Asked doctor “HOW IS THIS GOOD NEWS???”

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We all obviously monitor our urination flow, for those of us who are incontinent in that regard. Since the time I started wearing some form of incontinence product; roughly 2 weeks ago; I fought to either start a stream or ended up maxing my diaper when I had to rely on the diaper. Some nights, I sat on the toilet for 20 minutes or more, and other times I knew there was no making it. I visited my urologist for a follow up, telling him that I had to start wearing a diaper for most of the day, but all night because I was trying to avoid the void or a mere trickle on my pants/shorts.

I was extremely puzzled when he told me that having a void was good news. His answer to my blunt question was, “You are not backing up into your kidneys.., your bladder is forcing the prostate to not bind down on the urethra when the bladder can no longer hold the urine. I’m like…”Okay, but shouldn’t I be releasing once the spasms start?” He told me to just celebrate this for now…

Okay… celebrate this, while I have moved up to diapers after pads………

 

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MAM,

For us to comment and offer suggestions we need to know what caused the onset of your incontinence.

Lots of experience and knowledge here. Just need your help to allow us to offer constructive comments.

 

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@Greensleeves351 It hit me out of the blue about a month ago, no slow progression prior to the onset. My PCP did a rectal exam and told me it’s rather large for my age so ordered a PSA that came back just under 4.0, and put me on Flomax without desired results. I was immediately sent to an urologist who was surprised that he could barely insert his finger during the rectal exam. Imagining showed that it’s the size of a small apple. Initial biopsy came back without anything pointing to cancer (yet). Therefore I supposedly have BPH… a very extreme case. His advice was to consider surgery, even going as far as a radical removal, yet said an ablation is another option. That’s why I mentioned surgery in other posts. I am not convinced that it’s just BPH, but I have to trust science. It hurts to sit for long periods of time… so that’s the “back story”.

 

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Just having a rough sketch of your condition, I would check with another urologist. An apple in a space meant for a walnut must be quite uncomfortable, and it’s stretching out your internals to make space for itself, I think you are right to be concerned.
I would seek out a urologist that specializes in prostate issues, then follow what they say. There are a lot of nerves in that area that might not regenerate after long term compression so I wouldn’t give this time to fester, I would think your sudden incontinence would set off some alarm bells with most urologists.
Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

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MAM, Spring87 is giving you the right advice. Get a second opinion from another urologist ASAP. The surgeon onset and size of your prostate are red flags that need further attention.

 

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@Sprung87

I have been trying to take the fast track, trying to catch anything beyond what is already disclosed quickly. Insurance is the never ending headache to get a possible second opinion, but I definitely follow you.

 

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MAM,
Trust me when I tell you this, in todays medical world you “ARE” just another number! You & you alone have to organize a plan to advocate very strongly for yourself or you will be eaten alive!
Just one example of too many, 3 years ago my neck popped out of place after having already had 4 neck / spine surgeries. I initially played the Doctor game until they tried to send me to a shrink (that was within their group plan)to convince me the pain was not real, simply imagined!I went home and wrote a letter to the president of the medical system, four days later I was given an MRI and nerve test. It was determined I had a golf ball size tumor blowing the inside of my C-Spine apart. Surgery was scheduled for 4 weeks later until my right side all of a sudden turned off and I started leaking cerebral spinal fluid out my nose. A few days, a few hours??? I was told I would have been paralyzed from my ears down if I survived at all.
All true, not to scare you but you best get busy for your own sake….

 

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@Sprung87

So well said. I have learned the hard way that being your own advocate is the only way to get stuff done. I am fortunate to have a medical case manager now but before that, so much stuff was not done/tired.

I will say this. 99.999999999% of doctors have never been in our shoes and most don't even have a loved one in our shoes.

I learned this the hard way again after my Ostomy surgery back in April.

I have a whole team but my ostomy care specialist is the one person that I wish could spend just a day in my shoes. Having an ileostomy suck a lot. It is a lot to deal with and on top of that, it actually hurts most days. Is it better than dealing with the alternative that I spent years living with... I do not know. I do know that moving forward I have to advocate for myself to get so things do not hurt all the time and I can have somewhat of a normal life again even if it means not being able to do what I use to.

 

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@MAM

Be sure to investigate a procedure known as "REZUM". I had it done to shrink my prostate. It only takes about 5 minutes, and it is painless IF you ask for general anesthesia instead of local.

 

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@MezaJarJarBinks

Interesting… I will have to ask about this for sure.

 

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I pushed so hard for a second opinion, and insurance okayed it. To my surprise, I got a same day appointment with a different urologist. I laid it out, asking to not waste my time. He actually said, “I can tell that you are frustrated and you want something done.” We scheduled a scope procedure without doing all of the typical routine stuff. It will be a few weeks before I have it because of scheduling, but he is on the fast track. To attempt to reduce the need to rely on a brief as much until the scoping, I am on a different medication than FloMax; he agreed that I needed to be taken off of it because it should have taken effect within 36 hours; so, hopefully the new medication will work and get me through.

Thank you Sprung87 for pushing me to be very persistent, and I feel progress is ahead of me.

 

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We’re all here to help when we can, or just listen and possibly learn when we can’t! I’m really glad this has helped you, keep on fighting, we’ll be here so keep us posted!