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Posted 5/5/2009 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
It is 2 days shy of four months since my robotic surgery. I never had an ED problem but I did have a severe leakage problem. I started out needing 6 to 8 pads a day with gradual improvement over time. Today, for the first time, I went the entire day pad free. It took four months but I made it......a dry day.

I'll probably still use a light pad when I go to the fitness center or play golf. The moral of my message to guys reading this is to have patience. With time you too will be dry and pad free.

Sam 

Posted 5/5/2009 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Hi spisam,

My surgery is approaching 5 months now. Like you I was using 8 to 10 pads a day right after the catheter was removed. It's been a slow but steady improvement since then. I'm fully continent when seated or lying down. Recently I found that I had no leakage while standing still but still have problems when walking. Based on the steady progress I've been experiencing I'm fully optimistic that I;ll be pad free some day. As you say, be patient.

Bob
Posted 5/5/2009 2:01 AM (GMT 0)

Guys, I am 2 weeks out from catheter removal and am wondering if you were doing kegel exercises routinely. I am generally OK laying down and almost OK sitting (some leaks) but still leaky walking around the neighborhood and if I walk around my office now that I have ventured back to the secular world. I know it takes time but I am wondering about the relationship between those exercises and getting control. Do they help and is there anything else that worked for you, or others out there in advancing the cause of control?

TeddyG

Posted 5/5/2009 2:34 AM (GMT 0)
Guys,
I started physical therapy 2 weeks after the catheter was removed. I do several sets of Kegels every day. I started out dry from the first night and using 2 pads during the day. Walking and playing golf are the 2 activities that cause most of the leakage. I'm now just shy of 3 months and still use about half a pad a day. It seems like the last few drops will not go away. I'm hoping that soon it will stop.
Posted 5/5/2009 2:36 AM (GMT 0)
Hi TeddyG,

There seems to be a lot of conflicting information about doing Kegal exercises. Some information says you should do it often and other information says too much exercise is harmful. Very confusing. I do weight training and have learned that you should exercise a muscle group and then give it a day of rest. I felt that the pelvic floor muscles should be treated the same way.

I work the pelvic muscles via Kegal exercises on alternate days, allowing a day of rest between exercise days. For exercise I do 4 sets of 20 reps which is about enough to observe muscle failure.

Based on available information it's hard to say if this is really helping me or hindering me. I am seeing consistent improvement over time although it's taking longer than most people. My surgery was complicated by the size of my prostate and took nearly 6.5 hours. Some of the extra time was due to repairs made to the bladder.

I just feel fortunate that I'm healing as well as I am.

Thanks for listening,
Bob
Posted 5/5/2009 2:46 AM (GMT 0)

Everyone says "be patient" and that's what I am attempting to do.

Anyone dealing with depression yet?

(Perhaps more on that later).

57yrs of age, otherwise great health....Now 8.5 weeks post-op, gleason was 6 (two out of ten biop samples positive).  Did the robotic (Patrick Foley, Memorial Hospital, Chattanooga, TN) (His lineage folks invented the "Foley Catheter")  Many, many thanks, huh???

Still sore on left side, needing a pillow seat BUT had 13 biopsies during surg due to weird growth of prostate gland--attaching itself to pubic or pelvic bone. 

Thanks be to God, however, psa is zero at 6 weeks.

Still some leakage, but like some of you, lying down or sitting takes the pressure off.

Still no erection, but signs of life are there.  May need a little viagara to jump start!

Someone suggested my left side is sore because that is where I keep my wallet.

It is a great point since the robot alone was $24,000 for 5.8 hrs.  Wouldn't we like to make that kind of money??

Blessings to each of you!!

Larry

Posted 5/5/2009 4:18 AM (GMT 0)
Larryc,
Haven't felt like asking my doc for depression meds--those can knock out your libido like HT.
But talking to the folks here helps a lot. Even my wife thinks so. So, talk some more if you feel like it.

DJ
Posted 5/5/2009 12:48 PM (GMT 0)
I would get depressed when the leaking would not stop. But Purgatory and others on this Board gave me hope and said to be patient. It helped. Also, I do pilates three times a week. My trainer started a recovery program for me after surgery, slowly building up. My instructor finished the sessions with keegel type excecises using a rubber ball, compression ring and springs for various moves in the lower area. I felt it helped more than the keegels.

My wife also had me go padless when at home. I wet lots of pants but she told me it was like potty training a baby. Cause and effect. Who knows, but something worked.

Sam
Posted 5/5/2009 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
I continue to be frustrated, but I seem to be very much normal. Dry at night, pretty dry when sitting -- more movement results in more leakage. It also seems worse in the evening when I am tired.

about pain on the left side. I was told that the incision there is larger and that it is used for drains and other "housekeeping" and so takes the most beating. Four weeks out I am still a bit tender there.
Posted 5/5/2009 9:38 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys:

Sorry to be somewhat of a wet blanket in this conversation, but I have no other choice.

I am 20 weeks post-op per da Vinci robotics, and I remain totally incontinent. I ooze 2 - 2-1/2 oz. of fluid every hour (24/7).  As to ED, that subject for me is drowning under this incontinence issue.

I continue to play tennis on most days. I kegel every day, religiously. I follow the weight training principles discussed by pa69, except that I also add the principle of muscle confusion by varying the exercises. Over the summer, I will add the pilates and core exercises discussed by spisam.

I have completed 10 of 12 biofeedback/ES sessions without any noticeable improvement. A cystoscopy produced pretty pictures --- no answers. Patience?  I have none.  That has drowned, too.  But, it doesn't make much difference because I am still required to deal with the facts as they exist, and not as I wish them to be.

I do applaud each of you for publishing your trials and tribulations, and especially your triumphs.  I add the current portion of my tale so that anyone who is researching this topic prior to making a choice as to remedies can get a more complete picture of the possible outcomes.  While I recognize that my situation could change overnight, I only can tell the tale as it exists today.

RHC Jr.

Posted 5/5/2009 9:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi RHC Jr,

I never thought of varying the kegal exercises. Maybe that will help the process along. Thanks for the tip.

Wishing all of you the best,
Bob
Posted 5/5/2009 10:55 PM (GMT 0)
Also for anyone else researching options, it is possible to be fully continent after surgery. I am one, and there are others in these forums. Opinions are divided on Kegels, but supposedly they help with ED too. I think it worth-while to continue with them even though short-term they seem to be having no effect.

Although lucky with continence, ED is quite another matter. Non-nerve-spared, I expected to have ED and I have -- no natural erections of any kind at 13 months post-surgery. But I live in hope....
Posted 5/6/2009 2:38 AM (GMT 0)
Hey guys, I'm pullin for every one of you to dry up. The few of us leakers here know exactly how you are feeling now. Many of us dealt with the leaking and depression for months if not years before we tried other options. All I want to say is give your body time to heal. Try to keep going on with your life. Do the things you want. Carrying pads and extra cloths is no fun. But, it may be what you have to do for a while.
Good Luck,
KW
Posted 5/6/2009 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
I'm 8 months post op and still not dry.  Immediately after surgery and for several months I was going through 10 pads a day.  At the 3-month point the flow stopped substantially and since then it's continued to get better.  Currently, I could get by with 1 pad a day, and I'm very active.  There are times when I need up to 3 pads a day - depending upon what I'm drinking and other factors.  I've started sleeping at night without wearing a pad and that feels good.  Though, one night I woke up having wet the bed a little.  My Urologist tells me I'm proceeding in a "text book" fashion - and I'm satisfied with my progress.  I want to mention, also, that the pads I now use are much lighter than the ones I was using at 10 a day - so whatever flow I'm having is far less.  It's important to keep in mind which of the pad strengths we use - so we're comparing apples to apples, etc.
Posted 5/6/2009 6:55 PM (GMT 0)

Mavica:

In the process of going from 10 pads per day down to 1 pad per day, did you alter your lifestyle in any respect?  More specifically, did you intentionally reduce your intake of fluids?  The general notion expressed on this message board and in other places is that the Advance Male Sling (and other slings) is recommended for persons with mild to moderate incontinence.  Rightly or wrongly, I look at 10 pads per day as being heavy incontinence, while 1 pad per day would be mild to moderate incontinence.  Did you get to the preferable stage (mild to moderate) via a natural progression, or did you employ some regimen and make a special effort to take you to that place?

(BTW, in either case, I congratulate you on your reduction in pad usage.  The feeling of relief must be fantastic.  The feeling of hope for a solution must be even better.)

RHC Jr.

Posted 5/7/2009 1:29 PM (GMT 0)
Hey guys
I was so focused on finding a surgeon and removing the cancer i didn't pay any attention to the incontinence part of this whole thing. I had my catheter out last Thursday. I thought everyone was going through 2-3 pads a day, well i went back to work on Tuesday(5 days after the catheter was removed) and going through about 8 or 9 pads a day. Like everyone else night time is much better, i wake up and make a trip to the bathroom every hour, but during the day it is nothing but leakage. I am glad i read this post to find out there is hope and to have patience, thanks and be well, Jake                    Age 56,
DRE 12/22/08 PSA 1/09 3.4 PSA 2/09 3.8
Biopsy 3/9/09 3 out of 12 positive
one core 80% one 40% one 2%
Gleason 6 Cat Scan Neg.
di vinci robotic surgery at Mount Sinai NY 4/23/09
both nerves spared
margins and nodes clear
catheter out in 7 days 4/30/09
Posted 5/7/2009 1:42 PM (GMT 0)
Dear Guys:
Been three(3) years since my surgery and had all of the issues discussed. Leaking, ED prolems, kinda depressed etc. I just deceided that I wasn't going to let it get me down. However, I did find that if I reduced any intake of caffenine, there was tremendous improvement. I don;t drink tea or coffe, but I did have maybe one(1) Coke a day and thus eliminated that as well. I also eleminated citrus drinks(orange juice, tomatoe juice etc). Alot of water. Bladder seems to like that. Probably going to do the Advance Sling to get out out of that one final pad. Can get erect now and if I take a very small dose of Levitra or Cealis works great(back in action again). Orgasims are even better now. I was also having trouble at first with the kegels and leaking and the doctor offered the electrical stimulus and it really sped up the recovery. All should do that to speed up recovery. Ask your doctor about that.
Drewboy
Posted 5/7/2009 2:13 PM (GMT 0)

 RHC, Jr.:

 

I've altered little or nothing in my lifestyle . . . as far as food and drink is concerned.  I drink lots of Diet soda (4-5 cans per day - which, about 75% is caffeine-free), I drink wine, water, etc.  I frequently walk a mile or two a day and I get to/from work by riding public busses and the subway.  I'm sitting in front of a computer most of the day, and up and down, walking around, up and down stairs, etc.  If I'd altered my fluid intake maybe that would or would have helped reduce leakage . . . I don't know.  Honestly, the light pads I'm using now are only a slight incontinence . . . but one I'd like to rid myself of in time.  After speaking with my Urologist about this, I'm led to believe my progress from "full flow" to moderate/light leakage is an expected progression and, prior to my surgery last September, the Urologist told me I'd probably leak heavily for the first three months - and that's what happened.  Being "patient" isn't easy for any one of us - whether it's talking about incontinence or ED, I know.  Hang-in there!

 

Mavica

Posted 5/7/2009 2:40 PM (GMT 0)
For what it's worth, I was dry at exactly 2 months after my open surgery. However, I did a drastic reduction in fluid intake except for water. As soon as the catheter was out, no coffee, tea, soda, soup, etc. Did have 1 beer a day and about 10 glasses of water.

I also walked 3 to 5 miles a day, doing kegels while I was walking. I may have had an advantage over others in that I had by-pass surgery in March of 2005 and my body had already gone through a major healing process. A cousin on my mother's side had the davinci and it took 18 months for him to stop using pads.

However, I really think that fluid intake makes a major difference on the incontinence factor.

Posted 5/7/2009 7:15 PM (GMT 0)
As a person 1 year out, I still have a small amount of leakage. One of the guys on this forum suggested "womens light pads" - well I tried it and it works. Never thought I would wear a kotex, but what the heck! The light pads are so small and thin they are almost like not wearing one. The heavier pads were hot and uncomfortable. For those who just have an ocassional drip - it's great.
Posted 5/7/2009 11:13 PM (GMT 0)
Having had the Advance Male Sling done when I was leaking at a rate of 8-10 soaked "heavy" Depends Guards for Men I would recomend not to try the sling unless you are less than 3-5 pads a day. For a heavy "Leaker" I would recomend the AUS (Artificial Urinary Sphincter). I still use a light womens liner for daily use and a Depends Guard when playing golf. But, I never have to worry about wettin my pants anymore!
Hope things dry up for you but if not....just know there are things that can be done.
KW
Posted 5/8/2009 12:29 AM (GMT 0)
At two months post open RP, I decided to skip the pads altogether. This decision was prompted by one poster who's wife felt that it would help to make him more aware of whatever it takes to stay dry. It did help, I had only one day that needed a pad; I think fatigue was the factor. I do not limit liquids except in the evening but am always aware of where the next toilet is and use it whenever available.
ED - just beginning to reawaken.
Posted 5/10/2009 7:58 PM (GMT 0)
Almost 5 months out from surgery and down to one pad per 24 hour period and it only has and additional 20-30 grams of weight (less than teaspoon) beyond the pad weight. I swear I can't find any yellow on the pad. It must just be sweat. :)

But, I'm still profoundly ED. No pills work.
Posted 5/10/2009 8:48 PM (GMT 0)
Dan, its most natural for a pad to absorb the normal sweat you generate and the extra from wearing the pad, probably all it is, sounds like you are dry to me.

David in SC
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