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Posted 7/17/2009 4:48 PM (GMT 0)
hello all .I need to find if i am normal. cool I am 2 months post robotic surgery.I have always been dry at night,however during the day when i am standing or walking i drip. i fill about 1/2 full4 to 5 pads.I  see maybe slight improvement.you guys does this sound normal progession.thanks a lot   
Posted 7/17/2009 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Buckeye,

I'm not sure what is "normal" but there are many in a similar situation to yourself, me included. I'm also 2 months post RP and my incontinence is similar to yours although I am seeing some improvement which is encouraging. I am able to retain urine when standing (with some leaks) but it drips out faster when I start walking or bending.

Progress comes slowly and comparing one day to the next is not necessarily very helpful because there are ups and downs on the journey. It is better to compare week by week when the changes are more noticeable.

My progress was also set back by a mild urinary tract infection which was almost symptomless (apart from incontinence!). Once that had cleared up my rate of progress accelerated. It might be worth getting yourself checked for an asymptomatic UTI.

Some men seem to have no problems from the outset but I suspect they are in the minority. Many have had similar experiences to you and most regain full (or virtually full) continence but it can take many months.

Good luck, and take heart in not being alone and in the small improvements you are seeing.

Cheers, Roger
Posted 7/17/2009 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
your right in there brother if you are comparing to most , i was dry at 10 weeks , and it literally happened overnight , however i made it a very strong point to not wear pads around the house .as i believe you can become psycologically dependant on them  (my opinion) shouldnt be long brother ..............................dirt turn
Posted 7/17/2009 6:33 PM (GMT 0)
Buckeye, I also am 2 months post op.  I had my first psa last week and doctor gave me a "C" on incontinence.  I'm using 5 pads during the day, but change frequently, a collection of 2 pads.  Nighttime dry, and when sitting I know when to go. But when active, as in yard work and soccer practice I'm not on guard and leak moderately.  This week,  I'm noticing an improvement,  strengthening my wall with more kegans and swimming and running in the pool.  Let's keep marching on...good luck. Age 57 PSA  4.6   2/2005   (not addressed by family doctor) PSA  7.6   2/10/2009 PSA  7.9   2/17/2009 Biopsy: 3 of 12 cores positive 25% left side Gleason 3+4=7 Stage T1c   Robotic Surgery  5/18/2009 Roswell Park Cancer Inst., Buffalo, NY Dr. James Mohler Upgrade Gleason 4+3=7 Tertiary grade 5 15% gland involved Stage T3a Focal extrprostatic extentension High grade PIN Perineural invasion identified MARGINS of excision are NEGATIVE for tumor Vascular/lymphatic invasion: NO Seminal Vesicle invasion: NO Lymph Nodes: None sampled  Pathological Staging (pTNM):  T 3a  NX  MX cather out  5/28/2009   PSA   .04    7/9/2009   (week 6)   
Posted 7/17/2009 7:14 PM (GMT 0)
thanks guys i love being normal,all kidding aside thanks for your input
Posted 7/17/2009 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
buckeye, I know this part of your recovery is frustrating, but for 2 months out, you are definitely in the normal range for sure. it varies so much from person to person ,so there reason isn't an absolute normal to aim for. hope you continue to heal and to dry out.

david in sc
Posted 7/18/2009 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
Buckeye first of all wise move using this board I know it has been a great help for myself. It sounds as if your results closely parallel what I am experiencing. I had my RP June 11th and I had the catheter removed June 22nd. Technically I have been working the continence issue for approximately four weeks and I am currently using three to four pads daily and two pads at night. As someone on this board recommended and I am now doing when I do urinate I am attempting to stop and start and I am experiencing some success with that. Another suggestion I took from this board was to cut back on carbonated drinks as well drinks with caffeine such as coffee etc. and that also seems to be helping. My leakage comes primarily from getting up after sitting for awhile or doing any kind of movement out of the ordinary such as turning, bending, coughing, or sleeping on my side etc.. Overall I find it to be true what I have read on this board numerous times and that is you take the old proverbial three steps forward and one or two steps back. I spoke with one individual who had robotic surgery and he told me he experienced leakage for four months but when it stopped it was as if someone hit a light switch, it stopped all of a sudden. It sounds like both you and I are doing well, hang in there!
Posted 7/18/2009 3:11 AM (GMT 0)
I have found another trick. When you are about to do something that customarily causes leakage, such as standing, to anticipate it and kegal hard prior to and during the standing motion. Even as you walk, try to kegal as you go. This helps train the sphincter to do the same during these activities.
Posted 7/18/2009 9:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hello All:

Per my discharge instructions from Hopkins:

....Urinary control returns in 3 phases:

  • Phase I - you are dry when lying down at night;
  • Phase II - your are dry when walking around;
  • Phase III - you are dry when you rise form a seated position.

This is the last component of continence that returns.

Also, the 'stop and continue' excercise is actually standard recommendation as the most effective way to do Kegels. It was in my discharge instructions as well.

Hope the above phases  provides some structure in how we look at progress with incontinence. I am 7 weeks. I think I am still about 70% phase 2. sometimes feels like 100%..

Posted 7/19/2009 7:32 AM (GMT 0)
Hi IKE-D,

I've seen those three phases to full continence posted before but, at least for me, Phase III doesn't apply as written. I'm still only a little way through Phase II but from very early on I've been able to rise from a seated position and remain dry.

The killer for me, and what I suspect will be my personal Phase III, is to remain dry as I sit down from a standing position. Sitting down (or bending down) almost always produces a squirt!

Roger
Posted 7/20/2009 2:10 PM (GMT 0)

buckeye42 said...
hello all .I need to find if i am normal. cool I am 2 months post robotic surgery.I have always been dry at night,however during the day when i am standing or walking i drip. i fill about 1/2 full4 to 5 pads.I  see maybe slight improvement.you guys does this sound normal progession.thanks a lot   

I was going through 10 to 12 pads the first several weeks post-op and didn't see much change in that frequency until about the third month, if I'm remembering correctly.  It was a horrible period of time, because I kept wondering if things would get better.  I'm now 9 months post-op and using 1 pad per day (and it rarely gets "full").  For the several weeks post-op I'd have some overnight leakage, not much - but it's been probably 6 months or more since I wore a pad at night.  What you're describing sounds "normal" to me, given my own situation and what I've read here from others.
Posted 8/6/2009 8:28 PM (GMT 0)
I'm 6 days post catheter removal and am going through pads faster than a Georgia cop writing speeding tickets. 8 during the day, 2 at night and 2-3 Depend changes when the pad over fills. Every pad I change is full. (I get my money's worth.) I have been frustrated by lack of progress.
When I get up from the bed I run to the shower and let 'er go. Based on your advice I will try to stop the stream.
I gush whenever I get up from a seated position or reach down to pick up something. I'll try Kegeling now and get up from this table. Maybe I'll make it to the bathroom.
On your mark... get set...Go!
Edit Made it!
Posted 8/7/2009 2:17 PM (GMT 0)
I was very slow in the continence department. It took me three months to go from 8 pads a day to 1 or 2. Then 9 months to get rid of the last pad.
Posted 8/10/2009 5:14 AM (GMT 0)
I am not sure if what everybody calls a pad I am 2 months out and go through 2 diapers a day, I hope to get to pads. I have gotten better in the last 2 weeks I was using 6 I may need to change a little more often since I am wet in the back (it wicks back) but I have a smelly back side since i sit in it. I still go each time I stand up quite a bit but not as much as at other times. It is getting better
Timmy77
Posted 8/10/2009 11:19 AM (GMT 0)
Timmy77, I'm using the Depend Guard for Men pads or Tena Pads inside my diapers. That's what I call pad. They are quick to change and the diaper stays clean. I am such a cheap b*stard I refuse to change anything unless it is soaked to capacity. The pads work great and fill up in about 2 hours if I am awake and active. The timing matches nicely to my pit stop schedule of old.
I wear my regular briefs on top of the whole paper-plastic-grilled-cheese sandwich to keep everything supported. It looks almost normal until you yank the pad out of the diaper in a bathroom stall - sounds like duct tape.
Jeff
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