10 months post radical prostatectomy

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I’ve been doing well with the incontinence it would take a pretty hard cough to leak and then I got cocky ( no pun intended) last week. Started taking that extra cup of coffee and 1 soda a day .Huge mistake to the point that clearing my throat makes me leak. Lesson learned .........

 

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@Johannes, at first the incontinence gets worse before it starts to get better from what I've been reading from other members that have had the same procedure. Don't lose hope, it should get better overtime.

 

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Thanks for the reminder guys. I juiced carrots and beets yesterday. On our walk in the evening I leaked the entire 45 minutes. Then I remembered my juice in the morning. It's amazing how careful we have to be, right?

 

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@Johannes Thanks for the update. Christmas eve will be 13 weeks / 3 months for me. I am using 3 pullups and 3 pads a day when I do not wear the Lunderg Confidence Clamp.

Do you remember around which week you started to see improvement? I have been stagnant for 8 weeks at 3 pullups and 3 pads for 5 weeks plus 4 pullups for the 3 weeks before.

 

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Thudson
Week 26-28 I saw a improvement.I was doing kegels in the beginning 3 sets of 30 3 times a day this made me leak even more. I was over working the floor muscle so I toned it down to 3 x 10 3 times a day and saw a great improvement there .
Find what works for you-You’ll get there

 

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Johannes, I've been reading about 3 x 10 3 times a day and I'm very confused.

Isn't 3 x 10 3 times a day the same as 10 kegels 9 times a day? Or is it 30 kegels 3 times a day?

I need to be sure I'm not overdoing it and would appreciate any clarification on how many times a day you do your kegels, and how many you do, for how many seconds, and how many seconds of rest you do between them.

I was doing 7-8 sets of 10 kegels @ 10 seconds each separated by 10 seconds of rest per day and read that was excessive. So now I'm doing four sets of 10 kegels @ 10 seconds each separated by 10 seconds of rest per day. I do them when I return from my 2 mile sunrise walk, then again at 1 PM, 6 PM and just before bed. (I don't do them before my walk as I understand that will "tire" the muscles and make me leak more while walking.)

Thanks for any insights you can provide!

 

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Hi so to clear this up ( I had to back and look at it several times lol)

This is what the PT suggested I do
3 sets of 30 = 90 times 3 a day = 270 reps

I’m now doing 3 sets of 10 = 30 3 times a day = 90

 

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Thanks! That's very helpful.

One thing that's frustrating is seeing so much conflicting information on how many kegels is the right amount since apparently your sphincter muscle needs some time to "recover" between exercises.

Some say that doing as little as your stream-interruption-and-hold technique is enough, and others are recommending as many as 90 a day as you are, and there is every level in-between recommended by someone. It would be nice if all the urologists could get together and come up with a universal blanket recommendation.

Meanwhile, I'm glad to have your information and appreciate your clarification.

 

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@convertedbarns I went to a pelvic floor physical therapist. She said each person is different. She has a probe (insert into anus) to measure the strength of the sphincter. Based on the strength or lack there of in my case, she cut me back to doing 10 five second and five relax exercise three times a day (total 30 per day). At the end of six weeks, she recommended that I stay at 7 second hold and 13 seconds relax - 20 seconds intervals are easier to track than 14 seconds.

 

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Hi everyone, I just joined the forum because I’m looking at a radical prostatectomy next month and the cancer doesn’t bother me, mentally, it’s the guaranteed incontinence I’ll be facing that horrifies me. I’ll keep checking here for encouragement since it’s going to be a fact of life for me. Thanks for listening.

 

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Hi Myvalk....I'm 8 months post op. If I drink a lot of fluid during the day, I need to wear a max pad. Other times it's just a shield... but I wear them 24/7. To be honest, I plan on wearing a pad/shield for the rest of my life. If it works out that I don't need to, I'll be happy. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. I look at it.... there are lots worse conditions that people suffer through. We are blessed.

 

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I'm 3 weeks post op. Had my catheter removed 12 days ago. Progress is slow, doing kegs but not sure on the correct technique. Noticing I have to not drink anything in the evenings. Anyone who has success please share your secrets or point me in the right direction. Thanks for the thread it helps to read what others are experiencing.

 

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Hmmm think I see a problem I'm having... new to the forum and 4 weeks from operation. Johannes you say

"I’m now doing 3 sets of 10 = 30 3 times a day = 90" is that 10 second hold? what about the other quick exercises I've read about?

 

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10 quick ones 3 seconds apart
10 long ones hold for 10 seconds ( remember to breath)
10 long ones ( breath) laying flat on my back and thrust my hips upward and hold for 5 seconds
I do this three times a day
Now it’s has been said many times that were all different- find what works for you

 

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Excellent! I tied them into my yoga postures that I stopped until the catheter was out... been noticing good at night and the morning after those exercises, but afternoons are real tough.. think I be over doing it... 9 different positions alternating between 10 to 15 quick ones and 10 to 20 second long ones..

Then periodically do some throughout the day..
Definitely need to be more defined since I may be over exercising the floor muscles this early in post op... and the fact that the afternoons are just dripping and false alarms.

 

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I've been thinking about when to start PT. My Urologist who performed the operation said we will discuss it after 3 months. I'm thinking that's 3 months with me potentially doing the wrong exercises. His comment was well it's a bit invasive. Doesn't seem that way to me, and in any case I would rather do things right... Thoughts?

 

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@RIrascal Prostatectomy is major surgery on the inside - basically we had a 1 inch by 1.5 inch by 2 inch cube removed from a very important area. (Along with seminal vessels and surrounding tissue.

I did not start PT until 4 months. I did start walking slowly at 4 weeks, but if I felt any pulling or pain, I slowed down and slow built up to 2 miles in 35 minutes over 10 weeks.

When I started pelvic floor physical therapist, I was told to reduce my kegels to 5 seconds hold and 5 second relax doing one set of 10 three times a day - a total of 30 per day. At the end of the six weekly sessions, I was told to do 7 seconds hold and 14 seconds relax
(20 second group easier to keep track) and still do a set of 10 three times a day (still just 30 per day).

The invasive part is a probe stuck ( baby pacifier ) into your anus to measure pressure followed by another probe ( think ballpark frank hotdog size ) for electrical stimulation of the muscle tissue. My first session was 1 hour (30 minutes talking what I was doing and how I was leaking) and the follow up session were 30 minutes.

Depending on how much you are leaking or not leaking, PT may not be for you. Many men have dramatic reduction in leakage at 8 to 12 weeks. I asked my PT at what point did she see most men - She said after 6 months.

 

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@thudson

@RIrascal Prostatectomy is major surgery on the inside - basically we had a 1 inch by 1.5 inch by 2 inch cube removed from a very important area. (Along with seminal vessels and surrounding tissue.

I did not start PT until 4 months. I did start walking slowly at 4 weeks, but if I felt any pulling or pain, I slowed down and slow built up to 2 miles in 35 minutes over 10 weeks.

When I started pelvic floor physical therapist, I was told to reduce my kegels to 5 seconds hold and 5 second relax doing one set of 10 three times a day - a total of 30 per day. At the end of the six weekly sessions, I was told to do 7 seconds hold and 14 seconds relax
(20 second group easier to keep track) and still do a set of 10 three times a day (still just 30 per day).

The invasive part is a probe stuck ( baby pacifier ) into your anus to measure pressure followed by another probe ( think ballpark frank hotdog size ) for electrical stimulation of the muscle tissue. My first session was 1 hour (30 minutes talking what I was doing and how I was leaking) and the follow up session were 30 minutes.

Depending on how much you are leaking or not leaking, PT may not be for you. Many men have dramatic reduction in leakage at 8 to 12 weeks. I asked my PT at what point did she see most men - She said after 6 months.

 

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Thank you... I'm coming up on 6 weeks. See my Urologist again at 11 weeks. So maybe I'm trying to get through this quicker, when patience is the answer. I have come to terms in some sense and decided the last couple of days to get back to some things in my life and just be prepared with diapers. Fill 3 a day. Seems bladder is started to work better at night and morning, afternoon not so good. Good news is no pain at all... which I think is why I'm a bit impatient... just don't know if I should go back to a lesser. I'm doing Morning 2 sets:
10 10 second hold, 10 second relax,
10 3 seconds hold, 3 seconds relax, then
another 10 10 second hold, 10 second relax
Then noon and night I do another set of
10 10 second hold, 10 second relax,

This site has been really helpful, in a lot of ways it's the reason I got out of the house.
thank you all!!!