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Worried Guy's Incontinence Journey - Sling

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Posted 1/31/2011 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
That is great, You have made it! Congratulations. I was not too sure about the sling based on some of the people here who had a less than favorable result but some of the guys might have been offered this when they may not of been idea candidates? Who knows. It is great that you get to be dry without all the tubes and pumps ect. I guess i won't mind all my new tubing and little pump IF it works.
Now you can wear whatever you want and pee like a man!
Ron
Posted 2/1/2011 12:53 AM (GMT 0)
Jeff,
That's one huge woohoo! Go on out and buy those big boy panties.....but then you may not want to wear any at all. I know, not a good visual image.
Carl
Posted 2/1/2011 1:26 AM (GMT 0)
Jeff, sounds like amazing progress after all this time, hope you keep in that direction, like getting a new lease on life.

david
Posted 2/1/2011 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
Jeff,

This is such GREAT NEWS!!!!  Hang in there and be a "good boy" for the next 4 weeks .  Sounds like you are close to the finish line of that LFPF life.

I am soooooooooooo happy for you!!!!

Thanks for including us and keeping us posted!!!!!

Posted 2/2/2011 1:20 AM (GMT 0)
Jeff,
No one deserves this respite more than you do. OK, when you coming to NYC to take on the town? I keep hoping I can come in April. Otherwise...see you in September. dang, that would make a good song...
Paul
Posted 2/2/2011 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
I notice a discounted adult diapers ad on this therad. You must have caused this Jeff.
LOL
carl
Posted 2/2/2011 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
I notice a discounted adult diapers ad on this therad. You must have caused this Jeff.
LOL
carl
Posted 2/2/2011 2:28 PM (GMT 0)
Guys,
Thanks for the well wishes. So far so good. I never thought I'd be the poster boy for AdVance Sling but it seems to be turning out that way.

My Mettler equipment is sensitive enough to detect less than 1/4 of one drop of liquid hidden in a stack of 30 pair of underwear. (Honest!) Using that I have determined that I do not leak. Zero, nada. The 3-5 ml of liquid is from just before and after urinating. It takes so long to pee I give up so a few drops come out into my underwear and quickly evaporate. I will have to teach myself how to improve on this.

Now that it takes me so long to empty I can stand next to other old f*rts in a public bathroom and complain about my prostate. That's a plus - I guess.

Jeff (LFPF and Snow Shoveling free)


Carl, Clearly Kimberly Clarke is getting desperate for funds. They lost one of their biggest customers and their CEO still needs the money to fuel his yacht. I hope HW makes a few bucks on this post.

Post Edited (Worried Guy) : 2/2/2011 9:07:19 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/2/2011 3:57 PM (GMT 0)
Jeff - glad you are still doing ok with your new sling ...
... since it is taking slower time to void - are you still emptying out completely
( your earlier worry) ...
hugs
BRONSON
Posted 2/2/2011 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
Bronson,
Based upon my typical volume of 200 - 300 ml, I figure I am emptying completely. When I am "finished", I do a few follow-up kegels and about 30 ml comes out.
It just seems that there are always a few drops <0.5ml? left in my tubing. (A "drop" is 0.035 ml, by the way.
It's just data. I am not complaining!
Three or 4 weeks to go to see if I leak under stress.

Dry hugs back at ya'!

Jeff (LFPF but wearing a pad today for data collection purposes only)

Post Edited (Worried Guy) : 2/2/2011 10:49:23 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/2/2011 5:50 PM (GMT 0)
OK, Jeff, here's one you will like, I have had my wood stove heater going a lot of the time in the last week and now even more so. I have been putting my soaked pads in there, I don't know about energy balance, ( heat used for evaporation vs heat gain by combustion) but it has sort'a a sprit lifting effect on me.
keep dry (and warm if possible)
ron
Posted 2/3/2011 1:49 PM (GMT 0)
Ron,,, You and Jeff (WorriedGuy) are getting way too close. :)

I am so pleased for both of your guys.

Cajun Jeff
Posted 2/3/2011 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
Ron,

You wrote : "I don't know about energy balance, (heat used for evaporation vs heat gain by combustion) "
Well, my friend, relax, I do.

I addressed some of these issues in previous posts:

This addresses the issue of Standby power:
https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=1685153

This one might be my favorite. The energy released from a pee pad when burned:
https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=1608731
One SDUP, sun-dried used pad, is worth 373.7 BTU or 109.3 watt hours.

This one calculates the size of the leak orifice.
https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=1641531

To answer your question, you are better off letting the pee pad cool to room temperature and dry completely before burning. That will add humidity into your home and extract as much of the latent heat contained in the warm urine. If you have a conventional box type stove with a single baffle you will only extract 40% of the latent heat if it is burned while wet. A reburner type stove (like mine ) will give you 72.7%. Whereas, drying the pad beforehand will give you a 100% chance of upsetting your wife and incurring potentially crippling legal fees.

Jeff (LFPF but still wearing one for data.)

Post Edited (Worried Guy) : 2/3/2011 8:12:51 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/3/2011 3:51 PM (GMT 0)
Well Jeff, a famous oft used quotation " Incontinence is the mother of Invention" comes to mind. The "slingy" thing of yours is not working out well as far as your continuing contributions to humanity at large. We have have to have it removed for the common good. I see that in the past you have explored and extracted what good there was from the pads and diapers. On the other hand, maybe you have completed this work so now you can move on to other " flies in the ointment" so to speak. I got a good laugh out of the Energy released thread!
Ron
Posted 2/3/2011 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
By the way, all the numbers I quoted in those threads are true. I used the latest software and data from Argonne National Labs. If you ever need a precise calculation for green house gas emissions, give me a call. I can custom tailor it for your exact location and energy mix, and compute the grams of CO2 saved for each energy saving initiative. Typically, I do this for large buildings and facilities but I can also do for individual pee pads.

Jeff (LFPF but wearing a pad for data - Evap. rate of 9.0 gm/day at RH 30%).
Posted 2/3/2011 5:23 PM (GMT 0)
Jeff:

I started a new thread for you

Mel

Posted 2/3/2011 6:28 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Mel, I like the title: "Continence"
I know this thread is 6 pages deep but there are a surprising number of people subscribed to it. Quite a few lurkers have emailed me privately with comments and have asked serious questions on the subject. I have also received requests for updates if I miss even a few days.

I am glad I can help - either with someone's incontinence issue or by simply brightening their day with a bit of humor and a Physics lesson. We all can use that.

I figure I am still recovering from the surgery. When I get the green light to move, drive, lift, etc. I will begin another thread Probably about the same time Ron gets his AUS activated. Then we'll be able to compare results. Rather than buy another Mettler he can ship his undies here for weighing.

Jeff
Posted 2/3/2011 7:47 PM (GMT 0)

Jeff,

Glad to hear the news is good and that the sling is working. Thanks for the all the hydrodynamics and physics tutorials... and the fact you're doing good.

Best of continuing luck! Very Happy for you!

Mike

Posted 2/7/2011 12:50 AM (GMT 0)
Jeff,
How do you measure the "smell" factor of drying or burning pads? Ugh!

Your obsession with all things analytical drives an old sales guy like me crazy. Now that you are dry you still wear a pad just to measure? Now that's not seeing the Forrest for the Pees! Lol
Posted 2/7/2011 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
Carl,
"Not seeing the Forrest for the Pees!" LOL

We heat with wood and when it's so cold outside the relative humidity indoors drops very low - to ~30%. I have to wear the pad or else the leak would evaporate and I would mistakenly think there was none.

I am wearing a thin pad as a small sacrifice for the common good. Yesterday I leaked 7.7 ml. Evaporation rate is 8.8 ml/day so without the pad I would have read 0 .
Hey, if a sphincter dribbles in the forest and nobody gets wet, is it really a leak?

Jeff

And don't worry about the smell. My high efficiency reburner type stove runs at 700F. It turns that urea into CO2, water and ammonia fertilizer. No wonder our tomatoes grew so well last year!
Posted 2/14/2011 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
Update 2/14/2011 - 5 weeks, Leaking has increased to about 20 ml/day. Just a little cramping pain if sitting in the car or on a couch with soft cushions.

I'm at 5 weeks - still shy of the recommended 6-8 weeks of no lifting. The AdVance sling takes that long to knit into the tissue. It is not screwed into the bone.

Two weeks ago I was at about 5-10 ml/day. Last week, I had a few days where my leak was in the 10-15 ml/day range. Now I am at the 15-20 ml day. Is this a trend? confused
My capacity has grown to 400ml. Typically I will go at 300 ml. I'm not just measuring pee pads and the volume and time of each urination event. I'm also keeping track of how long the event takes! Now there's a Mettler balance, a data log book, a pee catch container and a Kodak timer in the kitchen. (My poor, poor, loving wife. Note to self- Pick up an extra box of chocolates today.)

A typical event takes 2 full minutes. It seems like forever. If I ever pee outside again I'll need put on sunscreen! It takes 10 seconds for the flow to start. Then a full 90 seconds to put out 300 ml. I keep a copy of 'The Economist' open on the back of the toilet to read while going. Then, I have to do light kegels and wiggles for 20 seconds so I don't walk out with wet undies. Two minutes! Heck, that's almost as long as it used to take me for s*x.

I am still taking it easy per instructions. My son is using the snowblower to keep the driveway clear, my wife is bringing in wood for the stove, my neighbors are feeding the birds. All while I take my 2 PM nap.

Overall, while not perfect, I am still happy with the device. I won't panic at the 20 ml/day level. It's still 100x better than what I had before and very manageable.

Two more weeks before I try to lift something heavy.

Jeff(Almost LFPF...)

Post Edited (Worried Guy) : 2/14/2011 12:01:47 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/14/2011 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
Jeff-
happy valentines day to you and yours ( did you remember the extra box of chocolates - not too heavy though)-
-was your capacity (400ml) set by you or by your doctor - was it dealing with volume retention or retention during a set time period ( ie.holding volume for 2 hours)
-I am lucky to be able to hold it to pee once an hour at home - longer when out and about... and up two or three times a night to pee...

-would it not be less stressful on the sphincter/sling support if you were conditioned for a less volume ( referring to your previous email about a "little boy sphincter trying to do a big boy's job"...)

-here is some data I found re: volume of human bladder
hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/DanielShaw.shtml

-wishing you all the best - low numbers for P.S.A. of course and now low or lower numbers for P.

hvd hugs
BRONSON
Posted 2/17/2011 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
Jeff: First, I am so glad your incontinence journey is being resolved through this procedure. I posted a reply to English Alf and put some comments to you in that post but they are deeply buried under the discussion on language so I doubt you will see them unless you dig way down. Here they are again for your comments.

Your post to me a few weeks ago made me anxious regarding how you found that progress had stopped for you at some point. As you well know, the down side of measuring is that when progress is slow or stops, you can tell right away from the pad input. I have been dropping down below 10 ml per 13 hours on the single pad I wear for an entire work day. The below 10 ml trend started on January 18th. I have had a string of a few days in a row of below 10 ml followed by the low teens.


In your post to Alf, did you indicate that you are drinking at max, 350 ml of fluid 4 times per day for a total of around 47 ounces for an entire day? Unless you are fairly low in weight, that seems like a small amount to drink per day for an average male. I am 6 ft and 170 lbs and try to drink around 64 oz per day. I did far less a few months ago without harm but felt the need to increase my fluid intake as my holding urine got better. Before surgery I used to slug down a 24 oz Starbucks ice tea on my walk to work and finished it in 12 minutes. That high intake combined with my pre surgical BPH had me going to the bathroom every 15 minutes for around 1.5 hours. I miss my tea but not the constant urge to go. Now post surgically, I can hold around 200 to 250 ml of urine before I really, really have to go. I leak a bit on the way if I wait too long. Sitting I easily hold 250 ml and can be pressed to get to around 275 before I feel I might explode. I am nowhere near the recommended 475 ml (1 pint) that I read was about the normal voiding total for men. I think they gave me a little girl bladder when I had my RP surgery.

Again, thanks for sharing your journey.

Mike S.
Posted 2/22/2011 11:18 PM (GMT 0)
Today my Incontinence Journey ended and I have begun my Continence Journey.

I had my AdVance Sling installed by Dr Robert Mayer from University Urology exactly 6 weeks and one day ago. I was told the normal waiting period is 6-8 weeks before participating in any strenuous activity. (That included not lifting anything more than 5 pounds, so my wife was forced to bring in wood for the stove and shovel the snow in the peak of winter. Darn it. wink )

Today I met with Dr Mayer for the 6 week checkup and when he asked how I was doing, I hugged him. I know it sounds sappy but I couldn't help it. He said "Ah, non-verbal communication." That little strip of fiber has turned my life around. My job is no longer taking care of pee pads and my bladder. Now I pee 5 or 6 times per day, instead of 20. I do not fear doing a presentation, or going out to dinner, or getting on a plane. I can stand up after sitting and not need to run straight to a bathroom. I can eat at a restaurant without fear of a leak.

All is not perfect in Continence Land.
1) It takes me 2 1/2 minutes to completely void. That is forever when guys are waiting for me to go to lunch. I asked Dr. M him how to speed up the process. He said to think of my new plumbing like a U shaped trap. Push on the perineum and dump it out. I tried it and it worked.

2) There is a hard, 6-8 mm diameter lump in the center of my perineum. It is slightly sore when I sit on it or touch it. He said it is normal. That is where the device knot is tied. It will dissolve in about 4 more weeks.

3) Should I do kegels? Only just before lifting something or straining. Your muscles are fine. Don't bother with 50 in the morning and 50 in the evening. It will not accomplish anything.

4) May I use the VED again for rehab? Yes. But, the VED will only draw blood into the exposed area not the root. There is a lot of tissue inside. Trimix will get that working. Since I have not had great success he recommends using the next higher dosage.

I am supposed to gradually start building up physical activity. Darn it! (There is nothing sexier than seeing my wife on the tractor blowing snow when it's 10F outside and the wind is blowing at 25 mph. - At least that's what I tell her.)

My next date to see him is in 6 months.

Bottom line: If you fit the ideal AdVance profile, 200ml/day with some residual control, I highly recommend Dr. Mayer and the AdVance sling. Do it.

Jeff (Almost leak free - 1/2 a thin liner )
Posted 2/22/2011 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
Jeff, glad you have moved from the negative diary keeping to the positive one. Good news that you have managed to get to the state where you are at and be very satisfied with that. Congrats...
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