Leaking

I'm sure that this topic has been discussed before but here is our situation. My husband had surgery 6 weeks ago. He is still leaking. When I ask him if it is getting better he says that he does not think so, but he isn't sure. He is wearing Depends pants but he changes them at the first drop of liquid so the number of pants he goes through gives no clear indication of his progress. He might be able to wear just a pad but he has not tried. He is not gushing but he is leaking. He will start biofeedback in January (they are booked up until then). Has anyone tried biofeedback and is it effective? I feel that he is a bit behind the norm for improvement - the guys that he spoke to were out of pads by 6 weeks. At what point in time should he worry that things may not improve much? Any feedback is appreciated.

My husband also developed urinary frequency after surgery but I have noticed that it getting much better. I certainly can't evaluate how much he leaks but even if he has not noticed the improvement in frequency I can see that it is significantly better.

Thanks for any replies.

Post Edited (bluebird123) : 12/6/2012 8:13:19 PM (GMT-7)

Michaels dr prescribed imipramine to help with leaking. You could talk to his URO to see what his thoughts are about your hubby taking that oral medication. It seemed to really help Michael while he was taking it. He stopped taking it and now has some leaking again. He returned to his Uro and he prescribed it again. It is at least something to ask about if you are concerned but I don't think the 6 week mark is far enough into recovery to panic just yet.

Hope this helps
Susan

I am seven months out and at 6 weeks I too was very frustrated.  Many on this sight brag about being dry at 6 weeks but a urologist friend ( not my surgeon) told me its really four months in the overwhelming maority. I was squirting and leaking until about 4 months.  Then I could hold it but had to urinate every 90 minutes.  At seven months I sleep all night and really never leak unless I am vigorously working out.  I can to 2 to 3 hours without urinating now. I am not quite normal but I am getting there.  At your husbands stage I was VERY discouraged but I had been misled to believe that all would be well by two months.  Be patient - but it does suck particularly if you are working or trying to live a real life.

Hang in there.  Almost everyone reaches continence.  In my case continence worries have given way to ED worries at this point.

Bluebird -- yep everyone is different. He also could try cutting back on his fluid intake, but at the same time increase the percentage of water. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. He should do his Kegels in different positions; lying down, sitting, standing, and walking.

For what it's worth: It took me a little over 2 months to get down to one pad a day, and almost 5 months before I stopped wearing pads - and I still have an occasional leak.

Best -- Tigerfan

I think we've all had different experiences with continence as far as how long it takes, where we eventually get to and how we use pads, so be patient.
I was dry at night after the cath came out, but it took a couple of months before I dared go pad free in the day time, and then that was only on the basis of going to the bathroom every hour (but I always had to go more frequently than other guys my whole life.)
Two years on from SRT I realised/accepted I was too damp and started wearing a (Tena) pad, one per day. Much more confident now that I don't have to worry about getting damp patches on clothes. (Don't change the pad unless it gets smelly.) Also keep spares in car, jackets etc as better safe than sorry.
Before surgery the guy in charge of my case said it was unlikely I would ever be 100% continent, as there would most likely be stress incontience from sneezing, coughing etc, and it was also likely that I might have a bad day once in a while. That was a good call, as sometimes, for a couple of hours a week I feel like I did the day after the cath came out and have very little control, yet other times I can go for several hours without needing a pee or leaking. Simialrily at night it can be unpredictable. One night I have to get up to pee six times the next night just once.

As for meds to help I think you are still very early on so I'd wait. It can only be about 5 weeks since the cath came out and he's had an infection, so he's not even finished healing yet.

And as for detecting improvement, well the only easy way to know one way or the other is probably to take notes, i.e. keep some kind of pee diary. (How often how much etc). But the key is not to do it every day, or you get anious that you can't spot any change as the changes are so small. Do it now and then do it again in a month and I bet they'll be a difference. (I sure noticed a change when comparing two sets of notes a few months apart told me I was down from 16 to 11 visits to the bathroom per 24 hours, yet it had felt like I was going just as often)

Also as you are so close to surgery I'm assuming he hasn't had that first PSA test yet and I think it's fair to say that while we are worrying about PSA tests our bladders can be as unsetteld as we are.

All the best
Alf

Part of the issue may simply be language and expectations. dry, DRY, and no leaks may mean the same or different things to people.
As an example, I needed no pads overnight as soon as the catheter was out. However, I found that my legs acted like a pump handle, keeping my bladder empty and my pad full whenever I walked anywhere. I could make 10 steps to the toilet in the morning; 12 might have been too many.
(My brother got a real lesson in the leg pump when he took his kids trampolining sometime after surgery)

While I stopped using pads at week five it wasn't because I never had any leakage but simply because the leakage was little enough, when it happened, to stain my shorts without coming through to the outside. I can have issues when I cough or stretch or simply let my guard down when moving unexpectedly. Reflexes shut it down quickly enough.

I consider myself dry, small d. Leaks, occasionally, particularly if I don't take my time peeing or if I stretch without good muscle support to keep pressure off my bladder. I'm not DRY like I was before surgery and don't expect to be. My nether regions have been violated way too much to expect that. My wife simply uses borax in the wash to remove the dried stains and we move along.

I did keep a supply of pads at work for a year, however. Just because I was confident didn't mean I was foolhardy.



The couple of men I talk with about our experiences chuckle about