Tdubb said...
I can't speak long term but can give you my perspective on the 4 mos of incontinence and working at the same time. Not a big deal. Difference was wearing shields and making more trips to the restroom. Taking shorter shopping trips or planning trips in stores with easy access restrooms. I'm currently back to training for my next half marathon at my pre-surgery speed. Incontinence doesn't even cross my mind anymore.
You had your RP about
1 week after I did. Great to hear you have done so very well!
You and especially the OP, Fred, have a good age advantage on me, so that probably helped you and will help Fred. Also, I had a G9 requiring some wide cutting and a huge prostate to start with. All of these things can be factors in continence recovery. So I have been a good bit slower. First several months, if I was up I was pretty much leaking or worse, and even worse if I was walking. I love to hike in the woods , and that was the worst of all, it would really come out then if I didn't stop to pee every 10 mins. I had just retired and was grateful I did not have to work during those 1st few months.
In June, about
3 1/2 months out, I reluctantly went on a trip to Europe we had paid for months in advance. This was misery, being on a tour bus or walking around in Europe trying to find those hard to find in Europe: public bathrooms. Still, I would usually get by on one pad a day though sometimes by the time we got back to out room at night it was soaked. If I had been at work it would have been much easier to change pads during the day. I decided when I got back that being forced to be on my feet that much was actually good for me, because shortly after we got back I noticed a significant improvement. Prior to that, I think I was sedentary much more than I should have been just because of the incontinence. Maybe if I had been forced to go back to work soon after surgery I would have made a faster recovery?
Anyway, at nearly 8 months out, and for a couple of months now, I'm sure I could work now, though might depend on where you work(I worked in surgery giving anesthesia). I am strictly one pad a day now, and normally it is just slightly damp at the end of the day. Or dry if I cheat with a folded paper towel or 2 through the day. And I often don't wear a pad at the house in the morning or last couple of hours before bed.
It might be tougher if I was on my feet all day or walking a lot, or doing any work calling for pushing or lifting(stress), especially if it would not be convenient to change a pad or paper towel. Though I'm only one pad/day at the most now, I do sit a lot and might need more pads if I was up more and doing hard work. When I work in the yard, I might forget to Kegel during some stressful move and if so I will push some out. But sometimes if I know I am going to be working like that, I cheat with a Bard clamp for an hour or so, or for sure adding a paper towel.
Bottom line I could definitely work now if I had to, and can in fact work in the yard or hike on steep trails in the woods and one way or another I manage to stay dry enough, with occasional to rare clamp use.( I usually have it with me but rarely use it) It isn't perfect but it is tolerable. But if I had to work in those 1st couple of months, though it might have been good for my recovery, it would have been really unpleasant. Still, if I had been able to change pads a couple of times a day, I could have worked. A lot of the problem would have been psychological, fear of being incontinent at work or out in public. But looking back on these 8 months, even on the tour of Europe, I have been perfectly dry except for my pads of course. The pads contained it all quite well. Not fun, but way better than wet pants!
Bill