Prostatectomy and Bike Riding

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I restarted stationary bike riding a week ago. I had not been on the bike since my surgery Aug. 6th. Post surgery I have been doing 1/2 hour walks almost daily. Prior to surgery my goal was to ride 5 days a week. Each ride was 1 hour and 5 minutes. Getting back on the bike I did 30 minutes...ending with a sore butt and a bit winded. Yesterday I did 45 minutes. Butt still sore but felt like I'm getting my wings back. I notice I don't leak while I'm seated. But when I stand for a short break, I leak. I try to flex the sphincter, but no control. I'm wondering if bike riding is helping or hurting my recovery. Overall my leakage has improved since surgery but I still use a pad daily.

If anyone bike rides, I would appreciate your experience. Thanks.

 

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56vw, I have not had a prostatectomy, I only have an overactive bladder. So this might be completely unrelated... But I do cycle to work. I find I only get urges and leak when I get off the bike and stand. To stop at a shop, when I arrive at work etc good luck. Rowan

 

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Rowan, Do you have any idea if your cycling has affected your overactive bladder? Appreciate the post.

 

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I also have an overactive bladder and have biked a 100K (64 mile ride) I found that I could bike for a long-time without needing to pee, but when I stopped I needed to sprint to the bathroom. Not sure why, but that is a constant issue for me. More than once I had to stop by a tree because I could not wait to get to a bathroom. I hope you find a way to manage the issue you are having.

 

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VW ( as in car?), I do not think cycling has caused my oab. I have cycled all my life, i am 46. I think my problems are well inside the bladder, rather than anything physical concerning cycling (like pressure on my willy). ( penis, not sure what the American term is !! ).
I remember asking a urologist exactly this question, why do i get urgency when standing and not lying down.. and he alluded to the annatomy of the bladder, but i did not follow what he said. I can get urgnecy whilst seated, but almost never when lying down. It would be interesting to get some drawings of a bladder, and work out exactly what is going on...

 

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@Rowan I'm not a cyclist and have never been, but my OAB hardly ever plays up while lying down,but I have very little control when standing.

 

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Interesting,. Somewhere there must be a professor who knows exactly why,. But it is not rule, because so many oab s suffer urges during the night ( I presume...??)

 

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I find sitting and lying down are good for bladder control. Getting up is the worst, but standing and walking make me pay attention. It might be as simple as gravity acting on the bladder contents. And how full the bladder is.

56vw...I've owned a 1956 VW sunroof for 40 plus years. It's a project I never get to! Drove bugs for many years while living in CA.

 

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Lovely. It must have a flat windscreen. ?

 

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And oval lights. As a kid I would long for a be splitscreen camper.
OAB people,..do you know at what point you get urgency? I think I start around 140ml,.4.9 fluid ounces.. But when bad probably much less...

 

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I find sitting and lying down are good for bladder control. Getting up is the worst, but standing and walking make me pay attention. It might be as simple as gravity acting on the bladder contents. And how full the bladder is.

I find that sitting and lying down make things worse for me.
I can get up 4 times at night, and sitting down on an airplane guarantees I go to the bathroom once an hour. Doesn't make any sense to me.

 

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I can get up between 0 and 5 times a night, but no urgency whilst lying down.

 

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I disagree with Rowan. I don't think there is a professor who knows - or they'd fix it!Hpwever, the urgency while lying there isn't bad, but once standing? Hoy boy.

It isn't the bike riding (for me, anyway), as i did a fair amount, including the gym, for a goodly number of years after prostatectomy. If there is a connection, it is the movement of getting on and off, just like getting into bed immediately after emptying the bladder and discovering it wasn't completely empty. Guess I'm lucky - i can clamp down and sometimes prevent it, if i remember in time.
After heavy exercise (and i do mean heavy), apparently i sweat out enough liquids it isn't an immediate issue. I try to stay hydrated, too, as i had the wonderfully pleasant experience of kidney stones and never want that again.
The vw sunroof was indeed a classic.
First time i saw the "new" bug, it was weaving in and out of rush-hour traffic the 1980s?). Sort of cute, but I'll stick with the old tried-and-true. What was the American car, air-cooled rear engine, "unsafe at any speed?" Convair? I knew a hot-rodder who took out the back seat of a vw bug and put in that engine. It was the late 50s. Talk about unsafe! Still, there was a lot of awe over that in my high school. That was not the vw bug that ended up on the school roof, however.

 

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I presumed a 'vw sunroof' meant a vw beetle, with a sunroof...?
Everyone is so different with their OAB. Mine is alright at the moment, so i am happy ! Now i just need to stay up all night for the U.K election...

 

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Last night I reached my old time goal of 1 hour and 5 minutes for the first time since getting back on the Precor stationary bike. My butt is getting back in the groove. Leakage is still an annoyance but a few days ago I decided that was a minor issue compared to getting back some shape. I put on 10+ LBS since surgery. Walking wasn't doing it for me. Time is one of 3 aspects of this exercise. I still need to increase resistance and speed. Resistance on a scale of 1 to 20 (don't actually remember high end number), I used to be at 12. Right now I'm doing 10. I am averaging 5 minute miles, so last night I did 13 miles. I used to do 16 plus on good days. I still have no idea if this helps, hurts or has no affect on the muscles down below. Time will tell.

 

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Last night was another bike milestone. I managed an entire ride (1 hour and 5 minutes) at level 11. My butt is getting more comfortable...still a ways to go. I am getting better at managing my bladder while riding. I stand up to rest the butt occasionally. This will cause some leakage but if I put the muscle squeeze on I can stop some of it. Finishing the ride takes some real concentration but getting better overall. Moving to level 12 on the next ride.

 

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Well done 56vw. That sounds like you have made much progress. ... i will take your lead and try and remember to do the pelvic floor clenches when i get off the bike on the way to work ...

 

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This will be the last post for this year and this decade. OK, a little dramatic. I am peddling at level 12 and 11. I started off doing level 12 for 15 minutes. My goal is to maintain or increase the time interval for level 12 as I go, hopefully not needing to decrease time. If I feel good, I increase the time. Last night I did level 12 for 25 minutes followed by 40 minutes at level 11. For you cyclist I would equate level 12 to riding a bike uphill. Feels OK at the start but it gets progressively tougher. After reaching my time I drop down to level 11. That's like cresting a hill and being on the level, at least for most of the rest of the ride. Its amazing how dropping down one number gives that sense of relief. Overall, I'm very please with my progress. And I believe this is helping my bladder control. I am able to stand during the ride with much less (sometimes none) leakage. Takes concentration but that's alright. I am bad about doing kegels so something is going right. Nothing scientific here but even if its psychological, who cares. I use one pad a day and change nightly before bed. I could probably push a pad for a second day but I'm not doing that.

Happy New Year!!!