A Strange And Personal Question

Posted by survivor5280 @survivor5280, 3 days ago

You know, in this forum, there are few things that are taboo to discuss because once you've had a dozen people fooling around in the southern hemisphere then how much humility is really left? 😂.

I've seen a pelvic floor therapist numerous times pre-op, while everything was working as normal - too normal, as because I'm on 5mg of tadalafil for a month pre-op I can say that things wake up when the wind blows, so there have been "reactions" lol. Part of this is "internal work" where they put a finger or two in your rectum and have you flex your pelvic floor to make sure you are engaging and, more importantly, releasing properly from all angles.

How does this work post-op when that's all that's keeping your bladder from draining? Do you wear a condom or something so that you don't empty your bladder when relaxing your pelvic floor? If I fast forward my sessions with her to post-op, I cannot imagine that I wouldn't simply pee all over her table and carpet if I relaxed my floor.

I didn't think to ask my pelvic floor doctor about this but I've been curious. In case I have issues, which with all my pre-op prep I hope not to, then I'd like to know what to expect.

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Wear a thick pad in your underwear if you leak during some of those exercises. I know I did. I think it was particularly bad when doing an exercise that required me to stand up and sit down while doing a kagel. This happens even after fully emptying your bladder, Urine builds up in the bladder much quicker than one would expect.

If you totally empty your bladder when doing them then maybe you need an artificial sphincter. There is a condom like aid you could get that empties like a catheter, don’t know the name, Someone in this form mentioned it so hopefully they will help.

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@jeffmarc

Wear a thick pad in your underwear if you leak during some of those exercises. I know I did. I think it was particularly bad when doing an exercise that required me to stand up and sit down while doing a kagel. This happens even after fully emptying your bladder, Urine builds up in the bladder much quicker than one would expect.

If you totally empty your bladder when doing them then maybe you need an artificial sphincter. There is a condom like aid you could get that empties like a catheter, don’t know the name, Someone in this form mentioned it so hopefully they will help.

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Fortunately a lot of what I did with my trainer and also my therapist was engaging the pelvic floor during stress, I think I'll be OK with that. I've probably done close to 1,000 various weighted exercises (squats, presses, lifts, etc - all with 30-50lb weights) while engaging the core and pelvic floor, I've even done lots of sitting and standing while engaging core and floor. I think I'm as ready as I can be, but you just never know until you have to prove it.

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Been there... done that.
My PT had a thick towel on the bed & just assumes that patients will leak on it. What else would they expect?
What she didn't expect was me peeing all over the floor as I got *off* the bed.
She wasn't fussed. "Oh yeah... the paper towels are over there".
I wiped it up & off I went. She didn't care. Another day at the office.

I'll be doing a repeat performance when my next surgeon does an assessment for an AUS.
Get on the bed, Pete. You sure? lol

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@peterj116

Been there... done that.
My PT had a thick towel on the bed & just assumes that patients will leak on it. What else would they expect?
What she didn't expect was me peeing all over the floor as I got *off* the bed.
She wasn't fussed. "Oh yeah... the paper towels are over there".
I wiped it up & off I went. She didn't care. Another day at the office.

I'll be doing a repeat performance when my next surgeon does an assessment for an AUS.
Get on the bed, Pete. You sure? lol

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Damn, it didn't even occur to me, my pelvic floor therapist always had a pad down beneath me - the same pads I purchased to put on my mattress for just in case. DUH! Thank you, that cleared it up.

For some reason it only resonated now because until now I thought it was just a sanitary thing - I don't want your balls on my table and the next guy has your balls on their balls 😂

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@survivor5280

Fortunately a lot of what I did with my trainer and also my therapist was engaging the pelvic floor during stress, I think I'll be OK with that. I've probably done close to 1,000 various weighted exercises (squats, presses, lifts, etc - all with 30-50lb weights) while engaging the core and pelvic floor, I've even done lots of sitting and standing while engaging core and floor. I think I'm as ready as I can be, but you just never know until you have to prove it.

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Jeez! You entering a Sphincter Olympics or something?🤣. Guess I’m either lucky or had a surgeon who was as good as HE said he was; I never did any of that before or after surgery.
I mean, a few Kegels sure but nothing like you guys have done. You really don’t know what you don’t know, eh?

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@heavyphil

Jeez! You entering a Sphincter Olympics or something?🤣. Guess I’m either lucky or had a surgeon who was as good as HE said he was; I never did any of that before or after surgery.
I mean, a few Kegels sure but nothing like you guys have done. You really don’t know what you don’t know, eh?

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LOL, I'm not the guy that hopes for the best, I'm the guy that does everything in his power to ensure the best. I had exactly two things in my control (and I'm a control freak) to impact this procedure: fitness level and pelvic floor. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I hammered those things like my life depended on it. In my mind if I could improve the chance of continence and erectile function by even 3% to 5% it was worth it.

I trust my surgeon and all of this may have been not needed (and my trainer cost me an extra $5K, so not cheap either), but I feel better that the tiny modicum of control I have was exerted and, at the very least, it cannot hurt.

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With your pelvic floor training and dedicated penile rehabilitation, the odds are high (90-95%) your bladder will be in your control before summer, and your erectile function will be where you want it.

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"and my trainer cost me an extra $5K"

Wow. Now I feel bad. I had 6 months of (failed) PT & it cost me nothing but my dignity.

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@peterj116

"and my trainer cost me an extra $5K"

Wow. Now I feel bad. I had 6 months of (failed) PT & it cost me nothing but my dignity.

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See Peter? You DO get what you pay for!!🤣. Sorry, couldn’t resist - that was a big fat pitch right down the middle….
BTW, how is it going on the bladder front anyway? Weren’t you referred to a specialist for an artificial sphincter?

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