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What to expect/do immediately after catheter removal

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Posted 10/17/2017 8:47 PM (GMT 0)
hi, i'm 69 years old canadian. I was diagnosed with gleason 6 prostate cancer in 2013. i had robot assisted surgery oct 5 after my PSA went to 10 and MRI showed pirads-4 lesions.

Catheter came out yesterday morning and i'm not sure what to do or expect in these early days - hoping for some coaching.

Right now i think if i'm up and moving around i'm dribbling a bit. If i'm seated i get periodic urges(maybe 15 min) and if i get to the toilet quickly i'll urinate 5-10cc(<a tbsp). lying down the urges are easier to resist and i won't leak til i get up - if i get to the toilet in time i will have a more normal urination event although still not a ton. Overnight last night I got up several times to urinate - quite a bit each time.

My overnight pad was fine this morning but i've been through a couple since. Trying to stay hydrated I've had about 1L(4 glasses) of liquids and one small coffee today.

i had been doing 40 kegel's each day for a month before surgery and i've restarted them. i'm just not sure what else i should be doing - do i just relax and dribble and hope or...

Now that i've given everyone too much information i'll also say thanks for other postings here - i've adopted the Tena 2 pads recommendation and they're great.
Posted 10/17/2017 9:00 PM (GMT 0)
Just keep doing what you are doing! Sounds like you are doing great!
You are only 12 days from surgery, I still had my catheter in after 12.
Then when it came out I went thru 4-6 pads a day for 6 months.
If you ever get frustrated, please remember it can takes months and months and months to recover continence.

Just to repeat, you are doing great!
Posted 10/17/2017 10:03 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome Bill. I was almost 100% continent when the catheter came out but some guys are really incontinent so it sounds like you are doing quite well.
Posted 10/18/2017 1:21 AM (GMT 0)
Ur doing great don't forget to walk as much as possible it helps greatly!

Larry
Posted 10/18/2017 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
What else should you be doing? Living life.

It can take months to heal and sometimes seems slow, but you'll get there.

Walk, live, laugh, enjoy.

Before you know it, this will just be a bad memory.
Andrew
Posted 10/18/2017 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Bill,

It's been 4 wks since my surgery and you are right where I was at cath removal, however, I had my cath in for 14 days...hated it. I've gone back to work and every day the "dribbles" get less. I don't wear a pad at night and stay dry with the exception that I've been getting up once per night to urinate. Last night was the best so far when I went 6hrs before getting up.

The kegels help but walking is the key for me. I only use one pad during the day and I try to increase the time between bathroom breaks so my bladder gets used to holding more. The thing with the cath is the bladder stayed empty so it is taking a bit to get it back up to capacity, so to speak. Each day is better...

Keep everyone posted, there is a lot of knowledge here and it helps.

Jerry
Posted 10/18/2017 9:02 AM (GMT 0)
Nothing you are experiencing is unusual. You are doing better than I was at the same stage. Relax and be patient, and it will get better. A number of people here have observed that improvement in urinary continence is not linear, and that was my experience, too. Sometimes I would improve rapidly, and then I would go for a couple of weeks with no apparent change.
Posted 10/18/2017 10:40 AM (GMT 0)
You’re doing great. Much better than I am right now. Catheter came out a week ago and have been totally incontinent. So keep up what you’re doing looks like you’ll be done in no time
Posted 10/18/2017 1:40 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the encouraging words. So I'll just keep plugging away at the kegels and hoping the dribbling gets less over time.

I sure appreciate the overnight part - I got up to urinate half a dozen times last night but it's so quick now i get right back to sleep. Pre-surgery I would only wake up a couple of times but my stream is so much better now that i bet i'm spending less time out of bed and i don't fully wake.

I've seen different advice on post catheter kegels: did people start right back in doing 2X40X10 seconds a day or build up to it? It's no great effort (and god knows i have the time!) but i don't want to overdo it.
Posted 10/18/2017 7:15 PM (GMT 0)
You are doing well. I was fortunate to be essentially dry from the moment the catheter came out. Many patients take longer to regain full continence. The first milestone is sleeping through the night without having to go, and without leaks. In the meantime do your exercises, and plenty of walking.

Be patient, improvement should happen.
Posted 10/18/2017 7:49 PM (GMT 0)
You are doing great Bill. I had the cath in for two weeks post surgery and hated almost every minute. For me the continence got better bit by bit over the last six weeks, and I'm mostly back to normal. But as others have said, your mileage may vary.

For what else you should be doing - walk, walk walk - it made a big difference for me, and I think helped me heal faster.

Best of luck, and keep us all posted.

Rob
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