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Posted 5/7/2012 2:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,
Had my prostatectomy end of Feb. (DaVinchi) Still needing several pads a day.
After a glass of wine, I have no control whatsoever, flood gates just open and thats it.
I am doing my kegel exercises and actually taking VESIcare now.
Any suggestions out there of how to deal with this problem? It is very depressing and gives me the blues a tad to often.

Thanks for any comment and lifting of spirit.

Post Edited (Artemis) : 5/7/2012 8:24:59 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/7/2012 2:20 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the site... Everyone is different - but it can take several months to get to the dry stage. Hang in there and keep doing your kegels.
Posted 5/7/2012 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Steve. So frustrating. Anything relating to the OP was perfect, didn't even need any pain killers. Now that..
Posted 5/7/2012 2:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Artemis,

I'm only 3 weeks ahead of you. I've been dry at night from day one post catheter removal and presently down to 1 light pad per day now, on my last package and hope not to have to buy anymore any time soon - hope!!!

For me the kegels worked well but I found I was over doing them exhausting the pelvic floor muscles and leaking more, so in the early stages I rotated one day on and one day off and this seemed to help. Alcohol and caffeine are not so good, especially the alcohol tends to relax your pelvic floor muscles causng more leakage and the caffiene is an irritant to the bladder.

Also for me extreme walking helped the continence as well as getting back into my daily gym routine.

We can all relate to the "leaky blues" but hopefully the worst is behind you and your continence will see weekly and monthly improvements to "park those pads" for good.

Terry

Posted 5/7/2012 3:29 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Artemis,

Welcome to Healing Well.
As you can see from my signature, I got to 'enjoy the pleasure' of wet pants for 18 months, Statistically speaking, you are still in good shape. Roughly 2 out of 3 guys will be continent at 3 months. Of the remaining group, 2 out of 3 will be continent at 1 year. Odds are you will be in the lucky 8 out of 9 group.

If that does not make you feel better, maybe this will. In case you have not read any of my previous posts I one of several nutcases who take data on everything. Instead of counting pads, I weighed each one and recorded the data daily. By doing that I could accurately keep track of my leak rate. I also peed in a cup and measured that too so I could prove to myself any progress was not due to dehydration.
By plotting the data I could see trends that could not be seen by just counting pads. Give it a try. It is encouraging to see improvements no matter how small.
Hint: the daily plot will be quite noisy. I also recorded my activity level on a scale of 1 to 3 where 1 was sedentary and 3 was very active. It made a difference.
You will get smoother results if you also plot 2 day and 3 day moving averages. Those plots will comprehend any midnight trips you happen to make. After you have been doing this for 3 months you can start plotting forecast curves: 2nd order polynomial, log functions, etc. They will tell you the date you will be dry. Nutcase indeed! ;-)

Jeff Dry in NY
Posted 5/7/2012 3:58 PM (GMT 0)
Still early in your journey. I showed gradual improvement up until about 5 months, at which point I suddenly dried up :-) except for late at night like if I fall asleep in a sitting position, or when drinking. Exercise helps (walking, etc.)

Good luck.
Posted 5/7/2012 8:37 PM (GMT 0)

Artemis said...
After a glass of wine, I have no control whatsoever, flood gates just open and thats it.

Prioritize...

Posted 5/7/2012 8:59 PM (GMT 0)
@ Casey59
HAHAHAHA, I actually am:)
Posted 5/7/2012 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks to all forum members for your valuable input. Please keep them coming, maybe one of you has a special trick:)
Posted 5/7/2012 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
Artemis, I experienced the same thing you expressed after a glass of wine. When I quickly realized the cause & effect, I stopped drinking completely (prioritized) until I was continent. Problem solved.
Posted 5/7/2012 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
ARtemis: I had RP on Jan 3rd and was wearing 2-3 Depends per day for the first 6 weeks. After that I was going through 3-6 pads plus I had to wear one Depend for my morning walk. The brisk walk the wife and I take every morning was just too physically stressful for my urinary tract. Then after 3 months post op I dried up enough that I thought I could just wear a pad in the morning. To test this idea I wore my depends over my underwear and pad. Kinda like wearing a rain poncho over a rain coat. I was usually ok but still leaked into the depend about every fourth walk. This went on for two weeks and I just kept improving. Once things started changing the improvements came quickly. I'm now 4 months and 1 week post op and down to one pad per day. Somedays it is soaked on some days in is fairly dry.

Just keep wishing/praying for improvement and understand we all heal at different rates. You will get there.
Rod
Posted 5/7/2012 9:59 PM (GMT 0)
Ween yourself from the vesicare. I stopped and things got a lot better for me. Still leaking but much better. Vesicare was given to me for bladder spasms but it relaxes things a little too much for me. I you must, take 1/2 pill before bed only and see what happens. Good luck
Posted 5/7/2012 10:01 PM (GMT 0)
I found walking strengthened my pelvic muscles the best. So I would say walk, water and a few sets of kegels per day is what will eventually get you there. Hang in there and try to be patient.
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