Have you seen benefits from Kegels?

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Hi, I have been diagnosed with Urinary Retention and drip small drops of urine every 5 minutes or more. I have been doing Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy - Kegels with Biofeedback off & on for 3 months now.

I the beginning I did see some benefits where I noticed I didn't have any dripping for 1-2 hours after doing kegels. But now I notice that I can even drip right after.

Yet I notice I never drip while doing actual kegels - so maybe there is some benefits.

Curious has anyone seen benefits of Kegels and to what degree has it helped?

Thanks, Michael

 

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I had my operation to remove my prostate in September of 2021. After a few months I did notice some improvement. But recently it seems to be getting worse. I go through 2-3 pads a day. Before I never dripped at night but now it is soaked in the morning. I do my kegels 3 times a day with each time doing 10. It is very discouraging to me as it has been 18 months and no signs of improvement. Hope it gets better for you.

 

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I have, I must have been doing them for around a year so it is a long process. It's helped a bit in that if I'm right next to a toilet I can make it sometimes but in terms of the big picture (i.e. having to wear nappies) then no real change as my bladder is still unpredictable and times I have lessened the amount of protection haven't ended well in the end. I will however say that the slight improvement I've had has a big material change in the number of products I get through and so it has saved me a lot of money. I put in a huge order around Black Friday and I still haven't got through them all yet and whilst it was a big order and I've got the odd pack of other stuff, a year ago it would have easily gone in two months.

I guess the way I see it Kegels are a quality of life improvement rather than a complete cure.

 

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@mustangmike1971 I saw no benefit from kegels. I stopped doing them after about 9 months. I continued to improve, and at 20 months post-surgery I am almost completely continent. I love that I can wear regular briefs again (though I still will occasionally wear my disposable briefs for the convenience of not having to add to my dirty laundry), and I no longer sleep with a bed pad underneath me without fear of an accident in the middle of the night. In my case, I think it was just a question of giving my bladder the time to heal on its own. I am sure kegels helps others; I just think they were not terribly beneficial for me.

 

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@mustangmike1971
I had the same problem of "no improvement from Kegels" after a few months and stopped doing them. BIG MISTAKE? (2008). I RETURNED TO KEGEL EXERCISES a few months later when I learned on YouTube that it's a "LONG HAUL" project. Kegels did not stop my leaking, but I can definitely tell in other ways and can sense "weakness" in operation of the pelvic floor function if I slack off. It's a lifetime thing with me, beginning when I wake up, before getting out of bed.

I wish everything we are told and everything we read would be set in concrete so we can mark it on the calendar. Not so. It's like climate and not like the daily weather map. I can feel the strength or weakness in my pelvic floor if I flex it. Stay with the plan - strong days and weak days. Kegel exercises are one of the most certain things we have going for us in overall recovery. Do the three sessions - ten units per session. See: YouTube, Michelle Kenway.

 

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Absolutely, especially after a Physical Therapist I was seeing for lumbar back pain taught me how to really do them correctly. Kegels happen more naturally for women because flexing their pelvic muscle is involved during our sexual pleasure and orgasm, and is also crucial for childbirth. Kegels are harder for men to learn because you’re less accustomed to using that muscle conscientiously. I don’t think you can figure it out from YouTube; you really need to see a physical therapist about it.

The benefit for me was learning how to strengthen that muscle so that I could keep my bladder from dripping from the time I got a sudden urge to the time I made it to a bathroom. A good example is sitting in a movie theater: before I worked with the physical therapist and strengthened my pelvic muscle, I would get a sudden urge to pee. Just the act of standing up was enough to make me lose bladder control. I definitely couldn’t make it to the movie theater bathroom in time. But after the physical therapy, now it’s second nature for me when I get an urge to clinch that muscle, and then I can hold it for 3 to 5 minutes until I can get to a restroom. This is also important when driving, or when getting out of bed at night to go pee. Sometimes when I’m sleepy, I still lose it during those moments.

I agree that they’re a quality-of-life improvement, but not enough so that you can stop wearing protection.

 

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@Sci_Fi_Fan Nice photo!

 

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@snow Thanks!

 

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@Snow
Helpful testimony. I failed to mention that Michelle Kenway is a physical therapist and an excellent communicator. My first physical therapist did her "professional thing" but explained nothing to me. She measured the strength of my "pull" with her laptop computer and jotted down the results in the notebook she was keeping on me. That was it. She made no effort to teach me how to detect any of the three levels of pull or what to expect. Michelle Kenway on YouTube is excellent, in my opinion, and turned me around. I wasted 2-3 years doing nothing until I found her presentation. We need "what," "how" and "when" in order to press on...wherever we can find these things. I agree with Snow that we need truth to make progress.

 

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@DanCarr Sorry your in-person PT was so lame; glad you found help on YouTube!

 

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@Snow
My surgeon in North Carolina didn't have his best day when he did my surgery. We have so many nerves around the Prostate that it's nigh impossible to miss them all when the knife is working in that area. I had a heart-to-heart talk with my Urologist in Alabama and when I pressed him, he confessed that my only hope to reduce control of my leaking was to have a sling installed by a very experienced surgeon. I've had too many birthdays (88) to risk maintaining a sling. (Sling? There may be another word for it.)

BUT, I CAN'T COMPLAIN! I've never doubted that he saved my life. As a pastor, making hundreds of hospital visits, I became acquainted with some seeding and radiation treatments that were as challenging as surgery. I've never regretted having the surgery.

If God thought I needed some specialized discipline to accomplish His will for my life, then that's His business. The Apostle Paul was given a thorn in the flesh lest he should be exalted above measure for the abundance of revelations given to him. Job said: "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Oldest book in the Bible.) So, we count our blessings and thank God for what we have left to work with. If we need to carry a few rocks in our pockets, so be it.

 

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Do continent men still read these posts? I am 10 weeks post RALP and showing little change in my leakage. I still do my kegels, and don't leak profusely, but I'm going through at least two pads daily. A thick one can get me through 2 hours of pickleball or golf, and a thin one can get me through 2-3 hours of non-athletic life. My concern is that this forum only seems to be answered by those of us still leaking. I'd like to hear from guys who aren't incontinent anymore. I think they would be valuable for their 20-20 hindsight. If anyone out there has "healed" completely, please chime in with your advice.

 

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Thy have helped me a lot. I have a good pt she is amazing I still leak and can’t control like normal but I see a difference and I keep on trying

 

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@Jayindiapers Good for you!

@DanCarr Wonderful perspective; thank you!

@donegatf You have a valid point. In general, I found that medical forms are full of people whose procedures did not go as planned. We’re the ones who need help and seek peers in the same situation. I think the people who had perfect success either don’t come to these forums to begin with, or once they’ve healed up, they vanish. I hope some of those who have achieved success will respond to your post.

 

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@snow thanks I willing to try to make my incontinence better or at least manage it without using diapers. The PT has helped me allot It takes time I have been in pt for 2 years I have seen a a change for the better I just can’t give up

 

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I am 6 months post prostatectomy and my stress incontinence from surgery is gone. I have pelvic pain and it became bad after surgery while doing Kegels. My PT stopped me from doing Kegels and gave me pelvic stretching and the pelvic pain became tolerable. I started Kegels for the stress incontinence again and my pelvic pain got worse and I stopped the Kegels. I thought my stress incontinence would not go away since I was not doing Kegels. I still had bad stress incontinence even when walking. This is now gone and even more stressful excercises does not cause stress incontinence. My pelvic pain still makes me feel I have to go all the times and causes urge incontinence. I feel my sphincter muscle has learned to stay tight to stop stress incontinence. If my pelvic pain would go away I would be great. Now I am just trying to minimize and manage it. Wishing everyone happiness
Tim