I Know Why I'm Still Incontinent @ 4 months...

Gene, we don't have experience with this proceedure, but surely want to wish you luck. We'll be rooting for you and awaiting your post to say how it went. {{{{HUGS}}}}}
:o) Linda & Bob

Above, I said the surgeon called my problem a "sone".  I shold had said he called it a "stone".  Anyway, it is not like a kidney stone, it is scarr tissue preventing proper urine flow. 

Gene

Hi Gene,   We are surprised that we haven’t had more people with this particular issue.   Thank you for sharing this stepping-stone in your path that many have not had to deal with.    After reading the information in our book listed below… and having been told by our urologist to be on the look out for this.  At the time… we were told… we were not alarmed by what would have to take place ~if this should happen.   Our thoughts are still the same…     Head in on Tuesday and get this taken care of.   Yes ~ it would have been nice to have found out earlier… but maybe it was best to let as much healing take place before inserting anything into the urethra…   You know now… and you can move forward to getting this corrected and move closer to the goal of urinary continence…   Our thoughts and prayers are with you. In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy   P.S. It would be so helpful for others if you add bladder neck contracture (Scarring) in your title!!   Added for future readers!!!! Excerpt from  “Dr. Patrick Walsh’s Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer”…                                          (Give Yourself a Second Opinion) 2001 Patrick C. Walsh, M.D. Professor of Urology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and Janet Farrar Worthington   Bladder neck contracture , or constriction of the bladder neck:   this is scar tissue that forms where the bladder neck is sewn to the urethra, and it has been reported in between 1 and 12 percent of men after surgery.   Its symptoms are usually manifested by persistent incontinence, and a very slow or dribbling urinary stream when –this is the tip-off—the bladder is full.   Remember, incontinence immediately after surgery is a very common problem.   In the early days after surgery, many men who are having incontinence also worry about having a slow urinary stream.   But it’s hard to achieve a good stream if there’s not much in the bladder—and it’s impossible to store up urine in the bladder if it keeps leaking out.   Bladder neck contracture is different; the bladder is full, but the best you can manage is a dribble, because the scar tissue is blocking the flow, like a stuck washer in a faucet.             If you are having prolonged incontinence, you should be evaluated with cystometry, a test that measures bladder progress and function by passing a small catheter through the urethra into the bladder.   Changes in pressure are monitored as the bladder fills with water.   If scar tissue is causing the trouble, it can be re opened in a simple outpatient procedure as a urologist, using a cystoscope (a tiny tube inserted through the tip of the anesthetized penis, through the urethra and into the bladder), makes a few tiny cuts to relax the tight scar tissue.             To keep the area open, your urologist may recommend that you pass a small catheter through the urethra every day for a month or so after the procedure.   This way, the scar tissue won’t re-form, and the normal lining of the bladder and urethra will cover the opening as it’s supposed to.   If the scar tissue is particularly stubborn, your doctor may inject a powerful steroid called triamcinolone into the area of the contracture; this can be effective in preventing the scar tissue from returning.

Hi ~ Gene,   You are so right!!!      E ach book is the same but different… Just like our journeys!!!   Being able to pull what fits our needs is important.   That’s one of the reasons we started the thread:   BOOKS... Recommended by Forum Members   Every time someone mentioned a book I kept a listing of it.   After seeing more than 5 ~ I thought a thread would be good.     I am so thankful you responded the way you did to the excerpt that I sent.    Thank you for letting us know that it helped you!   I personally find the wording a little calmer…in Dr. Walsh’s book but he gives you the full details…. Which is what we need.   In Dr. Scardino’s book ~ it has all the latest info on radiation, therapy, and laproscopic details.   A lot has happened in just 5 years since Dr. Walsh’s book was published.   Looking back at your journey…. You have truly traveled a path with a few extra stones thrown in.   The forum has grown tremendously and I see where I’ve missed a few of your threads…   Would you mind if I link your threads to your other postings?   It will truly help others that follow in our path. In reference to finding a new urologist… make sure you have all the paper work filled out that is required when having your “records” transferred to another doctor.   It will be easier to do before you leave town.   They may say wait and complete the form from the new doctor….requesting records.   Ask them (your current doctor) what the wait time is??? In sending.   I requested my personal records 2 weeks ago and still don’t have them…. So ~ find out!!! This will help to relieve any unexpected “stress”….   Where will you be moving? This can help us to help you!!!   In your search for a new urologist!   Take care for now. Here’s a special Hug to take you through your procedure tomorrow.   Remember… you’ll need to take a little extra time now to heal… so plan for it… okay!!!    ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~~ )*&^%   Group Hug %^&*( ~~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~   From the 3 of us... Lee, Buddy, & Murphy

OK Friends...

I'm back from the procedure and I am doing well, I think, except for pain.  It's bearable.  The doctor told my wife that it was a stone at the stricture site and he was not sure how it got there unless it was due to the surgery, which it no doubt was.  She said he seemed very happy he did not have to do any cutting, but he was not nearly as glad as I was!  Also the doctor said that it was very rare.  He may have not even seen it happen before, but he probably would not tell me that.   It was not a kidney stone but I suppose it could have come from somewhere else.  Anyway, now I am looking forward to gaining continence.  I suppose it will be just like starting from day one instead of four months.

It was a little frightening to get out of bed and pee for the first time.  I filled the commode with blood and little pieces of flesh.  The next time it was not nearly so bloody.  Time #3 it was even clearer until the end when very fresh red blood flowed freely.  That really scared me.  But that seems to have stopped now too.

The doctor said I could start Kegals again but I will wait a couple of days on that.

Thanks for advice and concern, everyone.  Also I think I should "repent" regarding negative comments, including those against my doctor.  He just happens to be a person who does not communicate very well.  Sometimes I think I'm like that, too.

One last thing:  I hope all of this has perhaps inspired hope in others who are experiencing continuing incontinence and even ed.  I have more hope now in those two areas.  I am anticipating getting over this.  But if I don't at least the c is gone, and that is the most important issue.  Right?

Gene