Leakage after Prostate Cancer surgery: Concerned about travel and pads

With what you have going on now with incontinence, it Is unlikely to change in the next few weeks. He will have to carry pads or diapers, depending on what works Best for you.

You could get a clamp that you can use as long as you move it around every couple of hours. I use a Wiesner Client I got at Amazon for about $35 and it works quite well to stop the leaking. I Always wear it when I go to the gym or go out to dinner.

I too had RP surgery! I’m 4 months out! Understand what you are going thru! Here is what I have learned… I too started kegels but discovered I really wasn’t doing them effectively! I requested and received a referral for “male pelvic floor physical therapy” and was surprised at how my progress improved! I go twice a week, work on my on at home and have made steady progress although still leaking thus far. The other thing I discovered was an external catheter to wear with a leg bag when you travel or going to public events. It is a life saver. I also began to try a penis clamp( ouch - I know it sounds bad). But works pretty good! Hang in there and keep progressing!

Temporary incontinence is often present after prostatectomy and it slowly resolves over time. About 50% of men regain full continence by the end of 4th month and about 95% recovers by 12 mos. post surgery.

It is very good that you are doing Kegel exercises and perhaps you should add to that some pelvic floor exercises and some core exercises too.

You are really soooo early in your recovery that perhaps you should wait some time before you travel. If you decide to travel please make sure not to carry anything !!!! I can not stress this enough - your abdominal muscles are compromised and hernia can easily form if you do not take care of yourself. : (((

Regarding pads and diapers - use whatever is comfortable for you. My husband used both for the first 2-3 weeks (pads for day and diaper for night time) and his incontinence steadily improved until by month 4 he completely regained continence. Keep in mind that everybody is different and needs different time for recovery.

Wishing you all the best and very fast forward continence recovery .

@surftohealth88

Thanks for your reply. Right now I am using diaper with pads. I have to change pads 4 times a day. It gets wet during night time because I am in sleep. During the day time it leaks before I reach out to the bathroom. I am frustrated with leaking.

@eshan

I am so sorry that your surgeon did not explain that what you are experiencing is a normal part of recovery. : ((( Very rarely men have full continence immediately after surgery. My husband leaked at night and during the day also and slowly it got better and better and resolved completely. There is really no need to worry and panic at 2 weeks post op : ((((. Just do your exercises, if possible find a good PT place for extra help and to speed up recovery.

Also, try to find some time and go through old posts here - you will find a ton of information and also see that most members regained continence sooner or later.

It could be helpful to maybe measure amount of leaking by weighting your pads. You can buy small digital scale on Amazon (about $16) and weight every pad before you use it and than after and the difference in grams is actually amount in milliliters. Add all numbers in 24 hours and that is your daily amount of leaking. It will help you with noticing progress with time : ), and it will help you emotionally if this is really distressing for you.

The progress will be slow but steady and will have upward trend with occasional days of small relapses.

Also - did you get any instruction about diet ? Did they inform you that you should stay away from alcohol, coffee, spicy food etc etc ? Try not to drink too much liquid before bedtime and go to bathroom before your bladder is extra full.

I too had RP surgery! I’m 4 months out! Understand what you are going thru! Here is what I have learned… I too started kegels but discovered I really wasn’t doing them effectively! I requested and received a referral for “male pelvic floor physical therapy” and was surprised at how my progress improved! I go twice a week, work on my on at home and have made steady progress although still leaking thus far. The other thing I discovered was an external catheter to wear with a leg bag when you travel or going to public events. It is a life saver. I also began to try a penis clamp( ouch - I know it sounds bad). But works pretty good! Hang in there and keep progressing!

@surftohealth88

Thank you for your support and encouragement.
If you don't mind answering my question: How long it took your husband to resolve leaking issue ? I am still in my first week after catheter removal.
Yes, I did get instruction about diet.
My major issue is I have get up 4-5 times during the night, either for peeing or changing the pad. It is very difficult for me to go back to sleep at least for two hours.
One of the supporter told me that I should take "Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy" treatment. I am looking in to it.
Once again for your replies.