Incontinence Relapse

I thought when I was about 12 weeks out of surgery that I was drying up.  In fact I bragged to my wife that I had a really good day and expected the next day to be completely dry.  Now 2 & 1/2 weeks later it seems I am experiencing not only no improvement, but to some degree a relapse.  Curious as to whether others have experienced the same.  Also, when you did go dry did it suddenly happen or was it a progressive situation?  Thanks & will the rain never end???

Age 61
Original data - pre-operation
PSA: 5.1
T1C clinical diagnosis, Needle biopsy - 10 cores, Gleason 7 = 3+4 in 1 core (40%), 7 cores Gleason 6 = 3+3 ranging from 5% to 12%
All scans negative
Lupron administered 4/9/2008 for 4 months (with idea I would undergo external beam radiation followed by seed implants - then I changed my mind).
Robotic DiVinci surgery - Dr. Fagin (Austin) May 19th
Post operative - pathology
pT2c NX MX
Gleason 3+4
Margins - negative
Extraprostatic extension - negative
seminal vesicle invasion - uninvolved
1st Post PSA .04

I here ya.  I had a similar situation were I was down to one pad (dry) and went and golfed for 18 holes.  Felt great but leaked like a cheap faucet.  O man I went through several pads.  Oh and those water holes, Jeeze what the heck. 

Did you do any strenous activity, twisting motions, bending motions,  eat lots of water melon or other drinks. 

Hang in there this too is normal and will just simply get better as time goes by, it will.  I would not worry at all about what happened.  Does not sound like a relapse to me just a heavier day.

All the best,

Frank

Funny you should bring this up. After almost a month of post-RRP urinary Hell, I all of a sudden went from as many as 7 pads a day down to one, which is where I've been pretty much for the last seven months since. Oddly enough my doctor says that's impossible, that it is linear...gotta love their arrogance and myopia at times. On a side note he also says that kegals and the vacuum pump are a "waste of time", and while I think he's wrong on many post-surgical counts he apparently did a good job on the RRP as I had no complications and flawless pathology/PSA history, so whatever. Some days are better than others, but most of the time it's one pad every 24 hours, much of the time it seems to contain very little, just post-urination dribble. I have yet to weigh them, but they are virtually the same thickness after 24 hours so it can't be too much and much of what is there may well be sweat.

Long story longer, at the three month mark I fulfilled a promise to my family (that if I survived and got a good pathology/first PSA) that we'd go to Disneyland for three days (I have a 9 and 2 year-old). Well, we went, and after the first very long day I relapsed to up to three pads a day for about two weeks. It then returned to one pad and has remained unchanged since until the last couple of days when I likely could have been padless. Now I know that some advocate going padless at home both to test the waters so to speak and to ween one's self off the psychological dependance on pads. It's almost like seatbelts...I'd be pretty anxious even backing out of the driveway without one. While trying to maintain positive vibes, I am wondering/hoping that this may be another incremental gain. While it's not a huge hassle wearing these things, it would be a huge QOL gain to drop them for good.

From what I've read, most guys see improvement by 6 months on the outside, and few see significant improvement beyond that time. ANybody seen improvement up to and beyond a year?

Relapses are normal and common. stress, fatigue ( even long term), psychological factors will all affect continence. Don't worry about it. it will come back. I sense I was drying up. I knew when the day came that i could go padless. i did it for most of the day, but wore one that evening from dinnertime onward...and sure enough, fatigue caught up with me. It did that for a few days and never looked back.
Paul