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Incontinence update 3 1/2 months post Prostatectomy (RP)

Posted by surftohealth88 @surftohealth88, Dec 5 5:45pm

If anybody wonders how is Mr Surf doing in that department (and also as an encouragement for future RP patents) - his incontinence is almost resolved.

At this point the "amount" is 2 to 14 ml in 24 hours. So, his max is one tea-spoon in 24 hours lol, which, I am sure, would not even be noticed if it was not so diligently measured and recorded XP, since according to what I heard from "guy talk" some droplets are always "there" regardless of wiping and "shaking" XP - I have no practical knowledge about that phenomenon - so forgive me if I overheard those jokes wrongly.

He is skipping his Kegel's exercises ( naughty , naughty) and he did all of the exercises alone so far and still had great results.

So, if you have initial incontinence it does not mean that it will stay there forever. It will most probably steadily improve over just couple of months and than be gone.

Also, improvement does not happen in strait line but in sudden jumps (or better said dips ) and that I find very interesting. It would be, for example, 14 - 26 ml for 2 or 3 weeks and than "boooom"- all of the sudden (literary over night lol ) it is 2-14 !!! It was like that from the beginning - like R&D in "uro department" is working on debugging software and than - tadaaaaah - NEW AND IMPROVED shut off installed this morning ! Fascinating indeed : ).

Best wishes and hugssss to allll !!! < 3

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

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soli | @soli | Dec 12 1:58pm
In reply to @surftohealth88 "@soli I can definitely see how OAB symptoms can interfere with speed of recovery. I am..." + (show)
Profile picture for surftohealth88 @surftohealth88

@soli

I can definitely see how OAB symptoms can interfere with speed of recovery. I am happy to hear that my husband's progress gave you some comfort and I know that is is hard but try to keep in mind that good % of patients need up to a year to resolve incontinence problems.
I know that you are very diligent and organized person and very disciplined so I hope you will not mind me asking - do you weight your pads "before and after" and log incontinence amount ? My husband is doing that and it helped him notice a general trend which was encouraging to see.
I bought him tiny digital scale at Amazon and you just need to weight a pad in grams before you use it and than after you take it out. Deduct the initial weight of a dry pad from total and you will get information of how many grams of urine you did leak. One gram equals one ml . Also, weight every pad before use, don't assume that they are all equal in weight - they are not.

Wishing you speedy and fast forward complete resolution of incontinence !

PS: Do you use any OTC or real meds for help with OAB : ( ?

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@surftohealth88

Thanks @surftohealth88 for your suggestion. I have not been measuring the amount, but my PT last week recommended I do so. He showed me a small scale with brand name Taylor which I am sure is similar to what you are proposing. I do plan to get one so I can quantify the progression or regression: as the case my be occasionally,

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soli | @soli | Dec 12 2:10pm
In reply to @surftohealth88 "@soli I can definitely see how OAB symptoms can interfere with speed of recovery. I am..." + (show)
Profile picture for surftohealth88 @surftohealth88

@soli

I can definitely see how OAB symptoms can interfere with speed of recovery. I am happy to hear that my husband's progress gave you some comfort and I know that is is hard but try to keep in mind that good % of patients need up to a year to resolve incontinence problems.
I know that you are very diligent and organized person and very disciplined so I hope you will not mind me asking - do you weight your pads "before and after" and log incontinence amount ? My husband is doing that and it helped him notice a general trend which was encouraging to see.
I bought him tiny digital scale at Amazon and you just need to weight a pad in grams before you use it and than after you take it out. Deduct the initial weight of a dry pad from total and you will get information of how many grams of urine you did leak. One gram equals one ml . Also, weight every pad before use, don't assume that they are all equal in weight - they are not.

Wishing you speedy and fast forward complete resolution of incontinence !

PS: Do you use any OTC or real meds for help with OAB : ( ?

Jump to this post

@surftohealth88

As for OAB, I have a very long history where I have tried numerous meds, PTNS nerve stimulation, and even BOTOX injection, none of which worked. Recently, I asked my urologist to prescribe for me a med I have not tried: Gemtesa (vibegron). I tried it for only a week and stoped because I was concerned it might be causing retention. I don't think I have given it enough time to show if it will work or not, so I am considering resuming taking it.

But the OAB I had for over a decade prior to surgery was very manageable and did not in any way prevent me from doing anything I liked from family gatherings, to socilaizing with friends, to traveling around the globe to visiit interesting countries. But, the incontinence addition is something new that is concerning me very much at this time, but hopefully will improve over time: howerver long it takes.

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soli | @soli | Dec 13 9:20am

As an update, I started experimenting with the Lunderg incontinence clamp. I put it on for an hour or more to reman dry during certain activities which usually trigger stress incontinence such as Yoga poses or certain pelvic floor exercises. I was intially very sceptical about its fit, effectiveness, or comfort, but to my surprise so far so good. Clearly this is not a permanent solution, but could be very helpful to remain dry in certain cirumstances.

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surftohealth88 | @surftohealth88 | Dec 13 3:31pm
In reply to @soli "As an update, I started experimenting with the Lunderg incontinence clamp. I put it on for..." + (show)
Profile picture for soli @soli

As an update, I started experimenting with the Lunderg incontinence clamp. I put it on for an hour or more to reman dry during certain activities which usually trigger stress incontinence such as Yoga poses or certain pelvic floor exercises. I was intially very sceptical about its fit, effectiveness, or comfort, but to my surprise so far so good. Clearly this is not a permanent solution, but could be very helpful to remain dry in certain cirumstances.

Jump to this post

@soli

I agree - we should never shy of trying things and we never know what can help. We are all different both physiologically, anatomically and psychologically. We also know our body the best !
Patients on this forum found help with rowing and stair climbing by pure accident : ))) ! Nothing else gave them such fast and full recovery. For some other patients it might not be the case.
The most important ting is to never give up and in the meantime make life easier using whatever is available.
BTW - my husband also had more leaking when exercising pelvic floor but it improved over time little by little till it stopped. Bending forward to touch the floor caused squirting for example. He was not bothered with that since he always considered that a normal part of recovery. You are very, very early in your recovery path : ), I am sure that it all will resolve for you too.

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soli | @soli | Dec 13 4:51pm
In reply to @surftohealth88 "@soli I agree - we should never shy of trying things and we never know what..." + (show)
Profile picture for surftohealth88 @surftohealth88

@soli

I agree - we should never shy of trying things and we never know what can help. We are all different both physiologically, anatomically and psychologically. We also know our body the best !
Patients on this forum found help with rowing and stair climbing by pure accident : ))) ! Nothing else gave them such fast and full recovery. For some other patients it might not be the case.
The most important ting is to never give up and in the meantime make life easier using whatever is available.
BTW - my husband also had more leaking when exercising pelvic floor but it improved over time little by little till it stopped. Bending forward to touch the floor caused squirting for example. He was not bothered with that since he always considered that a normal part of recovery. You are very, very early in your recovery path : ), I am sure that it all will resolve for you too.

Jump to this post

@surftohealth88

Thanks for the great practical suggestions and encouragement. I have already started to incorporate stair climbing into my routine. I will be patient and remain hopeful it will get better over time.

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