Negative Positive News

I submitted a sample to the urologist's office. Of course, this is a lot more fun than other samples you have to submit in your medical lifetime. It's a fun time of team-building in a marriage.

We fully expected it to be negative because we've made a point of flushing out the system, as it were. However, it was positive. It was nice of them even to test because I'm only 84 days removed from my surgery instead of the 90 that they require. Still, I didn't think it would matter because we really have made an effort to clean the pipes. I sure hope that the procedure "took" and I don't have to go under the clamps again.

I'm only blogging about this because of what the lab tech told me on the phone. She told me to come back in mid-late November. Her advice was "to be sure to ejaculate at least twice a day."

I hope that this isn't too much gutter talk for this blog. However, I think this should give just about any guy out there a chuckle. Amanda was surprised, but not inspired.

Day 18

I thought I'd post a quick update. I started walking again last Wednesday and that went so well that I tried jogging yesterday. That too went well, though I haven't pushed myself back to my former mileage yet. Both yesterday's and today's runs were good. I'm back to boxers. I'm not all itchy and chafey any more.

Once again I want to reiterate that this whole experience has not been too bad. Any man who forces his wife to get her tubes tied rather than go through this needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. This is especially true for any man who has any thoughts of obeying Ephesians 5:25-31.

Day 4 - Afternoon

I think this is going to be my last entry with this tag for a while. There isn't anything exciting to report. Everything feels really good. I'm still trying to take it easy, but it feels good. No ice or Motrin required.

I'm going to resist the temptation to mow the lawn for a couple of days though. I may do a milk run to Sam's Club later though.

I'll probably post when I can start jogging again. I don't plan to do any fast walking until Friday. If all goes well over the weekend with walking I may try running again next Monday.

Day 4 - Morning

Put the jock back on last night before bed and am still wearing it. It seems to make a difference. I haven't taken any Motrin this morning and am doing fine. I get a little twinge here and there, but nothing major. I think I'm over the worst of it.

Now the key will be remembering to take it easy.

Day 3 - Evening

I just put Lily to bed and things are going pretty well. There is some sort of "sting" down there. It's like I can feel the tubes healing from where they were cut. The general soreness seems to have gone for the most part. Ice helps, but not as much as it did at first. It's a different kind of pain now. I plan to take some Motrin before bed.

Going to church may have been a mistake. I haven't been quite as sedentary as I planned today, but I haven't been wrestling with the kids either. I'm glad I get to work from home tomorrow. I hope that the soreness will have gone down by the end of the day tomorrow so that it will be pretty painless in the office on Tuesday.

I am very glad for the briefs that we bought.

Day 3 - Morning

I was a little sore when I woke up this morning, but nothing terrible. I took some Motrin and did my morning quiet time with the ice pack on. I sat at my computer for about 90 minutes while doing some work and it wasn't bad. I've since shaved and showered which makes a world of difference in how I feel.

I've decided I'm going to go to church today. Hopefully this isn't the stupid thing that will set me back several days in my recovery.

I plan to resume normal blogging when this is all behind me. Forgive this series, but I wanted it to be out there for other guys who may be going through this. I know that I appreciated the online journals of men who have blazed this trail before.

Day 2 - Night

It's been a good day. The most strenuous thing I did was work with Lily to water the tomato plants. She did most of the work. All I had to do was turn the water on and off and recoil the hose.

The second most strenuous thing I did was fry the quesadillas for dinner. I started to work on sundaes, but Amanda heard me grunting a bit and sent me to the living room. The ice packs have been my friends.

I got a lot of reading done today. The only pain med I've used has been Motrin. I hope for another smooth day tomorrow. I may even get crazy and take a shower. I wouldn't mind shedding this jock in favor of the briefs Amanda got me.

So far, so good. As long as I don't do anything stupid tomorrow I think I'll be good for the office on Tuesday. I'm not looking forward to the hair growing back in. I'm looking forward to it being back, but not the process of growing hair back on a place that has a zillion nerves in it.

Day 2 - Quick Thought

There is a sort of subtle line early in the movie "Stripes." As Bill Murray's character is loading luggage into his cab he does something that makes him say, "Oh, my balls! Oh, my balls..."

I just keep thinking about that...

Day 2 - Morning

Things have gone pretty well so far. I woke up with a little bit of a percocet hangover and slept in a bit (5:15). I got up and did my morning reading and checked my email. I caught up on some blogs that I hadn't read yesterday. I've finished my Greek vocab for the day. It's been a productive couple of hours

I'm trying to get by with just ibuprofen rather than taking any more percocet. I want to be lucid in my convalescence. I had stopped icing at around 7:00, but have since decided that 45 minutes is too long without ice. It doesn't exactly hurt, but it is uncomfortable. It's mostly kind of a dull ache. I also am now getting a better feel for where the internal incisions are. I can feel a little bit of stinging in there. Still, it's nothing too unbearable. I could comfortably sit and read, which is what I wanted.

I'm hoping to get through at least one class lecture this weekend, if not two. I have some more reading to do first though. It would be great if I could have my class done by the end of next week.

Day 1

Today is day 1 for a couple of things. First, I am now officially no longer a part of Setting Captives Free. I am leaving on good terms with the leadership. My attitude is such that right now I just cannot submit to their authority the way I should. I think some spiritual pride is creeping in from my studies. What I'm trying to decide is where pride ends and discernment begins.

Today is also day 1 of me no longer being able to sow seed. I want to chronicle what the experience has been like. I took a good hard run this morning as I know I won't be able to run for a couple of weeks. The first real challenge of the day came in the shower. I have a newfound respect for male porn stars as shaving that area is not trivial. Plus, it feels really weird to walk around as it really itches. That was before the surgery.

I had a very rushed pre-op hour. I stopped at Chick Fil-A to grab food, ran home, took my valium, changed into shorts, and met Tiffany and Brenna to swap vehicles. Amanda and I went to the doctor's office. I don't think I had to wait 5 minutes before I got called back. I took off my clothes from the waist down, wrapped a sheet around me, and walked to the room. The nurse washed me down with betadyne, which was very ticklish and cold. After a few minutes the doctor came in.

I'd say the most unpleasant part of the whole procedure was getting the 3 shots of novacaine. It was very weird as he sort of pushed around down there to make sure that the novacaine worked its way around the "works." The procedure itself did not hurt. In fact, I don't think I even felt any tugging. We were back in the car by around 1:30, which is pretty good considering we got to the office at 12:45.

Amanda got me a shake at Chick Fil-A like she gets a treat for Lily when she is brave at the doctor. We got home and I went upstairs to bed with my ice pack. I took a couple of percocet and had a nice nap. We watched Star Wars Episode I as a family and now I'm down here blogging. I figure it's about time for more percocet and bed.

I feel kind of a dull ache right now and I hope the percocet will help with that. I'm pretty sure it will help me to sleep. I plan to take it real easy tomorrow and Sunday too. I'll keep blogging abou the recovery experience.