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Posted 10/21/2021 11:33 PM (GMT 0)
Hey guys,

I'm starting to experience measurable leakage, 6 1/2 years out from surgery. It's kind of weird. I've had occasional drips, at unpredictable times off and on forever. Now, the last few months, I'm 'damp' in the morning, more often than not. Then, I'm also dripping more during daytime hours.

It's just odd. There doesn't seem to be any cause--I haven't had any dietary changes, I'm getting as much (or as little, to be honest) exercise. Maybe it's aging. The immediate downside is that I'm getting on a plane tomorrow afternoon for a business trip to Germany. I'm feeling the need to pack, and use, the thin shields that I haven't used for a long time.

Any ideas besides doing focused kegals?
Posted 10/22/2021 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the heads up at the 6 year mark. How is your fluid intake now? Any possible infections or other new health issue that might be related?
Posted 10/22/2021 1:35 AM (GMT 0)
Mumbo, not really that I know of. I'm due for my annual physical, so something may pop. I've been slightly elevated on fasting glucose (95 or around there) for a long time, and on statins for years. I've always noticed that I tend to leak more if I let myself get dehydrated--which seems like that should be backwards.

In the mean time, I'm doing deliberate kegals--and I'm getting used to being past 60. Yay.
Posted 10/22/2021 2:01 AM (GMT 0)
Dehydration could reduce normal urination pressure thus the muscle has nothing to push back against and relaxes a little permitting some leakage. Just grasping for ideas here. Try keep the fluids up and just get up at night a few times to test the theory.

I am looking at 70 next year and visiting the orthopedic doc more often now. It is always something….
Posted 10/22/2021 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
I am 67 years old and 14 years post surgery and having the same issues as of late. Had my 6 month check up Doctor says stop drinking water 3 hours before bed time.
Barney
Posted 10/22/2021 6:16 AM (GMT 0)
Run Forest Run...... There's something in the water.

I'm 13 years post surgery and my occasional drips are more like occasional squirts. aka -> a little more volume. Luckily that so far it's not bad enough to need pads.
Posted 10/22/2021 9:29 AM (GMT 0)
Wish me luck guys, getting ready to fly the red-eye from Newark to Frankfurt tonight. 8 hours on a plane ought to do wonders.
Posted 10/22/2021 12:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hal,
We're about the same age and we had RPs at about the same time. I've always worn a "just in case" pad. I've noticed the last year or so an increase in dribbles on some days.

One valve and getting older. Welcome to the party. 😉

Have a good trip.
Posted 10/22/2021 2:16 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the drippy club.

I've never been completely dry over the last 8 years.
What gets me most is if I'm tired, I leak a whole lot more.
I'm 62, so about the same age.
Posted 10/22/2021 2:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hal (and Frank), i dont have any words of wisdom, other than to say, seems you are a little young for it to just be age related. And seems odd that it would be the surgery after such a long time, considering you were totally continent for so long.
Urinary Tract Infection?

Good luck on your trip, i hope the dribbles are just a passing thing
Posted 10/22/2021 7:36 PM (GMT 0)

halbert said...
Wish me luck guys, getting ready to fly the red-eye from Newark to Frankfurt tonight. 8 hours on a plane ought to do wonders.

Get a seat near the rest room, and have extra pads handy!
Posted 10/23/2021 9:42 AM (GMT 0)
Do a lot of people experience this late-date UI? It is an obvious concern and obviously something I considered when going for surgery. I mean to some degree you choose your poison, in that 30% of 80yo men have experienced AUR but is this something to worry about long term post RP?
Posted 10/23/2021 10:45 AM (GMT 0)
Halbert it's gotta be something in the air because I have been experiencing more leakage the last couple of months also. I have started wearing a thin pad again when I do any kinda of serious work.. Splitting wood, shoveling, wrestling with the grandson really gets me. I can't do any of the upside down rides at Valley Fair with him cause that is a sure diaster waiting to happen and occasionally have woke up during the nite with the underwear damp. But I figure it's a little nuisance but I'm still here to have a blast with him n my family and friends. I have a couple of friends from the hope lodge that wear diapers full time as they have no control so I'm darn thankful I have pretty good control. Anyway have a good trip and most important be SAFE!

Larry
Posted 10/23/2021 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
Well, guys, checking in from a hotel in Ulm, Germany. After the flight, walked a mile in the Frankfurt airport to get through passport control and on to a train, then 2 1/2 hours on the train. Still wearing the pad I left home with almost 24 hrs ago. Yes, it's a little damp. But I held remakably well through all of it.

Sleep soon. Econo class seats are NOT made for sleeping.
Posted 10/23/2021 5:50 PM (GMT 0)
Haha: thanks for the encouraging update. I am told Kegels are a life sentence: I know I am going to find that tough.
Posted 10/23/2021 5:56 PM (GMT 0)
SUM: after a while, the Kegals become pretty much automatic. It's part of the learning--even without consciously doing it, I know I kegal whenever I stand up from a chair. But, doing focused kegals--like do 10 reps 4 times a day, is a habit to get into.

Someone else also mentioned that it's actually a good thing to try to keep a certain amount of fluid in your bladder to give the muscles something to work against. I've always found it to be true that I drip more if I'm dehydrated.
Posted 10/23/2021 6:27 PM (GMT 0)
It's funny, and sorry for the drift: I still have my catheter in so get to monitor hydration in real time. Obviously I am in an unusual, immediate post-surgery state but it is INSANE how strong the correlation is between how I feel and the colour in that pipe (as I fix it I sometimes get cool sunset layers...)
Posted 10/31/2021 10:02 PM (GMT 0)
So I'm home, made it through the trip. It's no fun wearing an N95 mask for 18 hours. Friday, left the hotel at 6 am German time, got home about 6 pm EDT, so 18 hours of planes, trains, and automobiles.
Posted 10/31/2021 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
Well done. I meant to ask: did you have obstructive symptoms before surgery?
Posted 10/31/2021 11:05 PM (GMT 0)
SUM: I had light to moderate BPH before surgery--enough that my GP suggested I start a prostate supplement containing saw palmetto. I did see some improvement with it--and I was later told that it also suppressed by PSA by about 50%.
Posted 11/1/2021 12:49 PM (GMT 0)
That's really interesting: I used to get "ambushed" by my bladder on a regular basis and got used to some serious squeezing contests as I tried to hold OAB at bay. I realise that was actually amazing Kegel-ing and I think accounts for some of my post-op continence. Maybe - and I'm just thinking aloud here - you and I had a sort of head start and need to keep up the Kegels, i.e., our OAB "advantage" wears off a bit. I admit (partly because it's a bit sore with stitches there etc) I haven't regained the habit yet...
Posted 11/1/2021 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
On a semi-related note, I am 8.5 months post RALP and am about 3 weeks since the leakage issue dried up. One of the things that I did during my recovery, as I trained my little sphincter and retrained my bladder was to try to delay peeing and to measure the volume when I did, to see if I could increase the bladder capacity and length of time that I could resist the urge. I haven't checked the volume in a few months. This weekend, I went camping with some old friends. We were so busy talking and yucking it up, that I held off on peeing when I had the initial urge, then when I did pee, the volume seemed larger than I recalled. It seems that my bladder volume is increasing as that little sphincter muscle learns its job.
Posted 11/3/2021 5:01 AM (GMT 0)
I’m 3 years post radiation, no surgery. Past year I have had drips at random times and wake up damp occasionally. The sudden urgency is frustrating, I haven’t lost control yet but close a few times. Had my 6 month Uro visit PSA .08 so I’m happy. Had a good laugh with Uro when I told him urgency typically happened with little warning when I drove into my garage and then had to run up the stairs. He said oh yeah “ Garage Phenomena” he hears that scenario all the time. I thought he was pulling my leg at first.
Posted 11/3/2021 6:43 AM (GMT 0)
Nope. Front door keys is another well-known one. Same one, different transport, really.

It's hard to deal with this but from long experience, it really helps to try. Dr Google is your friend for OAB. But your best friend is Mr (Dr?) Kegel.

ADD Dr Kegel. Not a 100% good source, but not a terrible site so here goes: Kegel's original paper is fascinating and highly relevant. The reference to "housework" perhaps dates it but that just makes all that he puts between the lines even more remarkable. Strong bullet point: never give up. https://dothekegel.com/arnie/index.html /ADD
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