Can someone help me about life after AUS 800 implant?

Yay for surgery. It takes a while for everything to settle in but it will stop hurting. All will be ok. Now get used to squeezing the bulb. After a while you can probably do one handed. I think I will always feel the cuff on mine. Hard to sit on a hard surface. Good luck. It will get better and less painfull

Rodney
Reading all the posts
Looks like you had AUS in May - how’d it go ?
It also looks like you had it done 6 months after RP
I’m pretty much in same boat and curious on your outcome
Thanks

Hi,
I am so very glad you reached out. I have learned a lot on this journey, but one thing above all is that everyone's road although similar, seems to be different.
I'll try to give you a brief synopsis of my situation.
Prior to my RP, I had Laser Enucleation in January of 2020. At that point my prostate was 155 grams, and biopsy was negative. It took at least 6 months but my control came back to almost normal with very little to no leaking. I also had the ability to urinate again. I continued to have my PSA checked every 6 months with a low of 4.1 about 3 months after laser surgery until it reached 11.4 in August, 2023.
I think this is important to give you this background only because of the size of my prostate and for the relatively long duration that it was effecting my ability to control when I would urinate. The pivotal point for me is when I changed doctors - truly life altering.
Fast forward to my RP - October, 2023 My doctor told me that this would be difficult because of the size of my prostate and he was right. 3 months of PT with some very skilled people fell short to say the least. I was going through 8-10 full pads a day with ZERO control. About three months in they put me on a urinary clamp that is exactly what it sounds like. This was extremely uncomfortable but did allow me to function daily on some level. It could not be worn at night so I was back to 1-2 pads at night.
My doctor told me the same thing, I needed to heal for at least 6 months and allow my bladder and urethra to heal...It was the longest 6 months of my life. A clean PSA but I was limited in every part of my life.
My doctor, who was a complete Godsend, discussed my situation in a followup and we both decided the AUS was the right path for me because of the severity of my leakage that wasn't getting any better.
The surgery went well and the biggest thing is to let it heal and not be overactive in any way. This was very difficult for me because I am so active.
The six week wait time for activation seemed like another 6 months (back to the clamp). It was also awkward and somewhat uncomfortable as the device settled in to my body.
I will never forget the day I went in to have him activate the device, right after, he showed me how to use it and what to expect, made sure I could urinate and sent me and my wife on our two hour drive home. We made it all the way home and I cannot tell you what a huge win this was. two weeks later, I went for a swim in the neighbors pool, fishing with my two sons and even golfing again. It's been almost 4 moths and I have rejoined humanity.
I'm not sure what the future holds for me and my family, but I do know that I am in the very best hands with the team of doctors I am fortunate enough to have. and I would not have changed a thing with my care so far.
If there are any questions I can answer, please don't hesitate to reach out.
I wish you well and hope the very best for you.
Take care.

Thanks for the “trail” of leading up to AUS surgery.
I’m also in life limbo kinda hoping but kinda waiting if it does not improve.
Very depressing as I’m like you very active -fly airplanes etc
I did try the clamp and boy it hurts after a while.
If nothing improves January 8th will be 6 months.
May I ask where you had your AUS done ?
Smeems you want a VERY experienced surgeon
And thanks for replying ! Nobody except us who go thru this really know !

Of course,
My surgeons name is Marc Hodroff out of South Portland, Maine. Fore River Urology. He is simply AMAZING- the real deal. Please don't hesitate to keep me informed. I would be happy to provide my email and cellphone as well.
One of the most uniformed things I hear people say is "at least it was the slow growing kind of cancer...
I am a self-proclaimed wimp and know now that I can get through pretty much anything.
It will be ok, anything I can do, let me know

Thanks Rodney
This truly is life changing !
My biggest problem is standing up but if coarse we have to stand up and move around.
I’m glad everything went well and your back to living !
If you could send me your email as I could lose this thread and could still keep in touch.
I want to thank you for reaching out.

The same happened to me when standing.
my email - rodneyverrill@gmail.com
Take care and don't lose hope, I'm confident you will be able to get this taken care of and return to flying soon.

Thanks guys. I joined this site 6 months ago to get more information about incontinence. My Dr is at Mayo phx. He has suggested the AUS. I was feeling a little disappointed because many of the comments say it still leaks. It may not last forever. Other comments that made me hesitant. My LARP was Jan 2020(not done at Mayo). I have leaked since the catheter came out. I immediately started using a condom catheter. The only thing that saves me is that I can sleep without leaking. I have worn the CC every day for 5 years. The issue is that when you wear it you dont think about holding your pee. So I have not practiced a kegel in 5 years. I just decided that I should try that first. I need to find a specialist. I leak about 40oz a day. Impossible to wear pads.

I would love ask questions about your experience with AUS. My urologist is recommending this route for me. I will give some back. I'm 56 with a gleason 9 stage 4 prostate cancer. 2022 radical prostatectomy. To my surprise I had to get my sigmoid colon removed prior to radiation due to my diverticulitis being severe. I had 40 rounds IMRT radiation this when urgency started. 2yrs of Zytiga and 3 years Eligard added to recipe. Urgency got worst after 6 months. They said it would get better, never happened. 44 round Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Nope this didn't help. Urology ran more diagnostic test. Found out my bladder shrunk. Now two rounds botox to help stretch the to hold more volume and final recommendations AUS.

We’ve had a pretty similar journey. I’ve always been troubled with urge and stress incontinence since prostatectomy, radiation, ADT, etc. with periods of relief after Botox and AUS. Now six years after AUS insertion, it’s beginning to leak even more. It has never been perfect, but if I kept my bladder relatively empty, the AUS worked fine and I’m glad to have it. I see my urologist in a few weeks to consider replacing the AUS and follow up Botox. They have helped although not perfect. Best wishes.