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Newbie with a few questions

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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 12/18/2009 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hey folks, unfortunately i find myself in your boat after a recent diagnosis. My psa was only 2.6 but my free fraction was 14 leading to a biopsy. Came back 3 partial involvements out of 12 with a Gleeson of 6, no symptoms. I`m 50, non smoker, slender and very active. I have fought a weird bladder issue all my adult life called interstitial cystitis so i`m all to familiar with some frequent pee issues. Doc says that with my age, health and this ic thing that the robot is the way to go. I`m also blessed that i have a guy here in my area that is very well respected in the field and has 500 proceedures under his belt so my confidence in him is high. I`ve been able to speak to a couple of guys he has done and all had excellent outcomes with no issues. I`m set to do this in Feb. and was wondering if anyone did any particular exercises before hand to help your stomach/pelvic muscles? I mountain bike, any idea how long it will take to get back on the bike? And lastly i have a physical job(mechanic) and figure it will take alittle longer than average to get back to work, any ideas on this? Thanks for any advise, Tim
Posted 12/18/2009 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
hi welcome sorry about your news but the great thing is you seem so confident.have you looked at the many alternatives to radical,i have and i cant make up my mind.ihad hoped to go the hifu route but a recent template biopsy showed it more widespread than expected so the advantages are reduced so now i am considering brachy.yousound fit which ithink is a big advantage.hope all goes well bcc
Posted 12/18/2009 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks bcc, the ic issue pretty much ruled out brachy or any radiation. I`m sure like everyone here this scared the crap out of me but i figure lets fix it early and fix it right and get on with life. Now if i can just wrap my head around having to have the cath. for a week. Tim
Posted 12/18/2009 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hello T-dog, if are you worrying about is having a cath, that should be the least of your worries. In the past 13 months, I am now on my 10th cath totalling 180 days so far.

You are fortunate to have both some time and some choices in front of you for treatment. Study hard, choose wisely, then don't look back.

Please keep us posted.

David in SC
Posted 12/18/2009 9:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Tim - Welcome to the site...Sorry you have to be here.

The catheter is a piece of cake....Had mine in for five weeks. I was lucky to be wearing it in the summer time so I wore shorts...Could just slide my short pant leg up and empty it easily.

Posted 12/18/2009 10:26 PM (GMT 0)
Tim,

After the catheter is out, I would say within a week or 2, you could be back to work. Probably the doctor will say 4 to 6 weeks, but unless you are doing heavy lifting or really strenuous mechanic work like changing wheels on train cars, your body will let you know if you do too much.

The biking is a tough one to call. I might guess 6 to 8 weeks on that one. You are working the affected area pretty hard. Some guys complain of pain while sitting, or penile pain. The bike may tend to aggravate some of that.

Try not to worry about the surgery too much. It really is a fairly straight forward thing. Good news is, you caught it early.

Good luck, and keep us posted !

Goodlife
Posted 12/18/2009 11:14 PM (GMT 0)

Sorry To hear that you have to join us in our journey but we also welcome new members! I'm 4 months post surgery. At 7 weeks post davinci surgery did an all day off and on scooter ride in Bermuda while on Vacation. Just recently joined a health club and last night rode 5 miles on the stationary bike. I think with you being in overall good health you will be doing great after the normal 6-8 week healing time.

Larry

Posted 12/19/2009 12:04 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to open discussion...lots of ways to treat PCa...nothing is an absolute guarantee but you could do very well or be cured on various methods. My advise in short, get an education in PCa, get opinions, don't be rushed into anything and if you choose surgery or whatever. Consider it the biggest decision you can make. The skill(s) of whom does the work is much more important than the machinery in surgery. We had one guy whom got robotic LRRP and it was botched...cause the doc was not as skilled as he was lead to believe. (can happen in any type of protocol/treatments), skill and experience is primary.
Posted 12/19/2009 12:36 AM (GMT 0)
T-dog, Have you been able to treat your IC with any sucess? I can imagine that a Foley catheter would be quite an irritant, even for a short duration. Does your uro think it will be a problem? As far as pelvic floor muscle exercise, it depends on who you talk to. I did kegels for many years before my surgery because I thought it might help my sex life. I still do them today. The exercises may or may not have helped with incontinence, but I was dry and out of pads at six weeks. Some folks don't think they do any good. I was back at the gym one week after surgery. But, no heavy lifting, just the treadmill. I belive I was back to normal in about six weeks.

Good luck to you.

Carlos
Posted 12/19/2009 3:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the input guys, Carlos i`ve had some success with bladder dilation and now they have a drug called elmiron that looks promising but requires long term use and patience. Uro gave no indication cath should be a problem. Thanks
Posted 12/19/2009 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hi T-dog,

You will be back to work in a few weeks if you are in good shape. Your incontinence will occur more when you bend and lift, but that to will go away after a few months. I had my catheter in 10 days if I recall correctly

Biking is likely out for up to 6 months, you really will not want to sit on a bike seat, much less absorb all the bouncing on that area. You will be sore for a while in the area directly between your Anus and testicles, right where a seat would touch
Posted 12/21/2009 2:00 AM (GMT 0)
T-Dog,

Several of us are serious cyclists. I ride about 2000 miles/year and was most concerned about the implications of surgery. I had laproscopic surgery and it took about 3 months to be totally dry. In the interim, of course I was getting antsy about getting back on the road. At about 6 weeks I went to gym with doc approval and sat on a recumbant bike for 30 minutes, low resistance just to move those pistons. As the weeks wore on, I increased slowly. I was back on my road bike in 3 months. You must be careful as you heal from surgery. Do not be lulled into thinking the procedure is simple, it is very complicated and is so deep inside you that if they go any further inside you, they come out the back door. All of the plumbing needs to heal well before you jostle those pipes. Frankly, you do not want anyone having to back in there. Sooo...3 months off before any real riding and even then, I wouldn't start by stump jumping.  Period.

Best wishes,

Ted

Posted 12/21/2009 1:54 PM (GMT 0)
Greetings, Tim.  Welcome to the forum.  You have already received some good advice and it sounds like you were already on the right track.  Do your homework - find out your options - make a decision - and never look back.  There are lots of good options and you will hear from many of the guys here who have had the various treatments.  What is right for me may not be right for you - we are all unique and aren't we glad we are! 

I just posted on another message what my doc advised me about kegels - just stop your urine flow 4 or 5 times each time you go.  This is very similar to a kegel and you know you are getting the right muscle(s). 

I was back at work in 3 weeks but I am in an office - don't know how much I could have done had I been on my feet all day. 

You will do great - look forward to hearing great reports.  David

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