Prostactomy Incontinence

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Good luck! Have a list of all your questions and diary of what you’ve been experiencing. Visits go quick. Make sure Dr knows what your concerns are and what you can do to deal with them.

 

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I know how difficult the heavy incontinence can be emotionally. Even a small amount is hateful. 6 weeks is no length of time. It was three to four months before I saw any improvement. Many others on this forum can similarly testify. Yes there are those who clear up sooner but for even the best it's three months. Many take a year or longer and at least 20% don't clear up completely. I read a recent research report the said up to as much as 56% of men have an ongoing incontinence problem. You don't often hear that from the clinics who claim fantastic recovery rates. However unless you are in the very small minority it will get much better. There is nothing more I can say to encourage you other you will need to be patient. Some people recommend measuring the weight of the pads so you can track improvement. For example you might begin to find you are drier at night. Then you might be better when seated or early on the morning. I did this and it can be helpful. Also remember that progress is not a linear straight line but is often up and down. Keeping a record may help you see progress over a longer period

 

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Like everyone else says, hang in there.
3 weeks is still new! I am just over a year in and have total control now. Even the afternoon stress incontinence has all but gone. It's a trying time man and you are so new into it you need to give it time.
I think if we all watched a live video of what's actually done when under the knife we might be more understanding of why it takes time. I'm not watching that by the way!

But if you keep up the exercises and stay off coffee and you'll get there. Stay positive. I was very depressed while this was going on, and after a while I found exercise helped me so much. It's a really s**t time for everyone, but hey, no cancer man! Thats what it's all about.

 

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I just received my post PSA test and it shows my level dropping from a presurgery level of 6.4. down to .1. I'm very happy with that result. Unfortunately, the drippung continues. What gives my the most hope is reading your stories, and noticing how similar they are, or were, to mine. I'm not the only one experiencing this, and the hope I mentioned earlier is what helps me try to stay positive through the incontinence. Thank you all so much.

 

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It has been 4 years since I had my prostate removed because of cancer. I am still using half a pad for small leakage. I am to see my urologist today and will discuss what I can do to end this little leakage. He will suggest the sling option, does anyone out there have any information regarding how useful this will be?

 

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Search the forum. I posted several times regarding my positive experience with the Advanced Boston Scientific sling. It was a life changing action - for the better but it took me several months to recover. Highly recommend!

 

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I'm 7 months out and a bit frustrated. I wear pull-ups (I refuse to call them diapers)at night are am typically dry in the AM because I am lying down. If going our at night, I wear underwear and a pad. During the day if I'm playing golf etc, I wear Confitex underwear, with and without a pad. they are great and last a full day. still doing Kegels and am disappointed that I am not making as much progress to date. Talking to doctor in June (12 months) and hope to be better then. Hoping things improve and not ready to discuss the next step. But, as of now, Confitex underwear is great.

 

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I am 5 months out from my RP, did PT before surgery and after. First 3 months were a struggle with several pads daily and anxiety with my business travel, had to check a larger suitcase to accommodate the amount of pads I would allocate per day. Today I am 1 pad per day, some days, I feel I can nearly get away with just a light pad but it still varies depending on the day and other factors like alcohol consumption and coffee can sometimes cause some leakage. One recommendation is to do core strengthening along with the Kegel exercises, my PT post surgery focused on that and it seemed to accelerate my progress.

 

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What type of core exercises?

 

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@Dpalena Typical planks, scissor kicks, and leg lifts. My PT had me do a variation of leg lifts with spelling out the alphabet with toes, progression through the entire alphabet then backwards.

 

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I am 2 weeks out from surgery and this is a lot more than expected. Can not stand up without having to run to bathroom. I can not walk around without leaking even if I have not had anything to drink for a few hours and have been to bathroom many times. At night is not horrible but still get up even though stop drinking before 7 pm. I am doing kegels and trying to stay positive this too will pass as have gotten good results on cancer so far.

 

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@Dpalena it will get better. 2 weeks is nothing. same happened to me. 10 months after surgery, i'm finally able to have my cup of tea before bed and not wake up. but still using a pad a day. some are worse. some are better. doctors don't tell you what it will be like. my doctors didn't. and they didn't mention the amount of time i would need to give to healing. so give yourself some time.