Aussie here, just had a Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy

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Hi, I'm a 66yo Australian, just had a Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy on 18 August. 2 1/2 weeks now since catheter was removed and I'm playing the leaky waterworks games.

I've been doing my daily pelvic floor exercises religiously for 2 weeks now but not seeing any real improvement as yet. I've been reading some of the existing threads and seems to be a wealth of helpful knowledge in them from the experiences of others, so I'll keep reading them. Hoping for some helpful knowledge and support from other members, I've had a very healthy life until my prostate cancer diagnosis and operation, and it is pretty scary stuff and all new for me having to deal with an ongoing medical issue. And my wife will tell you I have never made a good patient.

Cheers, Doug in Oz

 

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Dec 2 2020 same surgery. Keep doing the kegels. It took a couple of months for me to see any real results. I’m 9 months in and long as I’m not doing hard physical labor I’m relatively happy with where I’m at. Time and patience. I was distraught at first but am feeling much more confident. Good luck brother!

 

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Same surgery may 12... Didn't see much change until the last couple of weeks... I am a very active 56 year old and was going crazy about all of this until I found this forum. Just reading this has given me relief good luck....

 

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@Randy @Johnnyo

Thanks for the messages of support guys, much appreciated

 

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Doug in Oz:
I am 75. I had my prostate removed on March 29, 2021. I golf, jog, bike and lift weights. I have very little urinary incontinence six months after surgery. I am now addressing the ED with penal injections. They are not as barbaric as they seem. I believe I can overcome the ED also. Keep doing your Kegels, go see a urologist about ED if you have that problem, and most of all ask God for help. All the Best, Nick

 

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@palarino1

Thanks for your story and support Nick, sounds like I just need to be diligent with the pelvic floor exercises and patient and my waterworks will come good in time. My cancer was a nasty one but we identified it early thanks to my regular local doctor being on the ball with my annual blood tests monitoring PSA levels, and we were able to remove it and my prostate while it was still contained within the prostate and apparently had not spread into the body. The cancer was on the right side of my prostate and my Urologist was able to "spare" the nerves on the left side during surgery and he believes I have a very good chance of regaining normal natural ED function in time also. I am scheduled to see him this coming week as a followup to the surgery and will discuss this further with him then. Cheers, Doug

 

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I had the same surgery Feb 24 of this year. Funny how we all remember our surgery date isn't it. That scary date when our lives changed. I am 65 and agree with others that say it takes time. I don't do the Kegels as regularly as I should but my incontinence has improved continually. The exception being if I fall asleep after consuming alcohol in excess. Then I occasionally wake up to wetness. But knowing this is incentive to not over indulge. Wish you the very best my friend.

 

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Yes, Doug, there is a lot of great information on this site. You'll certainly pick up on the fact that we all “heal up” from this surgery at different rates. Some see quite a bit of change in just a few months. Others (like me) see much more gradual progress. Just hang in there, do your exercises, and feel good about the little changes that take place. In that regard, I highly recommend weighing each pad/pullup and keep a daily total. There will be times when it seems like you’re making no progress. The daily totals, over time, will show otherwise. Take care.

 

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12/3/21 same surgery. April before seeing significant improvement. 9 months out and am nearly dry. Have had 10 dry nights in a straight. Pretty satisfied with that part. I had a well respected surgeon in another state that has written text books on the surgery and has himself performed over 10,000 surgeries. Still no improvement on the ED. I am 58 years old. ED may never get better for me but I am working, playing and enjoying LIFE. I thank God for that.

Keep doing your exercises. Watch what you drink. Coffee seems to make me go a lot as does tea. Water is your friend as always. Be careful of fluid intake three to four hours before bedtime. Improvement is sometimes slow and gradual. Good luck.

 

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Hi @DouginOz,and welcome to our forum!! There are some Aussies here and you'll meet them and others from around the world. It's not surprising you're still leaking since it hasn't been all that long since your surgery. Although I haven't had that surgery myself (but still incontinent) there are some things common to any surgery that will help you recover. The thing to remember is surgery, no matter what it is, is always an invasion of your body and it's going to take some time to recover from it. Your body just needs that time. And just because your best friend or brother had the same surgery doesn't mean your recover times will be the same. Everybody is different and reacts in different ways and will recover at different speeds.
But definitely keep up with those kegels because from what I understand it takes quite awhile until you notice their effect. And it won't happen overnight. But the thing is to just keep doing it on your regular kegels schedule. It's a gradual improvement.
I'm also a big advocate for mild exercise, such as walking, after any kind of surgery. But check with your doctor first!
The best thing to do is find a place to walk and try to measure the distances. You may want to drive along a series of streets to get an idea of how far things are and what you physically can handle. Once you determine that, you may want to first set a goal of one mile (or less if you don't think you can get to a mile). And in the next week you may want to try for a little bit longer distance. And when you regain more stamina, go for 1.25 miles and then 1.5 miles and so on. The principle is to do a little more each day than you did the day before.
And as for the leaky waterworks, do dress accordingly!!! That is pull-ups or booster pads or whatever your choice is. Some can get by with pads (with plastic backing) only while others prefer a pull-up or a pull-up with a flow-through booster pad. In finding the appropriate product it is a matter of trial and error!!! But you do need something when you go walking because trying to "hold it" until you get back home will be a☹ miserable experience for sure!!!
I hope these tips helped. And please let us know how you're making out in your recovery!! You will get a lot of good advice and support here!!

 

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Hi, I'm a 66yo Australian, just had a Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy on 18 August. 2 1/2 weeks now since catheter was removed and I'm playing the leaky waterworks games.

I've been doing my daily pelvic floor exercises religiously for 2 weeks now but not seeing any real improvement as yet. I've been reading some of the existing threads and seems to be a wealth of helpful knowledge in them from the experiences of others, so I'll keep reading them. Hoping for some helpful knowledge and support from other members, I've had a very healthy life until my prostate cancer diagnosis and operation, and it is pretty scary stuff and all new for me having to deal with an ongoing medical issue. And my wife will tell you I have never made a good patient.

Cheers, Doug in Oz

Doug,
I'm in the exact same boat. I had my laparoscopic surgery five weeks ago, and had my catheter removed a week later. I was very happy to get the catheter out, but like you that's when the waterworks started for me. I leak during the day and night, and I have had many an accident in the bed. My surgeon will prescribe physical therapy if there is no improvement in the next few weeks. The Kegel exercises seem useless to me, though I understand it has not been much time since my surgery. I have been focusing on finding the right supports to keep myself feeling dry during the day and at night. I found really good underwear that are made like boxer briefs with specially designed material to absorb leakage. I supplement them with super-absorbent padding for when I go to work. At night, I switch to Depends briefs, supplement them with Tena padding, and I wrap my penis in another absorbent padding, which not only absorbs the leakage, but it also keeps my penis from flopping to the side when I sleep on my side, preventing urine from running out the side of my briefs and onto my bed. I have been doing this for the past several days with remarkable success at keeping dry. I have also been experimenting with non-lubricated condoms for when I take the occasional nap in the afternoon. So far, so good. I'm sure there are others in the forum who have other ideas that have worked for them. Let us know what's been working for you.

 

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As most folks say, everyone is different. I’m 71, had Robotic surgery 21 April 21, 5 months later I’m fully dry at night, I do get up usually twice a night to relief myself. Only leakage during the day is if I lift heavy items or doing strenuous physical work. I do Kegels religiously, don’t know whether it helps, however, am satisfied where I’m at. ED an issue, although I get the urge and believe it will eventually get better! Hang in there, based on what I’ve read in these forums, for most of us it takes time and patience and above all keep a positive attitude!

 

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@palarino1 @wardguy @Chuck11 @Alh63 @billliveshere @JoelCairo @Finland2

Thanks for the responses and support guys, it really does help knowing others have been through this also and it does get better.

4 weeks today since my surgery, just had my followup visit with my Urologist. He is happy with the way my surgery went and my healing progress so far. Confirmed he was able to "spare" the nerves on the left side of my prostate during surgery which should aid my ED recovery in future.

Sent me for a urine test to check there isn't a bladder infection affecting my continence, get result in 2 days. His experience is that his patients if they are diligent with the Kegels start showing improvement 2-3 months after catheter removal and by around 6 months 75% are showing real improvement in control and dryness and by 12 months 97% are pretty much dry.

I go back in 2 months for another followup and to test PSA levels. He has referred me to a physiotherapist that specialises in pelvic floor exercises to check that I am actually doing the exercises correctly and exercising the correct muscles.

He suggested starting ED therapy when I am pretty much dry, hopefully around 6 months or so after catheter removal. In the meantime he has started me on daily dose of 5mg tadalafil to help lay the base for ED therapy.

Cheers, Doug

 

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Hi guys, time for an update ~ it is now 8 weeks since my robotic prostatectomy and 7 weeks since catheter removal.

I have been doing my kegel exercises religiously and recently had my second session with my specialist pelvic physiotherapist who used the ultrasound on my bladder to confirm I am still doing them correctly on the correct muscles and I am starting to get a good lift on the bladder.

I'm quite excited now to be entering that 2 - 3 month post surgery period where you guys and my urologist and physio have all confirmed I should start to see my internal sphincter muscle recovering after the surgery and working with my pelvic floor muscles to gradually improve my continence.

Since the surgery I have made some improvements to my diet and have now been more active for the last 2 weeks with the blessing of my urologist & physio ~ I have managed to reduce my weight from 103kg (227lbs) to 98kg (216lbs) so far with my target weight being 95kg (209lbs) ~ I am 6'2'' and a solid build so that should be a reasonable weight for me to maintain a more active lifestyle going forward. Already I am feeling the benefits of the reduced weight with less pressure on my bladder and my dodgy old ex Rugby player knees.

Right now I am taking stock and counting my blessings. It seems likely that we found and removed the cancer before it spread outside the prostate and my recovery from surgery is going well so far. And my lovely wife of 38 years and our two adult daughters could not be more supportive.

Cheers, Doug

 

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Way to go

 

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Hi @DouginOz, sounds like you're right on the beam and you're doing what you need to do!
It also sounds like you have a really good doctor and by the same token, your doctor has a really good patient!!! It's great that they "got it" in time and that you know the course your recovery needs to take.
In the meantime do continue with mild exercise like walking. Even when you're completely recovered keeping up with the walking is a good thing and helps keep you in shape. Besides when you're out walking you see, hear, smell and sense a lot more things than you can if you're just driving in a car!!!

 

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I admire, and somewhat jealous of all the success stories I have read regarding recovery from prostate cancer. My surgery combined with the removal of a large bladder diverticula was 4 1/2 years ago. I am still incontinent to the point that I need to wear tape on diapers during the day, and thick cloth pin on diapers at night. Since I have had leakage issues for years prior to my surgery, I'm resigned to the fact that I will always need to wear protection. After some time one does get used to it...sort of. Anyway, congratulations to all that have seen improvement.

 

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@billliveshere Thanks mate, I am feeling very blessed. I've always been a walker, we have a little female Australian cattle dog who loves a walk and I try and take her every day ~ I'm limited a bit as to how far I walk due to my dodgy knees, but my doctor encourages me to find the right balance as exercise is important for them too ~ we have a nice walk just around the corner alongside a nature reserve which gives me just under 3km which seems to work well for me. We are also lucky enough to live in a subtropical climate and have a backyard swimming pool, so I try and do a few lengths in that as often as I can as well, and the dog loves a swim in the pool too. Now just need to keep working on eating less unhealthy snacks and having smaller portions for meals so I can keep the weight coming down.

 

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All great advice (above) I’m 10 months out and doing well, I use a light pad during the day and night, and when traveling I use a depends but mostly just being cautious, very little leakage I consume food and beverage of all types. Stay diligent to your recovery and your body will adjust and you will adjust to your body things do get better good luck.

 

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@Puka Thank you for the encouragement and confirming there is a light ahead mate