It has been about
5 years from the start of my PCa journey, and I figured I would just drop a note about
my experiences with “stress incontinence” and how I have adapted so it does not cause me worry or restrict me from my normal desired lifestyle… I have got the PCa/PSA side caged and in the "zero" club... but I do have stress incontinence depending on activity level. I know this can be a significant issue for some and severly affect their desired lifestyle and enjoyment. I figured I would just give an overall status of where I am...
I can sleep at night w/o any pads or drips… And get thru the entire night w/o having to get up to urinate... During the day, if I plan a light day around the house or errands involving light walking, I wear a small Attends guard to catch an occasional drip or squirt when I forget to use kegels… I can usually get by all day with 1 pad. If a lot of walking/shopping, I may change to a new pad sometime during the day.
If I am going to be doing a lot of heavy work like up/down off the ground gardening, work involving a ladder, lifting, digging or using a post hole digger (that is the worst… lol), I use the Coloplast Male Guard pouch. With this type of work, kegels tend to be forgotten and/or just get plain tired and ineffective. I have also recently switched from my traditional cotton briefs to using a lightweight athletic supporter and then traditional boxer shorts. Less sweat/clamminess than cotton briefs and the supporter tends to hold the guard/pouch exactly in the right place… no slip outs! Also, during heavy work where the pouch may accumulate a significant batch of leakage, I do not get the “full diaper” feeling and funny walk... lol...
I have also been hiking and backpacking in the high country the last 2 years… An activity I had always loved and enjoyed before PCa. Stress incontinence is a factor while hiking/backpacking, but I refuse to let it bother me… Once again, the kegels tend to be forgotten or just get tired… Going uphill, I usually figure 1 “pouch” per typical 6-8 miles distance… Downhill, 2 pouches per 6-8 miles. Realize though, that I am drinking a lot of water while hiking…
I always carry an extra pouch and ziploc for the old used pouch in my pocket so I can easily change on the “fly” as needed. If I have a campfire at night, I burn the used pouches… if not, I pack them out. I am also using the athletic supporter when hiking and wear the cool synthetic hiking boxers over it. The supporter can be easily rinsed and dried overnight if needed for odor control. I do carry an extra supporter on multi-day hikes, but have not needed to use it yet.
All in all, I am doing and enjoying the activities that I did before PCa and stress incontinence. I hope all of you can/will also…
I just got back from a 4 day backpack trip I planned with three of our grandkids… It was their first backback trip... I really never thought about
PCa issues the whole time… I would not have traded the quality time and experiences of the trip for anything!
The most recent hike:
www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7999788&highlight= We are already planning the next "adventure"...
Cheers and God Bless!
pasayten