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How many kegels a day?

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Posted 3/21/2008 10:52 PM (GMT 0)
Read a post that mentioned that some believe it possible to do too many kegels.....which I had not seen before.

Curious....for those who are now "fully continent"......how long were you incontinent and how many kegels a day, on average, did you do?

Posted 3/22/2008 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
It took me about 10 weeks to become fully continent, and I did it without doing any kegels. I think that my surgeon is the exception in the fact that he specifically told me not to do any kegels. I started seeing significant improvement at about 4 -5 weeks post surgery.

I am definitely not recommending that anyone follow my surgeon's advice. It worked for me (although I had doubts after 3 weeks), but most surgeons seem convinced that gains can be made by doing kegels.
Posted 3/22/2008 4:17 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Triker.

I hope others will share their experience.

Posted 3/22/2008 7:33 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Danmanbob

My husband was told to do 10 per night right before bedtime once the cath was removed.  He began seeing good improvement after about a week and was pad free in less than a month.  He occasionally still has a little leak if he lifts something too heavy.

Marie

Posted 3/22/2008 8:58 PM (GMT 0)
   Hey ~ Danman Bob, We truly feel our recovery has been due to the fact that we took and are taking good care of the sphincter muscle.... and Kegels was and is a part of our healing/recovery even at the 2 year mark!! Buddy & I invite you to visit our personal thread listed in our signature below... and you’ll also find several threads in the locked thread you recently found J that deals with Kegels… It truly is finding the right recovery for you!!   Pull from all of us ~ Take care and thank you for your staying close and sharing with all of us! In New Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy
Posted 3/22/2008 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
I had done kegels for several years before cancer for ED therapy. I was dry the day after the catheter came out. Maybe this was luck or kegels or and excellent surgeon. Who knows. I still do kegels with my daily exercise routine.

Jim
Posted 3/23/2008 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
No kegals very good control by second day. only used pad for sneeze for a few days but didn't really need one. I was one of the lucky ones.
Posted 3/23/2008 2:54 AM (GMT 0)
i tried to do kegels, but realistically, my self discipline was pretty poor. I would remember at odd times and did them sporadically. I was pad free at 8 weeks. Before surgery, a DR at Sloan Kettering examined me and told me I had a weak abdominal floor. this surprised me since I went to the gym 4-5 days a week, but realized I was not exercising those muscles. Anyway, as you may read here, kegels may help, but each journey is so unique, it's hard to say. I may have been pad free earlier if I had done them more.

Paul

Posted 3/23/2008 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
I'll never know if Kegels helped me or not, but my surgeon told me to do them, and anyway, I figured by doing them it was good insurance.

My routine was this - A total of 150 a day, splitting them up by morning, noon and night. Each session I did 25 by holding each one for a count of 10 seconds and resting in between for 10 seconds. I would end the session by doing a quick count of 25, not holding them at all, just squeezing. I was out of pads at five weeks although I would still suffer some minor stress incontinence that was very inconsistent and really wasn't an issue. I very rarely suffer any stress incontinence now, and can even sneeze without leaking.

But what I thought was most helpful in building up strength in the pelvic floor area during my recovery was doing a set of 75 flights of steps in my house, or doing 30 minutes on an elliptical machine combined with consistent walking. I'm still Kegeling but only during the week, taking weekends off. However, the elliptical machine is now a part of my exercise routine, and I spend 30 minutes on it three days a week, and run about 24 miles a week. I'm completely continent, and sometimes feel like I have better control now than I did when I had a prostate.

Good luck and let us know how you're doing.
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