Sling 1 year anniversary

I just realized my 1 year anniversary for Advance sling surgery past a couple of days ago and thought it may be a good time to write summary of my experiences.

Following surgery I was sent home with a catheter since I was unable to void. The cather was in and out a couple of times until I realized I could void if I applied some upperward pressure to the perinium area. The 3 weeks following surgery were painful with bladder spasms that were almost crippling however 3 weeks to the day of surgery they stopped and never returned. I still had some incision pain for the next 2 months but that also vanished with time. Initially I was getting up 2-4 times a night with urgency but this has now subsided to 1-2 times per night. Unfortunately my bladder size has shrunk but I can get up to 220 ml if I really delay things to the painful point.

The real upside of the surgery was a total control of leakage back to pre surgery state. I litterally have not leaked in a year except for a couple of instances when I held it a bit too long since no facilities were available.

This surgery has given me the freedom I had prior to surgery and occasionally I just stop and think about how fortunate I am to have had this outcome.

I still have to apply a bit of upward pressure on my perinium to pee however its just a matter of sliding a couple of fingers down there while voiding, no one could possibly know what I was doing even if they stood at the next urinal.

I ride a road bike, motorbike, run, weightlift and anything else that I wish to accomplish without any thought of leakage...it's really a blessing. I guess its not for everybody but it was the right path for me despite a tough surgery recovery.

Hopefully this helps someone in making a decision about which way to go with incontinence issues. This forum and in particular a couple of generous contributors helped me with my decisions and recover...many thanks.

Ron

 

Thanks for the report, I opted (Dr's. Advice) for the AUS it works pretty well but not 100% as yours is. I maybe didn't think it though when I had it done and bike riding is a problem with the AUS, not supposed to hurt anything but makes it leak. I liked the idea that you can still do "sitting" type things but I guess it really wasn't an option for me. You must have been very careful, or very sick, while healing to have so tight. Great result!

Congratulations on your success with the sling, Ron! I may have one of those in my future if my urologist thinks it will help me. He referred me to pelvic floor rehabilitation, which I've been in for the past 10 months. The rehab work has helped me reduce the amount of leakage but it hasn't gotten me dry. My physical therapist told that my pelvic floor muscles are now 4.5 on a scale of 0 - 5. So, I can't expect much more improvement in my incontinence from this approach. I've had more success recently using a Cunningham clamp but I'm not yet thinking of that device as a long-range solution.

Your success is encouraging for me to hear. I've read some sling stories here on HealingWell.com that aren't about completely successful outcomes. So, I was having some apprehension about taking the next step (a sling) after pelvic floor rehab.

Mike

Happy anniversary, Ron. It's great to see that the sling has worked out so well for you. It's good that you were proactive and did something about your incontinence.

There are a lot of downsides to PCa, but incontinence is a real life changer. I hope anybody who's dealing with this problem will consider doing something about it. Life is too short not to.

Jonathan

Good to see some familiar names here since I rarely post anymore.

Beo...I hope you can make the decision as to what is right for you, I had reached the point where I was sick of the leakage and had had enough, I was "ready" .

Curious George, sounds like your sling is working for you, glad I helped you make the "leap".

Jonathon...good to hear from you, yep for me it worked, I was fortunate and am grateful every day.

Tallguy, sounds like you're happy with the AUS...each of us has a different approach and as long as we're content with our decision it makes life easier and happier.

Ron