Kagels
- Thread starter Archives1
- Start date
Archives1
Staff member
Couple of things. You might very well be doing too many Kegels, or you may be doing them incorrectly. I would definitely go to your Urologist and get them to send you to a pelvic floor physical therapist. They can not only make sure you are doing them correctly, but most of them have technology that can actually measure the strength of your pelvic floor (my PT uses Urostym & here is a link to find out more about the technology):
www.laborie.com
Now for the bad news. The kegels ONLY affect the function of your external urinary sphincter. If your internal urinary sphincter (which is not under your control) was damaged during your surgery, then you might never achieve continence again. It will take a year or longer to know if you have a permanently damaged internal urinary sphincter.
Good luck!
Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation - Laborie
The Urostym Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation System is a non-surgical treatment for urinary incontinence. It is suitable for adults & pediatric patients.
www.laborie.com
Now for the bad news. The kegels ONLY affect the function of your external urinary sphincter. If your internal urinary sphincter (which is not under your control) was damaged during your surgery, then you might never achieve continence again. It will take a year or longer to know if you have a permanently damaged internal urinary sphincter.
Good luck!
Archives1
Staff member
I had robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, mine also in August. My understanding is that the internal sphincter is removed in that surgery. (For more on that, see https://health.ucdavis.edu/urology/specialties/robotic_surgery/prostatectomy_FAQs.html#incontinence )
My surgeon tells me that 3 to 4 sets per day of 10 kegels each (10 seconds contracting followed by 10 seconds relaxing, done ten times, is one set) is about right: more than that, he cautions, can tire the muscle and have an opposite effect -- make things worse.
The best kegel instructions I have found are at https://prostatecanceruk.org/prosta...prostate-cancer/pelvic-floor-muscle-exercises -- the info there was helpful when I wanted to be sure I was doing it correctly. However, I would echo cmulwee's advice to see a pelvic floor physical therapist, if possible, if things are not going well.
My surgeon (head of the department at a well-known teaching hospital, by the way; he's done over 2,000 of these procedures) also tells me that about 10% of men who undergo the procedure will need surgical intervention to stop the leaking. That's not usually considered, however, for maybe a year after the surgery -- I assume, to allow plenty of time for pelvic floor training and development as well as full healing.
I do three or four sets of kegels per day -- that is, a total of 30 to 40 contractions -- and I have been pleased with my progress. I've been careful to avoid over-taxing the muscle. It might be good for you to try cutting your kegel program back to something like the one I'm using -- maybe even do none for a day or so at first, to let the muscle recover. It could be worth a try. (If you do that, you might keep in mind that any change in the amount of leakage may take time, so patient perseverance, and resisting the idea to push the muscle harder, will probably be important.)
Finally, I would suggest that, if you can, a good purchase would be Dr. Patrick Walsh's book, "Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer." Dr. Walsh, who developed the open surgery method of prostatectomy, provides a gold mine of information and advice.
Best wishes!
My surgeon tells me that 3 to 4 sets per day of 10 kegels each (10 seconds contracting followed by 10 seconds relaxing, done ten times, is one set) is about right: more than that, he cautions, can tire the muscle and have an opposite effect -- make things worse.
The best kegel instructions I have found are at https://prostatecanceruk.org/prosta...prostate-cancer/pelvic-floor-muscle-exercises -- the info there was helpful when I wanted to be sure I was doing it correctly. However, I would echo cmulwee's advice to see a pelvic floor physical therapist, if possible, if things are not going well.
My surgeon (head of the department at a well-known teaching hospital, by the way; he's done over 2,000 of these procedures) also tells me that about 10% of men who undergo the procedure will need surgical intervention to stop the leaking. That's not usually considered, however, for maybe a year after the surgery -- I assume, to allow plenty of time for pelvic floor training and development as well as full healing.
I do three or four sets of kegels per day -- that is, a total of 30 to 40 contractions -- and I have been pleased with my progress. I've been careful to avoid over-taxing the muscle. It might be good for you to try cutting your kegel program back to something like the one I'm using -- maybe even do none for a day or so at first, to let the muscle recover. It could be worth a try. (If you do that, you might keep in mind that any change in the amount of leakage may take time, so patient perseverance, and resisting the idea to push the muscle harder, will probably be important.)
Finally, I would suggest that, if you can, a good purchase would be Dr. Patrick Walsh's book, "Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer." Dr. Walsh, who developed the open surgery method of prostatectomy, provides a gold mine of information and advice.
Best wishes!
Archives1
Staff member
I had my prostate removed in Sept. 2017 for cancer. I have routine PSA tests done now and so far all of them show no cancer present. I started doing the kegels for stress leakage issues which I have had for two years now. Although improved, I still get leakage when I cough or do labor intensive things. I thought I was getting it under control but it isn't. I went back to my urologist and he did a scoping through the penis and was able to view what was left of my sphincter. He viewed what happened when I did a "squeeze" that you would do to stop a urine flow. The image he would have liked to have seen would have been similar to lips puckering up for a kiss. Instead the image he saw looked more like a smiley mouth. It showed that the remains of my sphincter are unable to completely stop urine leakage. So,.... I have now opted to have artificial sphincter surgery done in January. If you are not familiar with it, there are references on the internet. Basically, they put a device around the bladder tube that will squeeze the tube shut to hold back urine flow. A device is placed in the scrotum sack that can be pushed and it releases the urine flow. As the surgeon said, it is the gold standard for fixing stress related urine leakage. I now know that I could do kegels from now till the end of time and they would not fix the problem. I will do another posting after the surgery and and let all of you know how it works. Once installed I have to wait for 6 weeks before I can start using it. Why? ... I don't know. The surgery will keep in the hospital for one night stay.
You must log in or register to post here.
Similar threads
