After the surgery

Tinker . . . he was told to do the kegal exercises . . .but not until the catheter was out.  He was told to do them 12 to 20 times in one session, holding each for 5 to 10 seconds and relax for 10 seconds. . . . .and to do this 3 times per day.

Briefly -- the kegals are done . .

- either lying with knees bent and feet and knees 10 inches, apart, OR they can also be done while sitting.

- Concentrate on pelvic floor muscles and relax all other surrounding muscles of the stomach, buttocks, and thighs.

- Firmly and steadily squeeze the muscles of your pelvic floor (just ahead of the rectum) . . . also described in here as imagining he is using his penis as a straw to suck up water (those are exactly the muscles to tighten) OR the same muscles used to stop the urine stream mid way.   Hold this squeeze for 5 to 10 seconds.

- Repeat the firm squeezes and relaxation 12 to 20 times per session.

Walking will help in a big way as well.  Several people in this forum were walking a fair distance within 2 weeks of surgery or even sooner and as far as comfort prevails.

Does your Dad have a leg bag he can use if he goes out??  This wouldn't be as humiliating for him as the large one that's mostly for night use.

Urinary continence takes everyone different amounts of time.  You may read in here that someone has their catheter out and has instant control . . .this is great, but by no means the "norm"

Others gush and leak for a long time.  Three months until control is considered normal.  My husband is now 3 months post operation and still wears one pad per day for drips and leaks.

Make sure your Dad has the mens pads . . they make it easier to wear normal clothes.  The "diapers" should be reserved for night time use.  In our case, Bob used a pad along with the night time pants as extra precaution.

Will your Dad read some of the posts in here, or would he attend a support group of prostate cancer surivors??

That would help him with how he feels about all this.  The sooner he's thinking positive, walking, and exercising, the sooner he'll be back to normal.  This is just one "glitch" along the stepping stones of life (to quote mama bluebird)

Hope this post helps you all.  There are others that will be answering you as well I'm sure.  Good luck to you and your family!!

;o)  Linda & Bob

Post Edited (lawink) : 12/28/2006 9:44:08 PM (GMT-7)

Hi Tinker,

Your Dad and I are about the same age.  While most of the people on this forum are younger,  we old foggies do recover from PCa too.

For me, the single most important element in this struggle is a positive mental attitude.  Look for the upside in each event during your journey.  Having cancer is a life changing experience, a time to re-evalutate priorities and put in place plans to make each day better.

Kegels and walking help me feel better each day.  It seems to be important to do something physical.  I feel like I am contributing to the healing process.  But don't overdo it.  I doubled the Kegels that had been prescribed and ended up with a wet bed that night.  (If a little of something is good then a lot is not always better!)

I also had the "open" surgery and the scar doen not itch.  (To answer your question.)  It was a while before I could wear a belt but that gets better each day.  Once the catheter was out, I put on street clothes and started walking.  I am back up to my previous mile a day again.  This was one of the milestones that I wanted to reach as soon as possible.  Success breeds success.

We (my wife and I) have been very open and honest with our kids and grandkids about my having cancer.  We keep them posted each time some new event occurs in our journey.  This keeps them up to date and dispels any fear of the unknown that they may have.  Having them in on the recovery process is important to them and to me.  Their support bolsters my confidence and my confidence reassures them that I am going to be okay.  (Once again, success breeds success.)

Good luck, smile a lot and look for the little things that are positive signs............

Jim

As you can tell from my 'handle' I know Marine's and their toughness.  It too was hard for me to deal with this but once I accepted that I had to move forward, it was like my time in the Corps and moved full speed ahead.

Many have suggested many things for him/family to do.  Kegels have been very helpful and are a must to train the body that the prostrate is not there anymore to help with urinary contral and other muscles must take over.

The cathetor concerns me.  I had a little leakage while mine was in but before they took it out they did some xrays to ensure that I had healed and there was no leakage.  I would check to see if they have that procedure.

Also exercise as has been stated is important.  I have been a runner since my early time in the Corps and continued after leaving active duty.  Walking for me is tough right now because I would rather be running but that will come.  Walking is great for not only the physical healing but the mental healing.  I live in a small IA town and when I went for my walk today, I stopped at many of the shops and homes just to say hi to folks and it was by far the best mental day I have had in years.

If your Dad has email and wants to communicate direct with me, we can easily set that up.

Mac

    I had the open RRP also.  I had a complication after surgery due to a bleed that caused the cathiter to get blocked by clotting.  They had to fluch the cathiter several times to keep it running.  I know the pain he was in due to the build up of urine.  I also had leaking around the cathiter the entire time I had it and that was for three weeks.  My first cystogram about two weeks after surgers still showed some leaking in the stitching inside.  I had to keep the cathiter in for one more week then another cystogram before they removed it.  To deal with the leaking around the cathiter I would tape 1/2 of a woman's pad around the tube to catch what urine followed the tube out of my undergarments.  I still have quite a bit of leaking, especially when walking.  I have been doing two hours a day at the local mall.  Have to change after the first hour,  then agian when I get home. 

    My incision never really bothered me.  Some of the pain might have been masked by the pain I had with my back.  5 days before my surgery my back went out on me.  On surgery day it was still sore but not as bad as it was.  Having to lay on my back so much after surgery made it hurt alot.  The incision never really itched that much,  Or I just didn't notice it.  The musles of the stomach should not have been cut.  I asked my surgeon about that and he said they just use retractors and spread the fibers of the musles open.  I assume your incision was verticle from just under the belly button down to about a inch of the base of the penis?  That is how big mine is.

   Good luck with your recovery.     KW