Thudsin1965, Sounds like you’re doing great! My husband is almost 6 months out and is down to one pad a day for infrequent emergency leaks. We remember well the panic he was feeling when he was 10 weeks out with no improvement at all and just sitting upright made him leak. But around week 11, things started to improve and gradually got better a little at a time. The whole experience made him sort of depressed at first and all he wanted to do was lay on the couch, which is weird for him because he is a very active person. Getting out for a walk seems well worth it, whether the exercise specifically helps your incontinence or it helps other health factors, including mood. His Dr said a PT wouldn’t really be help for his situation and that the thing that takes longer is for the nerves to repair themselves, rather than muscles to become strong again. Maybe some of that advice was based on the fact that my husband was in excellent, almost athletic conditioning at the time of the surgery? I don’t know. He did kegels prior to surgery and for the few weeks afterward but only intermittently since then. His doctor doesn’t think research shows that Kegels actually do shorten the incontinence period. You do hear so much about them being helpful though, that I would think they can’t hurt. Once my husband’s heavy leakage diminished, he gradually became more and more active fairly quickly, and now, the only time he really leaks as when he is very active for the day and his muscles seem to get a little tired in the early evening. Good luck to you!
