9 weeks post prostate surgery at 72 years old

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I can lay in bed, sit in chair for an hour or two without leaking. When > get up, i have to rush to pee. I do the kegel exercise 4 to 5 times a day, and once a week i visit the doctors office for stimulating the bladder. In week 7 out of a 12 week program. No improvement. When I'm up and around i just continue to leak, 6 pads a day. I don't wear a pad at night, but have to get up every 1.5 hrs to pee. Never get a nights sleep.
Help. Any suggestions?

 

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I am 13 months post surgery and I wear pull-ups pad or Mens liberty external cathaters(works very well with extra waterproof tape). Doctor has no suggestion other than penal clamp which is a No in public. I have become a hermit other than fishing with male friends Don’t trust anything to go to social gatherings church etc.

I hope you have better results than me. I had Kegel therapy, Uretal bulking but nothing works.

 

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I'm going to try the EMCELLA chair. Mine is in Boca at the Stay Dry Center. It's a 12 week program 3 times a week. Each visit gives 1400 kegals. They claim improvement in the first treatment. It cost $1800, and not covered by insurance. I have to finish with my doctor's program for another 6 weeks.

 

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Gkudisc, your progress sounds a lot like mine. I saw steady but slow progress for the first few months, and started feeling more normal around the 4th month post surgery. I'm now 5 months post surgery and leak anywhere from .5 to 2.5 ounces per day (one pad). Now, I have parts of the day when I feel pretty much normal.

I have a ways to go, but I'm hopeful. I strongly recommend that you weigh your pads and keep daily totals. Doing this I saw improvement in the daily totals even when it didn't seem like things were changing.

Keep up with the kegels...do lots of walking...be patient. Take care.

 

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Sounds promising please let us know your results. I am in Florida also.

 

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Just look up Stay Dry Center and ck it out. I dont know how to attach it to this site.

 

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Gkudisch/ Bustersday:
I'm sure you won't want to hear this but it sounds to me like what you both need is a regular tape-up style diaper instead of messing around with leaky pull-ups and pads. With the great products available today there's absolutely no reason to become a hermit. With the right product (checkout Northshore Care Supply) you would only have to change 2 or 3 times a day and would be well protected with virtually no chance of an embarrassing leak, even while sleeping! For sure it will take a while to get over the stigma of wearing a (OMG!) diaper but you will be amazed at how the right product will remove the anxiety/fear of having a leak in public.

Obviously this will do nothing to alleviate the real problem of leakage which you should continue to look for a solution with a qualified medical professional. But at least in the meantime you will have your life back to near normal. I have to wear a diaper 24/7 due to BPH and it doesn't stop me from doing everything I want. Yes, it takes a bit of pre-planning and having the right products on hand but it can work for you too.

Bustersday:
You mentioned that you have had good luck with Men's Liberty with added waterproof tape. I have tried Men's Liberty several times and tend to have problems with it leaking where it attaches. What brand of tape do you use and how do you wrap it? The only other issue I had with them is that the bag is so small that I found I was continually having to empty it, was this also your experience? I like the concept but I feel it needs much larger attachment pedals and a slightly larger collection bag to be really effective.

 

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I can lay in bed, sit in chair for an hour or two without leaking. When > get up, i have to rush to pee. I do the kegel exercise 4 to 5 times a day, and once a week i visit the doctors office for stimulating the bladder. In week 7 out of a 12 week program. No improvement. When I'm up and around i just continue to leak, 6 pads a day. I don't wear a pad at night, but have to get up every 1.5 hrs to pee. Never get a nights sleep.
Help. Any suggestions?

Hang in there. You're still recovering from major surgery. I'm 70 and post op 6 months. Around month 4, I started to see some improvement, month 5 a little better. I still use one Max pad a day. I decided to lower my healing expectations. Now I'm not so anxious every little thing. Relax. You're doing all the right things. You'll get there.

 

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I have tried the pull ups you described but taking 40 mg of lasix and two 49 Entresto a day generates a lot of fluid about 1/2 gallon in a 3 hour period and 1500 ml at night. I also have CHF
I use Nexcare waterproof tape in addition to what comes with the Men’s Liberty catheter. I tape about 2 inches past where their tape stops. Do not use paper tape. I use a spandex upper leg bag holder I ordered from Amazon on thigh to hold small bag and attach a 500 ml lower leg bag. It works well for approximately 24 hours. Best solution I’ve tried so far. So well that I plan on going back to church after Covid is over. I am also 72.
Thanks for reply. I found an Ensella location in Plant City about 60 miles from me. Please let me know if it works. The articles state that it’s mostly used on females.

BD

 

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Hi,I ha8my Robaxin Arm surgery on the 28th. October 2020,I'm 69 years old, when I got out the day after I had a catheter for 2 weeks. After I was going through 4 heavy duty diapers a day, and man I was leaking he'll of a lot but my wife told me that give it time,the outside of our body may be healed but not the inside, she told me to have patience. The 4th week I started using pads, I was going through 6 a day. I kept doing my Keel exercises often during the day and also I was doing 5 different floor exercises also,it takes 22 minutes each time twice a day.Also I cut of Pepsi,Coke etc... no hard liquor and no acid juices.Orange juice etc... I use half juice and half water, decaf coffee or tea but no more than 2 a day. On December 28th just 2 months after my operation I went from 6 pads a day to 2 and sometimes 1 a day.I have my bath around 7:30P:M ,I put a new pad and when I wake up in the morning my pad is dry,sometimes I put a new pad around 2P:M,.Since the last 2 weeks I go to bed with no boxers and no pads,but it's important to do the exercises daily and try doing them around the same time daily. Good luck, take care

 

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I had the surgery when I was 75 and am now one year from catheter removal. I still have a few dribbles once in a while, but it takes a few months to see some real improvement. I went through the pull-ups and then large pads for months, but then was able to switch to thin pads and then none. Walking help along with the Kegels. Don't give up, things do get better; you went through major surgery and healing takes time. When I was going through the initial stages, my wife said I was like a 2 year old again, only I knew what was SUPPOSED to happen. It did get better!

 

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Im 79 and I could have written your story about a year ago.Things never got better. I hated pads ,diapers, condom catheters.
The short story is I had an AUS operation after about 6 mo. Now Im about 95% normal. I have to use a thin pad for sneezes ,heavy lifting.
My cancer was very close to the urethra.That and my age worked against me
You might want to view this video by my AUS doctor its very informative
https://www.mskcc.org/videos/urinary-incontinence

 

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Dear Gkudisch: I am 74 and 6 months OP. Now down to wearing a Depends "Shield" during the day and it is usually dry at the end of my day. I have however started wearing a full Depends diaper to bed at night because of a massive leak a month ago. I finally figured out that I should not have anything to drink like tea or soda after 9PM in the evening to prevent the accidental leaking. I do take a small sip of water to down my night time meds but that's it. So, far since I have adopted this regiment everything is back to dry in the morning. I went to a Physical Therapist at month 4 to help with the Kegel's and specific exercises. It was well worth the effort and covered by my Medicare Advantage plan as long as you have gotten a prescription from your Dr. These folks are hard to find but worth going to if you can find one specifically trained in this discipline. The biggest benefit was learning correct ways to do Kegel's and how to properly tighten up your core before standing up or picking up a heavy object. These techniques also help my golf game and the leakage occurring at the moment of impact. One of the biggest benefits of this professional help is that I can now pass a good "fart" without peeing my pants!!! Now that you are smiling you may want to go into the kitchen and take a bit from that lemon to wipe the grin off your face...Keep on Keepin On! Pray for patience and focus on the fact that you are cancer free...your new life starts today. You still have much to contribute and windmills to slay...Senior Don Q... Rayl in Arizona...out!

 

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I appreciate all the input you all have given. I hope to see a change in week 22. My leakage has not changed at all my first 9 weeks. The best thing. I don't leak at night except for an accdional drip. This is how its been from day 1.

 

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@Gkudisch Would you give an update at your 13 week / 3 month journey to continence after prostate removal?

 

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I can sleep with no pads, have to get up every hour or two to pee. I now seem to push a little to[ pee now as b4 the pee would just flow on its own. still dribble while standing upward of 3 to 4 pads a day. I sit around alot. I don't leak while sitting, but run to the bathroom as soon as I get up. I think I have gained a little control in the past 2 weeks. a Month ago I would sqirt pee during orgasum, but now no pee squirting. I guess this is a sign of healing improvement. in my past post, I told you the removed the left side nerve bundle with the prostate dut to the Gleason 9 score in the left side of the prostate. this makes my recovery more difficult. they tell me it could take a year or more better for full recovery. maybe not a full, but pray for one. I will be saving money to try the EMSElLA CHAIR. may spelled it wrong. $1200 a lot of money on a fixed income.

 

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@Gkudisch Thank you for sharing your update.