Your experience with bladder control

chapmad1 · New User Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 1

What is your experience with bladder control? Here is mine. I had DaVinci robotic surgery on May 3, 2006. By the middle of June I was getting very frustrated by waking up with a soggy depends and using 2-3 pads daily. I decided to try a different approach. I started drinking 1/2 gallon water daily and laid off coffee, soft drinks, etc. By the second evening I began to get the urge to urinate 2-3 times that night and I would get up and urinate. The good news is that my Depends was virtually dry in the morning. This has been the pattern since. I am almost dry to completely dry in the morning. I am also beginning to see a lot of improvement during the day.
Anyone else have any experiences in fighting bladder control? How long did it take for you to regain complete bladder control?

Jack · New User Joined: 19 Nov 2005 Posts: 9

My radical prostectamy was in october of last year. I was told that it would take one year to regain complete control and while frustrated at times am moving along OK. I now use one ultrathin liner for about 3 days. At night I use nothing but occassionally wished I had...usually when extremly tired or laying on my right side for some reason. I will be dissapointed if after a year I am not able to ditch the ultrathins.

harvxyz · New User Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 5

chapmad1
I had the robotic surgery 2-weeks ago and the catheter out 1-week ago.
No problems at all at night - I get up 2-3 times but I'm always dry.
If I'm doing something during the day then I frequently leak. If I just hang out and watch TV then it's not so bad.

What's been your experience with leakage?

Jack · New User Joined: 19 Nov 2005 Posts: 9

leaking is still somewhat of an issue. At times at night not eniugh to do much more than wet the pajamas a little. I don't wear pad at night. I suspect that leaking is caused by bladder being full. During the day leaking is mild but most of the time problem is very small squirt if you know what i mean? At times it might happen when straining at some job but others ,for example, may be washing my hands just AFTER peeing. Like the old trick we used to play on friends when sticking there hands in water when asleep. I did have a physical therapist tell me recently that we should be doing 500 keagle exercises a day which is a lot more than I think any of ius tend to do after we are doing pretty good and months away from the operstion. I am trying to do a hundred at a time now when I can and see if that helps.

harvxyz · New User Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 5

I'm about 3-weeks now after DaVinci prostate removal.
I always wear a depends guard even though at night there is little to no leakage problem.
A lot of leakage if I'm active such as playing golf or dancing. The good news is that I can do these things and the depends guards work well.
I continue to do the kegel exercises many times a day but can't say that I've seen any improvement yet - but still hopeful it will come with more time.

chas036

Hi, my name is Charlie and I am 50 years old and I pee may pants. That is what I tell people now when they ask me about my prostate surgery.

I had my prostate out by robotic surgery on 9/25 and my catheter out 10/5 and I continue to pee my pants when ever I stand up, and you know what?,,,, I don't really care anymore. I was depressed the first weeks because I thought I would be one of those guys that would be dry quickly because I was in good physical condition since I have been lifting weights since I was 18. Also I did my kegels as recommended starting 3 months before surgery doing 4 sets of 15 a day and continued doing them after surgery. I also did my reserach and I picked a skilled surgeon who had done 1000+ surgeries. Alway I have been an active person and I just could not accept being incontinente, but now, I don't really care anymore and I don't let it get to me. Having pads is just part of my life now and you have to learn to live with it.

At present, I have seen no results in my continence as a result of all the kegels I have doing, so now, I just stopped doing them.

Currently I am 10 weeks post catheter, and I have no continence what so ever when walking, standing, laughing, lifting, or doing any type of work. The urine just leaks out of me as fast as I drink it in. When sitting or sleeping, I stay pretty dry unless I move in a certain way or do some lifting, then I will drip, but in general, when I sit, I am dry. Thank god for that since I have a desk job.

On a normal day I will go through 4-5 pads. On a day I drink alot of fluid and I am on my feet working around my house or out shopping with my wife, I can go through 7 - 8 or more pads.

Is it frustrating? Sure it is, but I live with it since it is better than the alternative which is CANCER.

From what I have been reading, it seems that it is the luck of the draw to who is dry after surgery and who is wet. I talked with people who do no kegels at all, and they are dry after a few weeks. Then there are people like me who are in great physical shape and kegel to death and see no improvement. I guess it is all about how well your surgeon did his job.

_________________
Biospy 4/2007 - 2/12 <%5 Cancer Gleason 6
RP 9/25/2007 Uni Rochester, NY
Gleason 6, Negative Margins
_________________
Biospy 4/2007 - 2/12 <%5 Cancer Gleason 6
RP 9/25/2007 Uni Rochester, NY
Gleason 6, Negative Margins

harvxyz · New User Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 5

I'm about 9 months post davinci surgery. I'm doing daily kegels now for about 30-45 minutes per day. While I still wear a pad during the day it's either just stained a little or even completely dry. I can even play a round of golf and be dry where 6 months ago I needed to change the pad a couple of times during 18 holes of golf. So I've seen little-by-little improvement over time and expect to stop wearing a pad at all in a few months.

Jack · New User Joined: 19 Nov 2005 Posts: 9

I am not complaining as my problem would be considered a minor inconvenience. However. I have come to the conclusion that some of the statistics we all receive are somewhat inaccurate. Almost everyone and their mother, prior to prostate surgery, is told by their surgeon that they will experience impotency but it can be handled with pills and they will have a 95% chance of not experience incontinence. I would like to see the stats that support the latter. I have a suspicion that many of us who are on the border with minor leakage but are not comfortable to forego a pad are listed in the "no problem with incontinence" side of the equation. The more I talk with men I know that have had prostate surgery the more I am convinced that they do not try that hard to get real accurate results when reporting incontinence.

BadYear · New User Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 2

I am trying to schedule the robotic surgery for the end of January. How do I go about finding out what my surgeon's stats are for Incontinence and ED. I'm going to ask him straight up but is there any other way to find out? Would any of you be willing to share your research techniques and whether or not you felt that the research was sufficient?

Charlie
_________________
Courage is Being Scared to Death -- but saddling up anyway.
John Wayne

44 diagnosed PC 11/19/07
PSA 3.9 Gleason 3+3

chas036

Badyear ....... If you are considering surgery in the future. I strongly recommend you take a look at this new procedure being formed by Dr. Ashutosh K. Tewari, director of robotic prostatectomy at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital in NYC. With this new procedure for reattaching the ureatha, 65% of the men are fully continente within 4 weeks after surgery and 95% after 16 weeks.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/70715.php

I did a lot of reserach prior to my surgery, but I wish I could have done more or had someone tell me more about someone like Dr Tewari and incontinence. I knew incontinence was an issue after this type of surgery, but because I was relatively young, and in excellent pyhsical condition, and had been doing kegels for 4 months prior to my surgery, I had a false set of hopes, and I thought that I wouldn't have any problems with incontinence, or if I did, it would be very minimal at the most. Boy was I wrong.

I even picked a good surgeon who had a good reputation and had performed well over 1000 of these operations, so I thought I was in good hands, but luck was not on my side.

I know that it has only been 11 weeks since my surgery and it takes time, but I have not seen one bit of improvement in my incontinence in those 11 weeks, nothing. I use 4-7 pads a day depending how much time I am on my feet and how much I drink. The only good thing that came out of my surgery, other than my cancer being removed, is that I have no ED problems what so ever and I can get a full and hard erection without using drugs. But you know what?,,,,it is completely worthless to me becuase of my incontinence. Because I drip so much, and when I have an orgasm I ejectulate urine, my wife wants nothing to do with me until I stop leaking.

What I am trying to get across to you is that if you can find someone who can give you a better chance of continence very quickly after surgery like Dr Tewari can, then do everything in your power to take advantage of this and use this surgeon or ask your surgeon if he can do this technique. You don't know what having incontinence is until you actually have it, and it is something you don't want to experience if you don't have too.
_________________
Biospy 4/2007 - 2/12 <%5 Cancer Gleason 6
RP 9/25/2007 Uni Rochester, NY
Gleason 6, Negative Margins

Replicant · Moderator Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 163

I used pads for maybe two weeks after a Da Vinci robotic prostatectomy. I had a little stress incontinence (sitting up suddenly, coughing, picking up one of my kids) for a while. That's mostly gone. I have a tiny touch of that now and then with heavy exertion. I tried Kegels off and on for the first few weeks, but not religiously.

Everyone's different, and age plays a role. I had just turned 44 when I had surgery.

BadYear · New User Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 2

Chas:

I've looked into it but can't stand the idea of going to NYC. I live in a little town and while I did grow up in San Francisco proper even the idea of going to a small city that I grew up in is unappealing.

Replicant:

Thanks for your comments. I have to little kids that I like to wrastle with so It'll be tough. I turned 44 a few months ago as well.
_________________
Courage is Being Scared to Death -- but saddling up anyway.
John Wayne

44 diagnosed PC 11/19/07
PSA 3.9 Gleason 3+3

vol48 · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:46 am Post subject: Totally discusted

Hi!
I'm new to the forum, so I'll give you a little background. I'm a 59 year old delivery driver from Wilmington, DE who had a robotic (DaVinci) radical prostatectomy on March 28, 2007. That first night the surgeon had to change the cathater twice because of blood clots. To change the cathater he scoped me, intoduced a guide wire and then inserted the cathater - all of this while I was awake. The pain was so bad that I broke the railing off of the bed.

It is now over 9 months later and I still use 10-15 pads a day. Keep in mind that my job involves a lot of lifting all day long. Luckily most nights I'm dry.

My surgeon is pushing me to let him install a sling. He offered to give me the phone number of one of his sling patients where the surgery "almost worked" (his words, not mine). I wouldn't let this butcher operate on my worst enemy, let alone using him again.

Needless to say I'm totally disgusted and wish that I had just left the cancer in me.

GaryG · New User Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 4

Sorry to hear of your experience. Have you tried the kegel exercises?
_________________
PSA 8/2007 3.5
PSA 9/2007 4.6
Biospy 10/2007 - 1/8 5% Cancer Gleason 6
RP 11/28/2007 Mt. Sinai Hospital, NY, NY
Gleason 6, Negative Margins
PSA 1/2008 < 0.05

vol48 · Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject: Kegel exercises

I've been doing the exercises for 9 months. I've also been to physical therapy for bio-feedback. It hasn't helped.

Any suggestions short of surgery?

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