Incontinence progress

Just about at four months after Rob P. Very frustrated with leaking until about 3-4 weeks ago.  Now I am able to get through the day without pads - generally needing them for running and heavy activity.  My question is whether it keeps getting better for a year or so or do you reach some plateau where you simply cannot get any better because in the end you don't have a prostate.  Pre-op I was led to believe you had 100% control- then I became pessimistic.  Now I am hopeful for even better control.  Any input from veterans is appreciated.

Ok, I'm about where your at now myself. Maybe a little better because I don't use a pad for running. I did pelvic floor therapy / bio feedback. Nurse said men have two urinary sphincters plus prostate itself. One goes with the prostate wit RP. No way not to take it with. So the secondary one picks up the slack and does the job full time. The therapy (kegels) strengthens the sphincter muscle and it worked for me. In a week she lets me know the maintenance level of exercise I'll have to do for the rest of my life to keep the muscle in shape.

Not sure what you mean by 100% control. My uro promised me I would have some degree of incontinence but that there therapies for it, and if those failed, he could insert a sling.

Hope this helps.

I should ad, as a kid we'd say, "no matter how much you shake it and dance, the last drop always lands in your pants". As I got older, I found those drops getting bigger. Nurse told me to do a kegel when I'm done and that should take care of those last drops.

So in a sense I'm better post surgery than before.

I'm sure I sound like a slob for saying this, but heck, that's what this list is for!

Almost three years out from DaVinci - one to three pads a day. I was told at the time, that RT would freeze progress, and that over time it might cause things to worsen. That has been the case.

A day without a pad would be a day in soggy pants.

For me it was a slow process. I wore pads for about 3 months and by 6 months I was just having the minor stress leakage (crouching, standing up, etc..). I'm now at 20 months and I'm no longer incontinent. I'm not sure when I hit that point, probably about 4 months ago.

My uro has suggested that I keep doing the kegels occaisionally because as I age it will eventually come back.

I do three sets of 10. One laying down, one standing, and one sitting. The sitting one I cough and then do the kegel. End with 20 quick flicks. The 20 quick flicks again before dinner. I find its also important to stay real hydrated otherwise urine gets concentrated and the bladder wants to expel it quicker. If I leak now it's imperceptible. I did do leg lifts sometimes based on what I read here, but the above routine is what the Nurse told me to do. I have a call with her next week and she will give me a new routine for maintenance.

I'm almost 5 years out from DaVinci and 1-1/2 years out from radiation. I only wore pads for about the first 2 months after surgery if even that. I mostly had small dripping, small leaks with coughs, etc. but never enough that I felt the need to wear pads.

First off I have been overweight through this entire process, very busy to the point I forget or didn't take time to do koegels or walk like I should have. I would explain this to my doctor every visit and he told me not to worry about it, it will eventually go away on its on. I now have reason to doubt that.

Just recently the dripping has gotten bigger after peeing (good tips in this post that I'll try) and I've had some leaking that is larger and unexpected, in other words for no reason. (no coughing, exertion, etc.) This bothers me to the point that I'm going to get serious about koegels, walking, and probably see a therapist. I have even had some leaks where I didn't feel it. I never had that before. I always could feel it and could even catch it with a quick koegel.

I blame a lot of the problem on my physical condition and the fact that I have not worked at this. For a long time I just took my doctor at his word that it would eventually stop on its own. No more. I know now it takes work.

Interesting - I feel that I am seeing improvemen almostdaily on this issue at this point.  What a relief.  Now if only ED would get some momentum.