Incontinence - Any exercises other than kegals?

It's been five weeks since my surgery and four weeks since my catheter has been removed.

I'm still dealing with incontinence and I'm becoming increasingly frustrated that it's not going away as fast as I'd like.

I'm using thin ladies panty liners as I find the larger mens' Depends Guards too large and uncomfortable. I am going through three to four of these panty liners in a 24-hour period. 

I know kegals are the primary method of strengthening the sphincter muscle to improve incontenence.  Are there other excercises I can do in addition to the kegals? 

I'm currently working out three days a week, doing 30 minutes of walking and 25 minutes of stationary cycling.  I plan to up the frequency to 5 days a week beginning next week.

What else can I do to help improve this blasted leaky faucet?

John,

If compared to my experience, you are already bone dry

My exercise routine (which brought me down from 8+ pads - not the Depends, but the real heavy duty Walgreen's variety, to 1-3 depends a day, after about 5 months) was this:

AT LEAST one hour walking every day, but at the beginning I split it up into three or four sessions, as I was flooding out after the first five minutes. Now I try to do an hour in the morning and 30 minutes or so at night. I started trying to get the hour per day in the day I got home from having the catheter out. If I miss a day, it doesn't hurt, but miss two, and leaks start. Three missed, no, let's not talk about that. Too soggy a subject.

Three sets of Kegels a day, best done right after coming in from a walk, or done with an hour or two between sets. A set for me is the usual hold ten seconds, release ten seconds, repeat ten times. The timing of the kegels right after the walk appears to have been significant. My uro says it is because the muscles are getting a general workout when all done together. The physical therapist may want to do tests to be sure you are exercising the proper muscles with the kegels.

I have seen that if I stop or back off a little on the Kegels that the leakage starts again. It looks like I am stuck with them for life.

 

HD - check on if you can find a more-absorbent version of the pads - just like with male guards they have different levels of absorbency - one time I bought the wrong type and I was changing it three times a day compared to one -
-try not to be so hard on yourself - it has only been 5 weeks

- my control finally kicked in on week 15/16 - from 3 pads a day - maybe 1-2 changes of underwear ->- to no changes of underwear and one pad a 24 hour period -

- keep up the kegels and walking - and try not to anticipate a leak with stress incontinence - even throw in a kegel for safety sake when lifting something...
-hugs,
Bronson

The average time seems to be about 3 to 4 months. I would say after listening to a lot of guys on here, that developing patience and finding the right pads is easier than stopping the leak. It sounds as tho you are doing very well.

You can spend money on a therapist who can put a sensor up your butt to see if you are kegaling correctly, you can have the urologist prescribe some drugs, or in my case because i wasn't progressing fast enough, I put a clamp on the little guy during the day.

I would that you may find backing of some the physical stuff for 30 days, may also make ir more bearable until you can retrain your muscles.

Just my 2 cents worth, but it appears there are some things that it is just difficult to rush. Took me, a type A personality 8 months to learn this.

Goodlife

HD-Rider,

I went to a physical therapist to help with incontinence 3 months post surgery. In addition to the exercises suggested in the link Carlos provided, another exercise was suggested:

With your knees bent and together (either lying on the floor or seated), tie a stretchable band around your knees. A band was provided for me but a bungee cord or something similar could be used that offers resistance to movement of the knees outward laterally. Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles, then move your knees outward laterally and hold for 5-10 sections. Move your knees back together and then release your pelvic floor muscles. Do three sets of 10 repetitions with a break in between each set two times a day.

I am now one year post surgery and still wear 1-2 pads per day depending on level of activity with leakage occurring while standing or moving and it is mostly a dribble type of leakage, but it is a big improvement over how leakage was a year ago.

HD
Still early days, sounds like your improving, it is very frustrating I know cause you start to feel like things are back to normal except!!!!!, on the kegel front I never done to many but did do it at least once a day, the therapist told that there two sorts of muscles that need to be excercised the one with the ten second hold and the short strand muscles which fast twitching type excicises sort of when your holding for the ten seconds sort of sqeeze the muscles on and off a bit it takes a bit of practice to get right.
I was like you at 4 weeks leaking at day but generally ok at night, at about 10 weeks all stopped, I don't do kegels at all now and have complete control? I was told I would have to do them for life but? It was so quick I still have two full packets of pads that I would have used in a week. Anyway Im sure it will improve for you.
best of luck.
AB

I understand you frustration. It was about 3 months for me and at times didn't seem to be making any progress, but then I started to notice a gradual week by week improvement. Near the end I thought I was leaking more than I was. I'd just lose a drop or two but it feels like more.

I still do have the occaisional drip, particularly if a squat down, but just a drop so no pads required.

HD,

You want frustrating, take my "history". It was two months before I got below 7-8 pads a day. Then "magic" happened, and it started slowly getting better. But even then, very brutally slowly. I'm happy these days if I get by on one Depends pad.

Don't beat yourself up quite yet, and don't complain about getting nagged if you haven't built and started observing a rigorous kegels plan.

What causes a stricture so long after surgery? I can see a stricture happening within a month or so of surgery because things are healing, scar tissue, etc. But none months later? Is scar tissue still building up that long after surgery?

HD, It took me about 3 months to go pad-free. And now at 6 months post-Op, taking a leak feels pretty much the same as it was pre-Op.

Right after surgery, my Uro mentioned to me that I should not do more kegels than the suggested amount or it would actually take longer to gain control. For me, I did not have a strict kegel exercise regimen. I just did a few a day and things gradually improved as all the healing took place.

John, After reading this forum for nearly a year, it seems to me that continence, or lack thereof, is one of the great mysteries after prostate surgery.  I've seen a lot of theories, but few solid answers.  Lots of discussion of kegels, carbonated beverages, walking, bladder neck length, anatomical differences, surgical skill and procedure, but no real answer on why some guys see bladder control return quickly while others struggle.

I've learned to do a lot of preventive peeing.  Even though I haven't had a problem in a long, long time, I still don't tempt fate by waiting until I need to find a bathroom in a hurry.  Early on, I would stand over the toilet and deliberately not let the urine flow until I wanted it to.  Maybe that helped.  I'm not sure. 

That being said, I've seen a lot of guys get frustrated, as you are today, and a few weeks later find themselves "dry" and no longer needing pads or liners.  I hope that's how it works out for you.