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Hello everyone.. I’m a 74 year old male. I’ve survived 5 surgeries on my spine since 2006. As it turns out I have a neurogenic bladder from nerve damage to my spinal canal. Drugs don’t do anything for relief and on March 4th I had BOTOX Injections in my bladder. The procedure was basically painless and quick. This procedure is advertised as 95% successful. Well guess which side of the percentage scales I happen to fall? The 5%.! After the injection I started developing pain in my bladder when I had to urinate. I returned and was checked out and tested for how much I voided when told to empty my bladder. The figure came back as 525 and anything over 600 I would require a catheter. I’ve chosen to put off catheters as long as possible. Now I’m using the bathroom more often it seems and I am in this position until the Botox wares off or there is a possibility that it may improve, but it’s not likely. Since everyone’s body reacts differently to this procedure there are no such guidelines of when or what exactly I should be experiencing except the fact that it has been negative so far. Has anyone else had this procedure? And what has been your experience

 

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Hello, I just joined this forum. I’m 77 next month. I have recovered from 2 bouts with bladder cancer which was treated with BCG mainly. I was treated with a kemo drug for a short time that I couldn’t tolerate.
Anyway, my main problem has been bed wetting. I can control my peeing during the day, but at night is my problem. I have been practicing the Kegal exercises, but they have not helped my bed wetting issue. I feel sleep deprived. I have 1 cup of decaf coffee in the morning, I generally have a healthy diet, but do have desert after dinner.

 

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I was hoping to hear from men who have experienced similar issues, and have been able to find help in improving their quality of life. It appears my urologist is mainly concerned with the cancer issue.
I’ve had the Medtronic implant that really didn’t help, and actually made the bed wetting worse. I’ve actually thought of using an external catheter so I could get a decent night sleep. Anyone out there have thoughts. Thanks

 

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I was hoping to hear from men who have experienced similar issues, and have been able to find help in improving their quality of life. It appears my urologist is mainly concerned with the cancer issue.
I’ve had the Medtronic implant that really didn’t help, and actually made the bed wetting worse. I’ve actually thought of using an external catheter so I could get a decent night sleep. Anyone out there have thoughts. Thanks

@Nkateko

 

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Hey there, just joined this site mostly for support and encouragement that things will get better in the near future. I’m 60 and had a prostatectomy on April 13th. The catheter was removed on April 20th just days ago. I felt I have no control of my bladder especially when I move. Sitting and and lying is not bad but as soon as I stand there’s no control. Even though the doctor said the day he took the catheter out I will experience inconstence I was not expecting total lack of bladder control. Is this normal are should reach out the doctor?

 

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Hello my name is Mary. I deal with urge incontinence. Looking forward to talking with other that deal with similar. Have a blessed day.

 

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Greetings,
Let me try this again. I apparently posted this in the wrong area originally. Hopefully this is correct now.
Newbie here. 63yo robotic radical prostatectomy on 4/22/22. Catheter pulled after 7 days. It seemed as though I had pretty good bladder control immediately after the catheter was removed but have since realized that it was something akin to "beginner's luck." I've had leakage issues since, mostly contained by light pads. I had a more disturbing episode today while mowing that I wasn't aware of until I stopped the riding mower. I guess it was the bumpy sections of cypress knees. I'm only 9 days post catheter removal but realizing that the sensations are just different right now. I've had a few issues with urgency with very little output. I get through the night fine. Today's episode just really caught me by surprise. It's been helpful to read other's experience here.

 

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@adphotoman

Welcome to the forum.

My surgeon / recovery sheet said not to do any lifting over 10 pound nor squatting for 6 weeks. Walking was fine as long as I started slow and build up. If you feel pulling, slow down because it will turn into pain.

You can use the search magnifying glass in the middle left side of screen (scroll up) to search for topics - 4 or more characters and it seems that the searches only go back 6 months. You may find older topics in other user's profiles.

Best Wishes,
Terry



In Title

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Hi there,

I am a 69-year-old man with a radical prostatectomy last week. The catheter came out today and I began searching the net for info on controlling my incontinence. Found this forum and am happy to participate.

Gonzo Does Rock

 

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Hi Gonzo, I’m only a few weeks ahead of you in this process. You didn’t get very specific on your symptoms but I can tell you that in just a few weeks my incontinence issues have subsided substantially. Right now I’m having good days and bad days by things are definitely trending better.

 

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Hello!

I'm the partner and sort of caretaker for a 75 yo man who is working through adrenal issues, some kidney weakness, and incontinence related to these plus an enlarged prostate. I'm more Internet literate so I wind up being the researcher. We are both otherwise in great shape, we've managed to avoid any invasive procedures or pharmaceuticals and, would prefer to keep things that way.

My partner mainly is finding that the Depends Men he's been using don't breathe much if at all. I noticed a thread on summer brief suggestions so I'll be following that, and we've requested some samples of another product.

I think that's all I have to say just now but am appreciating knowing we are not at all alone. Lots of the things I read seem very familiar to me/us!

Apple

 

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Hi I'm Art. In Feb 2021 I had prostate removal due to a tumor in the prostate. All tests show the cancer gone but I had severe incontinence for 6 months (5 to 7 heavy duty pads per day) and then slowly, very slowly, getting better. The first 6 months were a nightmare. Now, 15 months later, I would estimate that I'm 80% better.

In the fall a urologist prescribed 20mg of imipramine nightly, and that seemed to help. I tried to wean myself off it and incontinence just got worse so back on it.

I'm doing all the recommended rehab such as kegels, core exercises, avoiding alcohol & caffeine & citrus. I do eat a few pieces of dark chocolate daily though.

I am so shocked at how life changing and depressing the incontinence is. For the first few months I felt like suicide a lot. Walking = peeing. I had to change pad once for every 20 minutes of walking. Nightmare.

These days it's a major inconvenience but I can handle it. I wish that medical practice was more savvy about how to handle this.

IMPORTANT for any of you considering prostate surgery:
During rehab my surgeon told me that it's all random, and around 3% of prostate surgery get long term incontinence and no one knows why. THAT WAS WRONG.

Four other urologist have told me that the length of urethra remaining after surgery is highly correlated with incontinence. Longer = better. Shorter means incontinence more likely.

I've had my insides examined twice via a simple office procedure called cystoscopy. I HAVE VIRTUALLY NO URETHRA BETWEEN BLADDER AND SPHINCTER. As luck would have it, I chose a surgeon with great reputation but he had not the faintest idea how to prevent incontinence.

GUYS, IF YOU ARE GOING TO GET PROSTATE SURGERY, MAKE SURE THE SURGEON KNOWS HOW TO DO THE PROCEDURE IN A WAY THAT MINIMIZES THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUBSEQUENT INCONTINENCE.

Sigh.
Art

 

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Hi! I am a 48 yrs old female and I had brain surgery 12 years ago which left me like I had a stroke. Nothing on my left side worked. I had to have a catheter for about 14 days. I was able to regain the use of everything. For the past 3 years, my husband and I have become empty nesters so needless to say our sex life has ramped up. I have recently developed a problem of not neccessarily bed wetting, but more like I will wake up feeling like I've been dribbling for a while and its still dribbling but no matter how hard I squeeze I can't stop it. If I stand up, It just comes running down my legs. It's not an every night thing either. I may go for weeks and it does not happen. Does any other females experience anything like this at my age or any age for that matter and if so what is it and what did you do about it???

 

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I'm eleven weeks post robotic radical prostatectomy and going through seven or eight heavy pads every twenty-four hours. I did six weeks of Kegel exercises daily before surgery, and I've been doing a variety of pelvic floor muscle exercises and other exercises every day during my now two months of physical therapy for incontinence. I've cut out not only the obvious food and drink (coffee and black tea, alcohol, citrus, tomato, chocolate, artificial sweeteners) but also dozens of other possible bladder irritants--most dairy, multivitamins, salad dressings, condiments, cheese, grapes, cantaloupe. It's rather disheartening to still have uncontrollable leakage whenever I'm standing. I'm most interested in hearing stories of others with similar experience and to hear that there might be an end in sight.

 

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Hi, approx. 5 weeks after robotic prostatectomy. Incontinence partially controlled. In other words, after accumulating urine in bladder while sitting or lying down, I can stand and, most of the time, make it to the toilet without leakage. But keeping the external sphincter tightly closed any longer becomes difficult and painful for much longer. Am I doing something wrong or does this become more natural and easier over time? I had a month of two sessions per week with a bio-mechanical rehab doctor learning and practicing kegel and pelvic floor exercises...and continue them once surgical catheter was removed.
Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

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Hi, approx. 5 weeks after robotic prostatectomy. Incontinence partially controlled. In other words, after accumulating urine in bladder while sitting or lying down, I can stand and, most of the time, make it to the toilet without leakage. But keeping the external sphincter tightly closed any longer becomes difficult and painful for much longer. Am I doing something wrong or does this become more natural and easier over time? I had a month of two sessions per week with a bio-mechanical rehab doctor learning and practicing kegel and pelvic floor exercises...and continue them once surgical catheter was removed.
Thanks in advance for your replies.

I feel ya JohnB. Mornings are okay for me... but afternoons... when my pelvic floor is feeling exhausted... non stop leaking unless I am doing a super Kagel. I do practice the Kagel while lying in bed at night and again before I get up. During the day... mornings mostly... I practice the Kagel exercise. I'm at 5 weeks too... it does seem like it's getting better. I am starting to measure my urine output again... and weighing my pads to see just how much is collecting when I take them off. Nothing to report yet... scale arrives tomorrow.

 

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Hi I'm new to the forum. I suffer from overactive bladder and irritable bowel syndrome which I have recently found out that these stem from severe other issues that I have (diabetes sleep apnea attention deficit disorder hyperactive and medications that I take also depression). My issues with oab and ibs have gotten worse over the past few years. Within the last year I started wetting the bed and with my ibs I started loosing control of my bowel. I will say that my condition with incontinence has made my depression worse.

 

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My name is Mark and I work in IT.
I was in two really bad car accidents where I was T-Boned and another hit head on, both were high speed with the approaching drivers doing over 60 MPH.
After a lot of testing and expert hospital evaluation it was determined that a nerve that's responsible for bladder function and also intimacy was nicked by one of my ribs that had shattered off in the accident causing improper signalling to my bladder.
Doctors say it's possible my body will heal on its own, and that if I wanted to try surgery there is a very good chance I'll never experience intimacy with my wife again.
I try to manage my overflow incontinence the best I can, wearing protection in elevated stressful situations and I usually don't have a problem leaking.
Looking to others here for continued support and advice as I work through this.

 

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Hi! I am a 48 yrs old female and I had brain surgery 12 years ago which left me like I had a stroke. Nothing on my left side worked. I had to have a catheter for about 14 days. I was able to regain the use of everything. For the past 3 years, my husband and I have become empty nesters so needless to say our sex life has ramped up. I have recently developed a problem of not neccessarily bed wetting, but more like I will wake up feeling like I've been dribbling for a while and its still dribbling but no matter how hard I squeeze I can't stop it. If I stand up, It just comes running down my legs. It's not an every night thing either. I may go for weeks and it does not happen. Does any other females experience anything like this at my age or any age for that matter and if so what is it and what did you do about it???

 

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@48andFrustrated I'm Male but experience the same thing from time to time, mine usually starts about a minute after using the restroom but could be as long as 20 mins, after finishing going, I zip up and I will look down to see I've starting peeing again, sometimes it's a little other times it's a lot, this also seems to happen after I fall asleep after really stressful days, it's like my body is super relaxing or something. I think it's called overflow incontinence by definition, trying to figure it out but just know you're not alone.