How long after catheter removal did you start Kegels?

Congrsts on your progress. I also did Kegels for six weeks before surgery, which is why I had expected at least some control. I hope they will help once I restart them.

Don't let that discourage you. You don't know that your six weeks of kegels isn't what may make your recovery now faster. I read about folks on here that are incontinent years later, but that is the minority of men. 95% of men recover from that within 18 months and 85% of men have it after RARP and the majority of men recover from it within 4 months.

I hammered mine for 5 months very intensely - not simply kegels but kegels incorporated into every lower body workout movement I made until my pelvic floor was so worn out that it wouldn't work anymore that day. I totally credit that with my lack of issues afterwards, but I was fortunate enough to have a personal trainer in addition to my pelvic floor therapist - both of whom were experts in pelvic floors.

Things will hopefully improve over time. Your kegels may make 18 months more like a few weeks or a couple months.

Thank you! I do hope it improves fast.. I assume that the two weeks with a catheter weakend the muscles further. I have my first PT appointment Monday. I did not see one before surgery.

I kind of let bleeding be my guide. Once cath was out I went for easy walks with the first one being a mile 4 days after removal. I was up to 3 miles within a week after that. On my bicycle 4.5 weeks after cath removed.

Don't get discouraged! Like you, I did my Kegles religiously six weeks prior to RARP, was in excellent shape, was having the procedure performed at a center of excellence by a nationally recognized surgeon...yet was almost completely incontinent when the catheter came and for weeks thereafter. However, twelve weeks now since surgery and I have seen significant improvement. As others have mentioned, listen to your health care providers, seriously consider a pelvic floor therapist, pick up a book or two on incontinence...and again, don't get discouraged. As the numbers support, most guys, no matter how incontinent immediately after surgery, ultimately regain continence.

I started Kegel’s immediately. And did you all know: there is a sub-specialty in Physical Therapy, called “Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy” (PFPT)? I worked in health care 40 years and had never heard of it. It is for guys like us, and post-pregnancy new mothers, and a lot of women who just “leak” all the time.
Frustrated with the utter lack of progress with my Kegel’s the first ~6 weeks post-catheter removal, I asked for PFPT once I had read about it.
The first thing my PFPT therapist said, is that most urologist’s Kegel instructions are only 50% correct. She said “don’t ever start your urine flow, then stop it, then resume, then start, etc. She said: “your BRAIN has told you it is time to urinate…LET IT HAPPEN UNABATED…don’t play the start/stop/start/stop game. You are “messing with your brain’s necessity and ability to control urination, and that game will train your brain NOT to send messages that it is time to urinate.” She said to practice Kegel’s when awakening in the morning before you get out of bed (do them laying down), and once at night when going to bed, again, laying down. If you can work-in a mid-afternoon set of Kegel’s then that would be good. There are specific breathing exercises that go with Kegel’s to ensure you are contracting and relaxing the pelvic floor muscles properly.
She also has me logging how much liquid (any form) that I consume in a 24 period, and relate that to the times and volumes that my brain signals me to urinate, and…if/when I have leakage (estimated volume S/M/L) and the time so she can track patterns of leakage after liquid consumption. She then set me up with exercises and frequency and goals/limitations/“how”/“when” to consume liquids. My worst pattern was morning when I drank 8oz of OJ and 6 oz water to take my vitamins, plus the 3-4 oz of Silk almond milk on my cereal. She said you should only consume a “max” of 8 oz of liquid at a time, no matter how the single or multiple sources add up. I also had to stop my somewhat habitual desire to pop a can of soda 2-3 times per day. So, I was consuming twice the morning volume that I should have, and it showed on my urination chart: heavy urination at 10:00 a.m., followed by exasperating “leakage” from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., made worse by consuming 12-24 oz of soda at lunch. I have since trained myself to try not to consume even one 12 oz soda at lunch…and no “refills”. I spread out my morning as well: 2-3 oz of Silk milk on my cereal, and 8-10 oz of OJ and water for vitamins two hours at 10:00. Again, my PFPT therapist basically said “no more than 8 oz (1 cup) of liquid in any form at any time.” She said to try to spread it out, so no more than 8 oz is consumed in any 2-hour period, better if you can stretch that out to 3-4 hours. And here is a big one:
Eliminate caffeine from your liquids, whether coffee or sodas. Caffeine is a bladder irritant, especially now “post-op,” My PFPT therapist said “your bladder is pissed off right now (no pun intended). Your bladder is angry and irritated, and caffeine makes it worse. Your bladder wants to get rid of it “asap”, so it will do what is necessary: more frequent calls to pee, or more perpetual leakage. I am fortunately mostly a decaf guy (sodas included). My therapist said that “once you regain your continence, your bladder will better-tolerate the reintroduction of caffeine over time.
Hope this helps.

Yes. I have had the testing for the AUS. My urologist is Mayo PHX. He recommended the AUS for lesser long term complications. I have many helpful suggestions on this site. It does appear that the AUS is not necessarily 100% leak proof. I wear a condom catheter all day and that is basically 100% leak proof but has a lot of application type issues. I just started PT at Mayo. I thought I would give that 6 months before I try another surgery that may bring further complications.

I cannot agree more with this post. I am so glad more guys are getting better treatment for incontinence. My urologist is great with surgery adn cancer etc but not so in the incontinence department. I was so lucky to find a pt who specializes in males with incontinent following RARP. In addition to the above (My pt only wanted me doing Kegels twice a day and low volume more attention to form) she also has me working on core training which engages surrounding muscle groups which make the pelvic floor muscles stronger and better .
I am five months out and am happy to notice some important progress most of which I attribute to my PT.

Yes indeed...per my own post here, I encourage every man to get his urologist to write an order for post-catheter removal "Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy" (PFPT). "Hopefully" you live in an area where there is an outpatient Physical Therapy department (likely affiliated with a nearby hospital), that has a specialist in PFPT. My PT has helped me view "how", "when", "what", and "frequency" of my liquid consumption each day.
One important thing that I mentioned in another post: I was making my own misery worse because I was wearing a "pad" inside my "diaper." I thought it was the more practical thing to do incase I "leaked"...I could slip into a bathroom while out on errands or in a restaurant, pull out the soaked pad and slip in a new one, without wetting my diaper. DON'T DO IT! I discovered that the mild to moderate discomfort of all of that extra bulk in my undershorts was causing my problems. The thick pad was pressing up on my perineum, which of course put pressure on my bladder. The very thing I did to prevent leaks while having a quick method to switch out pads when wet, was causing them to become wet. It was too "crowded" down there, and without adequate space, that pad pressed up on my perineum which compressed my bladder. "Stupid" of me. As soon as I reverted to "diaper only", it was phenomenally more comfortable, and my leakage was cut by 75%. Amazing. So now, I just carry a folded diaper in my pocket which is about the same size as a folded pad. "If" I leak in public to the point that I am uncomfortable, as before, I just go the bathroom, and go through the little bit more of a hassle to remove my shorts/pants to get the wet diaper off, and put on the fresh one. It is worth the inconvenience. And...I am more diligent about making sure that I really empty my bladder before I leave the house. I always did, but that also includes not drinking anything in the 1-2 hours before I leave the house, so that volume doesn't "want out" while I am out on errands or in a restaurant. We've all experienced it...the self-imposed embarrassment that we "think" is happening: you're standing at a party talking with someone, and all of the sudden you start to pee. No warning...just the sudden feeling of warm liquid spreading around your scrotum and penis. You imagine the worst: that "this time" it will start running down your leg because in that moment you decide that you can't trust your diaper to hold what has leaked from the pad. It was all I could do to not change my demeanor, and then wait for the right opportunity to give some excuse to excuse myself to find the bathroom to change that "pad" that I had stuffed in my "diaper" for extra protection. Again...my suggestion...don't do it. You will last longer with just the diaper on. Good luck.

have you tried the Tena pads? they come in various levels from an overnight maximum to a level one occasional..You can carry these in yo0ur pocket the overnight one supposedly holds enough for a full bladder