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hlieberman1 avatar

Prostatectomy or Not

Prostate Cancer | Last Active: 3 days ago | Replies (25)
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@rickwoodvisuals Thanks Rick and everyone for their support and encouragement. My surgery was a nerve-sparing laparoscopic/robotic surgery and it is my understanding that the Cleveland Clinic surgeon who performed my operation is very experienced, so I am hoping for the best. Apparently it is a slow process.
My doctor recommended 10 Kegel's per hour during every waking hour. 10 waking hours is 100 Kegel's. Seems excessive. A book recommended by the Cleveland Clinic "Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer" by Dr. Patrick Walsh seems to be a very good reference and recommends standing while urinating and stopping stream for 5-10 seconds, repeating as often as possible. I'm curious what kind of exercises other RP patients are doing.

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Replies to "@rickwoodvisuals Thanks Rick and everyone for their support and encouragement. My surgery was a nerve-sparing laparoscopic/robotic..."
hlieberman1 | @hlieberman1 | 6 days ago

@jmhabo

Kegels are really important for a move beyond incontinence but that’s sees like a lot of Kegels your doc suggested. Stopping your pee mid stream helped me a lot too. When this recovery is over you’re going to be more aware of and familiar with the most intimate parts of the male anatomy the. you ever
thought possible.

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mlabus3 | @mlabus3 | 3 days ago

@ jmhabo

in my experience that seems like overkill. Ive had 2 Pelvic Floor therapists and neither had me doing more than 3 sets of 10 Kegels for 5-10 seconds each day and 3 sets of 10 for the 1 second Kegel.

I recommend finding a GOOD pelvic floor PTs and working with them to establish a program. While there is a lot of info online, i found each therapist had valuable insights. They are hard to find, and often booked weeks if not months in advance. I had to wait over 3 months to see a highly regarded one.

One thing inparticular - its very hard -at least for me - to isolate the pelvic floor muscles. it seems insignficant, but you get the hand of it with a little practice. a good PT will be able to help you. its hard not to engage your core and gluts when clenching the pelvic floor muscles.

PS stopping urine flow was a good practice for me, taught me what muscles to use.

its 5 months for me, and I am largely continent at this point. Still a few dribbles, but just one light pad a day, more for peace of mind than actual use.

Good luck!

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