green Laser Enlarged Prostate Surgery. Yesterday, I went bicycling for the first time. The only reason I waited this long before cycling is the Nordic skiing this March has been grand ... the best Spring skiing in Years! My main reason for writing this post is to complete my blog series on enlarged prostate surgery, and let other men know this kind of procedure is nothing to fear. In fact, I wish I had recognized the warning signs and taken care of my prostate problem earlier. Please read my first post, and learn to recognize the signs of an enlarged prostate and also how to avoid the more severe (and potentially dangerous problems). You don't want to end up in an ambulance like me being taken to the emergency room.

However, this story ends well. My first bike ride was a "non issue" from a prostate perspective. I rode up the shore of Lake Superior and enjoyed almost two hours in the saddle without any pain or issues. Perhaps my behind was a touch sore, but then I have not biked since early November. Remember, I live in northern Minnesota where cycling gets rather tough during the Winter months! I could not haved asked for a nicer ride. Lake Superior was in her Winter ice breakup glory. The shades of blue and white were like something out of an artists paintbox. There was narry a breath of wind, and the sun warmed the temperature to 44F. It was exhilarating. 

In conclusion, while I cannot speak to the more serve prostate surgery which involves incisions, life has returned to normal only a few short weeks after Green Laser Enlarged Prostate Surgery. I've included two photos below from yesterdays ride, and links to the other posts in this series on how I dealt with an enlarged prostate.

I am now looking forward to my Upper Mississippi River - 30th Wedding Anniversary Tour! Check out my trip journal found upon the Crazy Guy of a Bike Portal. Our bike tour starts in mid May.

Posts in this Series:

Postate Problems and Nordic Skiing (trip by ambulance to the emergency room)

Prostate Problems and Nordic Ski Racing: Part 2 (compete with a catheter)

Post Op: 2 Days After Surgery (surgery ends up a bit more severe than expected)

Post Op: 1 Week Later - Nordic Skiing (23+ miles on the trails in one day!)

Post Op: 4 Weeks Later - Cycling (this post)

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Click to view either photo at full resolution

   

Review: Send to Kindle via Nordic Waterfall Skiing

Strange title?! I wanted to test Amazon's new service which allows any web site owner to send content to a Kindle. At the same time, here in northern Minnesota we have some of the best Spring snow conditions in years, which means excellent white water skiing! Thus, this post reviews both a favorite and little known favorite sport of mine, Nordic River Skiing ... and Amazon's new feature that allows a web site owners to easily (?) configure content to be sent to a Kindle. I wanted to include some interesting content for my Send to Kindle test ... thus Nordic River Skiing.

First the techie part, then on to river skiing. Amazon's instructions for web site owners may found via this web link. Upon reviewing the options, the process actually looks somewhat complex. Although a software nerd, I have to admit I don't pay much attention to CSS (cascading style sheets) and html formats for this blog. The Amazon template almost appears to be more trouble than it's worth in terms on setting up proper configurations and syntax.

The three screenshots that follow this paragraph were taken in succession on the Amazon Send to Kindle Setup Page. I decided to to ignore all the options and just clicked to obtain the code. In other words, I did zero configuring and just copied the standard code. Eureka it worked! You will need an Amazon account, but that requirement is obvious. You would not have a Kindle otherwise. In addition, you are able to send the finished product to Kindle software on other devices, not just an Amazon Kindle. Later you will see screenshot examples from my Nexus 10, the Kindle App.

If you would like to test the Send to Kindle service, you will find my Send to Kindle button at the very bottom of this post. Click and Try!

(click upon any image to view at full size)

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Oh yes, I promised some Nordic River Skiing as part of this post! While most of you are enjoying the first days of Spring, here in northern Minnesota, Winter is still very much in force. I enjoy skiing up rivers from Lake Superior. The frozen waterways provide trails into the back country wilderness which are impossible to reach (or at least very difficult) in the Summer. Here is how the sport of Nordic River Skiing works:

• Find Lake Superior (quite easy ... it's the largest lake in the world)
• Find a river (should not be to difficult)
• Ski up stream!

The only thing to remember is that the river current under the ice will be stronger on outside bends, and right under waterfalls. As long as you use a bit of common sense, your ski into the wilderness will be quite enjoyable! By this time in the Winter the ice is normally quite thick, and the river flow much reduced. Thus, on the one or two times I've broken through the ice in my life, only my feet and lower legs became wet.

It is truly unique experience to hear rapids gurgling underneathe your skis as you enjoy a workout. The final rush is when you head back downstream to the starting point of your journey. Remember those waterfalls you skied up? You now get to ski down a waterfall. It's a hoot. In addition, I saw zero people during my three hour ski ... just me and the wilderness!

In closing here are a few photos from yesterday's ski up the Lester River, including one taken at the top of a waterfall a few moments before my descent. In addition, I've included a screenshots from my Nexus 10 ... this blog post "sent to my Kindle".

(click upon any image to view at full size)

 
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And Kindle screenshots of this post from my Nexus 10!

   
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Send to Kindle

 

Nordic Skiing ist Wunderbar!

Went Nordic skiing over lunch. It was wunderbar! Don't believe me? Ask my skis!

(click to view the photo at full size).

 

One Week Post Op: Enlarged Prostate Surgery - Nordic Skiing!

Yesterday was Tour Duluth. If anyone had told me that I would be able to ski 37.5 kilometers (23+ miles) one week after getting out of the hospital after Green Laser enlarged prostate surgery,  I would have told them they were crazy. Even my doctor had warned me ... no lifting of anything over five pounds for the first week, and don't work out for a few weeks. While surgeries and recovery times will be different for everyone, yesterday's ski was actually my third time out this week. My first time on the trails was Wednesday afternoon. Apparently my wife and children actually had an active betting pool on when I would break doctor's orders and ski (see "a friendly bet" via my wife's blog)!

Quite frankly, I've been amazed with this process / surgery. Even though my own Green Laser surgery was a bit more severe, as it actually necessitated some cutting in additional to laser removal of some of my prostate, and this landed me in the hospital for an overnight stay (not the norm), the recovery has been very quick. Here are my own words (see earlier blog post) on the pain I experienced the first two days after getting out of the hospital:

"Right now I feel amazingly strong all things considered. I am taking some Tylenol for the pain, and have a burning sensation when I pass urine. Yesterday (post op day 1), the pain was more severe and accompanied by some mild nausea, but even this discomfort ended within ten minutes of going to the bathroom. This morning, the burning pain upon urination is much less severe. Pain of this nature is to be expected. Urine is acidic, and my urinary tract is inflamed right now."

Eight days later, there is just a minor sensation when I have to retreat to the bathroom! (not pain). I see my urologist this coming Thursday, and assuming a full bill of health, it may even be time to restart certain recreational activities with my wife. Everything seems to work!

I decided to blog about this medical procesure just BECAUSE it is so intensely personal for us guys. It seems to stike at what makes us a man. I personally learned that I was foolish in my thinking. One adjusts and moves on. While I realize that many men will have much harder ordeals, it's not worth playing around with one's health. When I started this series of blog posts, the road ahead was uncertain, and my initial problems were so severe such that I ended up in an ambulance being taken to the emergeny room. In closing, I offer thanks to my great medical care (Dr. Dean Tortorelis and staff). God and my family have also been a true blessing during this ordeal. 

You may also wish to learn about Dash for Dads. This event is held through the United States. Anyone can run or walk five kilometers! Support your Dad and learn about prostate cancer. Thankfully cancer was not in the cards for me, but given my Dad, my Uncle, and one of my brothers all have prostate cancer, this was a high probability. Given my genetic predisposition, I will have to watch out for this disease the rest of my life.

• Minneapolis: Dash for Dads (September 21, 2013)
• National network: ZeroProstateCancer.org

Post Update on March 16th: My urologist appointment went fine. Everything checks out well, and I am now just scheduled for a normal follow-up visit in three months. I've even restarted the "recreational activities".

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Posts in this series:

1. Postate Problems and Nordic Skiing (trip by ambulance to the emergency room)
2. Prostate Problems and Nordic Ski Racing: Part 2 (compete with a catheter)
3. Post Op: 2 Days After Surgery (surgery ends up a bit more severe than expected)
4. Post Op: 1 Week Later - Nordic Skiing! (this post)
5. Post Op: 4 Weeks Later - Cycling!

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(click to maximize either image: starting out ... 17k of 33.k complete)

 

Post Op - Day 2 After Enlarged Prostate Surgery ... a amateur athelete's story

Eight days ago I skied the American Birkebeiner ... 33.5 miles of kicking and gliding through the forests of northwestern Wisconsin ... now I'm resting after my enlarged prostate surgery which took place two days ago. My procedure used laser technology, and did not require an incision. You may read my earlier posts that describe my learning to deal with the events leading up to this surgery, including a trip by ambulance to the emergency room (part 1 | part 2). However, now my focus is on recovery. I have questions in my mind which any man might have:

• How much pain will I experience?
• Will my life return to normal ... hopefully a better normal?
• How long will it be before I am able to take long distance skis and bike tours?

Given my "Green Laser Surgery" also included actual cutting with a microscopic knife which is attached to the laser equipment, my body experienced more stress than might be typical from this procedure. Thus, my doctor decided to have me stay in the hospital overnight. While everyone's surgery will be different, here are my recollections of the event:

• Once they gave me a sedative, I did not even remember leaving the pre-op room to receive anesthesia. 
• Apparently I did talk with my doctor in post-op. I have zero recollection of any conversation.
• I vaguely remember feeling a extremely strong burning pain in my urinary tract while waking up in post op, and asking for additional pain medication. My next memory was being in the secondary post op room (i.e. the location where you continue to recover, and family may now visit you)
• I actually gained 6 pounds in the hospital ... all fluid. During my overnight stay I was hooked up and receiving intravenous fluids. This pumped the fluid level up in my body, and allowed the hospital staff to monitor how my new plumbing was working. Basically before I left the hospital the staff wanted to insure I had minimal bleeding, and was able to urinate on my own (i.e. catheter removed).

Basically, I lost 4 hours of my life. About 5 to 10 minutes after waking up in the second post-op room (not in the immediate post-op), my wife was allowed in to visit me.  In the days and weeks ahead I will blog about how fast I recover and am able to start serious physical training, both cross-country skiing (if any snow is left) and long distance bicycling. Right now I feel amazingly strong all things considered. I am taking some Tylenol for the pain, and have a burning sensation when I pass urine. Yesterday (post op day 1), the pain was more severe and accompanied by some mild nausea, but even this discomfort ended within ten minutes of going to the bathroom. This morning, the burning pain upon urination is much less severe. Pain of this nature is to be expected. Urine is acidic, and my urinary tract is inflamed right now. 

Overall given how I feel, I am very optimistic about the recovery process. My doctor does not want me doing to much ... I would like to ski soon! We'll see. However, I very much want to thank my urologist and surgeon, Dr. Dean Tortorelis. He gave me permission to include his name in this post. Throughout this procedure Dr. Tororelis has been fantastic in terms of his medical ability, but also insuring both my wife and I knew the benefits, possible risks and complications of Green Laser Surgery.

In closing, here is a photo taken by my wife prior to my going into surgery. I originally said no to the "photo op", but given my daughter had texted my wife Molly and asked for a photo so she could see her Dad ... how could I say "no" to Karen!

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Posts in this series:

1. Postate Problems and Nordic Skiing (trip by ambulance to the emergency room)
2. Prostate Problems and Nordic Ski Racing: Part 2 (competing with a catheter)
3. Post Op: 2 Days After Surgery (this post)
4. Post Op: 1 Week Later - Nordic Skiing! (amazing recovery)
5. Post Op: 4 Weeks Later - Cycling

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