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Finally pad free, some thoghts.

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Posted 7/9/2011 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
Greetings all.

Been out of touch for a bit, trying to get on with life. I hope that you are all progressing, and wish you the very best. PCa is a real ba****d.

It was the middle of June that I happily bid the pads farewell. So from surgery to pad free was just about four months. I called Dr.s office to let them know, and they were pleased too.

Some thoughts about my moist journey.

During the four month period, I resumed my regular diet which included an incredible amount of spicey, hot, garlicky food. My weeaknes. I'm talking few humans could tolerate what I consume. Tabasco does not last long in our house.

As mentioned by others, this had a tendence for me to leak more, probably because I drink lots of what to put out oral fire. I also drank my usual but not excesive beer. This and coffee cause bladder weakness and occasional leakiness.

To adjust for this, I would make a trip to the bathroom pre-emptively whether or not I "had to go".

I found as time went on, I was almost always dry at nite after three months. so I wore no pad at that point and successfully (didn't ruin mattress) made it.

So i itially no pads at nite. I decided that on a day I knew I was going to be around home, to try no pad during day. At first a little leakage, but that got to a point at about four months that I felt comfertable enough to actually return to Walgreen's my stock pile of un-opened pads. Yeah!

I kept up kegles, did what I was told. I think that just getting rid of the pads actually help speed up the remaining little leaks I had to go away.

So I guess my suggestion would be, if you start THINKING you might be getting dry,is to try and go a day without the pad and see what happens, maybe a few days. But be around somewhere where you can change if you have an accident.

Maybe the mind needs to readjust or something, along with the bladder muscles, valves, timing chains, alternators, whatever.

Cheers.

W-O
Posted 7/9/2011 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
My approach was pretty much like your suggestion. When I felt pretty confident about bladder control, I stopped wearing pads when I was at home. I figured if I had a problem at home, I could take care of it without any real hassle. I did wear a pad for a few more weeks when I left the house. This was more of a precaution just in case because getting in and out of a car and some other movements were still a little "iffy". No problems occurred during the times I wore a pad as a precaution so after a while, the three weeks I mentioned, I felt confident enough to stop wearing pads entirely. Once in a while there was a drop or two that got away but no significant incidents.
Posted 7/9/2011 8:39 PM (GMT 0)
Congratulations, WO, on being pad free at last, that's a big accomplishment
Posted 7/9/2011 9:30 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Inspector. And Purg, who I always think about.

I had to run out the door to complete honey-do list, so a couple of things about my first post.

Though I chose the spicy diet quenched by my favorite Belgium beer, sparkling water and other bladder challengers, I occasionally wondered (as did the often dismayed mrs.) had I have approached this with a less aggressive diet, could I have been dry in two months or any earlier? Maybe so, but doing this wasn't killing me I don't think, plus the added benefit of me being tolerable to live with!

I should also add, just as Inspector mentioned, I to found myself either wearing a pre-caution pad, or at least having one handy just in case.

To this day, though not nearly as much, I still have a tiny leakage. This is getting better slowly too. The. mrs. take on this is that now I change my underwear everyday, unlike before surgery I could easily get two or more days out of a pair simply by turning them inside out....
Posted 7/10/2011 12:29 AM (GMT 0)
Congratulations, Wigged. Pad free is a real ego booster. The other week, I was looking for a sleeve of golf balls in my golf bag and found a pad I had carried around last season after my August surgery. It gave me a very funny feeling to see it there, but it's still there. Maybe I can find some way to use it as a head cover :)
Posted 7/10/2011 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
It took me about four month to 'dry out' too.

That said, I'm writing from the deck of the cottage doing damage to a nice rum and coke, so I haven't taken 'dried out' to excess.

Rum and coke is, in your terms, my hot sauce.

Congratulations W-O --- nice to have you on the dry side.

Sheldon AKA Sleepless
Posted 7/10/2011 1:25 AM (GMT 0)
One of the things I won't miss is waking in the middle of the night, putting new pad on half asleep only to realize later I put it on backwards with adhesive part facing the wrong way. Can you say ouch and many other four letter expletives?

W-O
Posted 7/10/2011 3:09 AM (GMT 0)
W-O,

That "ouch" has a very specific meaning to it, and not a very pleasant one - been there, done that.

I've tried more than a couple of times in my 21 months post DaVinci to go "commando", but it ends in huge laundry challenges when I should be getting up to a new day. I'll vote that "mental" is not the whole discussion.

Congrats on your "dry" status, and I'll be looking to you (yeah, the kids on the board) as a model smilewinkgrin

Posted 7/11/2011 3:20 PM (GMT 0)

 I hung on to pads, for some reason and they came in very handy during the hay fever seasons, also for bad coughing colds. I think my #1 problem is carbonated drinks, just keeps bubbling.

Congrats on the big move, it takes a lot of strength to get by the pads.   tim

Posted 7/11/2011 3:47 PM (GMT 0)
For me, and I've also been told by many that booze tends to really relax the valve muscle thing (can't remember what it is called), along with brain. I've learned to do "pre-emptive" runs to bathroom even though I feel I don't have to go, and this helps.

Oddly, I still wake up half a dozen times to pee, which several years ago was the complaint that got the whole psa testing, biopsy, surgery thing rolling. I was under the impression that my prostate was pressing on the bladder causing this. So now I have no prostate and still tinkle alot at night. Go figure. I've also stopped drinking anything after 7PM.

The force of my stream has greatly improved since pre-surgery though.
Posted 7/11/2011 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
Just got back from Cancun, first real family vacation since this whole thing started. It was real nice sitting next to the pool [in a wet pair of trunks] downing brews taking a nap an jumping in the water, guess I should go to Walmart and by a kiddy pool for my house.  tim 
Posted 7/11/2011 8:10 PM (GMT 0)
I still use a pad for work. heavy lifting and stooping tend to cause stress related leaks. I'm going to Strugis in August and I wonder if a pad is needed for long motorcycle rides?
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