I concur with WorriedGuy. Around 10% of RRP patients simply don't regain continence, no matter how many kegels we do and how many hills we climb. You won't know if you're in that unlucky 10% for a...
Here's a (hopefully) final update 5 months after AUS installation. I'm really happy with the AUS. Haven't used a pad in several months. Dribbles and leaks are very rare, maybe once every week or two...
It's now 1 week since the doc activated my AUS, and so far I'm a happy camper! Learning how to use the thing was actually pretty easy. I was a little bit worried about having to squeeze a device that...
Hi everyone, just wanted to share my post-prostatectomy adventures. Had RRP about 8 years ago, but never regained continence, always needing 1 to 4 pads a day depending on activity level. To fix...
I had RRP about six years ago, followed by two sling surgeries. For a while I was doing fine with one Depends Shields Light Absorbency guards every day, those are the ones that come in the gray and...
I also found that Viagra has some unpleasant side effects, mainly the headache and stuffy nose, and I really don't like taking it anymore. Cialis has much milder side effects. Viagra starts working...
Hi SB. One thing I learned through all this: kegels are great, but they won't solve UI if there's some other underlying issue. In my case, I was doing 100 kegels a day but still leaking pretty bad,...
I had a second AdVance urethral sling procedure six weeks ago. I'd had successful RRP 3.5 years ago, but had real problems with incontinence, and had the first AdVance sling put in 1.5 years ago....
As I remember, the scrotal swelling went down gradually over a week, more or less. Temporary inconvenience, permanent improvement!...
Hi Jeff1231, congrats on getting the AdVance Sling. I've had mine for just over a year now, and am happy with it. Not perfect, still a little leaking from time to time (no sit-ups for me ever...
I had the AdVance sling put in about a year ago. It improved my continence by maybe 80%, but I find that now I'm back to a pad a day, with a slow but steady drip throughout the day. No way can I go a...
Just wanted to let everyone know that the iDry app is now finished and has been released to the Apple App Store. As I mentioned in my last post back in August, I developed iDry as a result of...
Bob, congrats on the successful sling procedure. Your experience is nearly identical to mine. Difficulty urinating for a few days, then 100% dry for a while, then a bit of leaking but way less than...
A few weeks after my prostate surgery, I went to see my surgeon, and he asked me "What percentage of your urine is going into the pads and how much into the toilet?". I looked at him and said "I...
Update: six weeks after AdVance sling procedure. Today's the last day of the 6-week recovery period specified by my surgeon. Now I am officially allowed to pick up items weighing more than 10 pounds....
Update: two weeks after AdVance sling procedure. Things are going really well so far and I'm a happy guy. Continence is near 100%, just one minor accident when I forgot I wasn't wearing pads anymore...
Jonathan, thanks for the links to the useful devices. The Duro-Med Deluxe Sock Aid is my favorite. Hey, one minute you're playing in a rock band, the next you're buying devices to pull up your...
Thank, Worried Guy. It's an odd situation where you're easily able to do something like pick up a sock off the floor, that doesn't hurt but might be loosening the sling's attachment to the bone and...
A week ago I finally had the AdVance sling installed (if that's the right word), by Dr. Ronald Benoit at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh PA. It's been almost two years since my RRP, and it looked like...
I've scheduled surgery for implanting the AdVance sling. The surgeon has told me to expect to miss 2 full weeks of work afterwards. I have an office job, no heavy lifting, and 2 weeks seems like a...
Well, it's been 17 months since my RRP. When I'm having a normal day at the office things are okay, I'm down to 1 pad/day, but unfortunately I still have little urinary control when I'm walking or...
Hi Sooner, sorry to hear about the leaking during sex. I had it pretty bad (the leaking, that is) for the first few months after my RRP. It was an unpleasant surprise the first time it happened -...
Somewhat surprising study just published, indicating that open retropubic prostatectomy has a slightly better outcome than robotic, in terms of continence. Not much difference in sexual function....
Casey, we are in violent agreement. I agree that the nerve sparing RRP surgery pioneered by Dr. Walsh is a huge improvement over the methods used before (as someone who had the surgery myself, I'm...
Actually, Fairwind's comment is pretty accurate. If you slog through the details in the full article, it says that among men who had a prostatectomy, those with nerve-sparing surgery had a 37%...
Mt, I have had almost the exact same pattern at 6 months. No leakage while lying down or sitting, but as soon as I stood up I'd start to leak, and if I started walking I'd lose all control. This was...
It's been a year and 2 days since my prostate and I parted ways. I posted a long and rambling story right after the surgery, and thought I'd post a quick update. Hope this will be helpful to anyone...
I saw my uro for a checkup 5 months after open RRP, and told him I was still having trouble with incontinence. He prescribed imipramine and it seems to have really helped. Turns out imipramine is a...
Looks like the AllDayChemist version is called Silagra, and the 100mg pills are about $2/each. Seems a bit pricey, is this the best deal available? (Not that I'm complaining... it's cheaper than a...
I wouldn't recommend doing anything drastic after only six weeks. It takes a long time for those pelvic floor muscles to get strong enough to do anything useful. I was using 8-10 pads/day for nearly...
Reminderman, I'm taking the Solgar brand, it contains 400 mg magnesium oxide, which is 100% of the recommended daily amount. It's also got 230 mg calcium phosphate and 25 mg vitamin B6. The women in...
Recovery, I'm about where you are in terms of gaining control. I've been thinking a lot about the engineering aspects of urinary control, so here goes... When you first come out of prostate surgery,...
I read natural44's post about magnesium, and went out 3 days ago and got some. Have been taking 400mg every morning, and it sure seems like things are a bit better. I've reduced my "pad rate" by 1 or...
Interesting comment, DJ. I'll have to add another item to the "errors of my youth" list: I picked the wrong sphincter......
It's great to read these stories about being continent so soon after RRP, but as one of the folks who isn't, I wish I could understand how you guys do it. As it was explained to me, RRP surgery...
I agree, physical exercise is really important. In addition to the usual exercises (walking, weight training, etc), don't forget the ones that are only available to PCa folks like us. My favorite is...
Bill, I can completely sympathize with you. It's been 5 weeks since my surgery and 3 weeks since my catheter was removed, and despite being in very good physical condition, I have almost no urinary...
Hi Tim, glad to hear you are doing well post-op. My comment about the outcomes of open vs. laparoscopic surgery was based on Patrick Walsh's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer, 2nd Edition (2007),...
Hi pp96752, good to hear from a fellow Nelson veteran! It's now been 17 days since my surgery. The best news is I have almost no pain at all from the surgery area; in fact in the last few days I've...
Thanks An, that's very interesting! I found a summary of urethral sphincter muscles in a short Wikipedia article , and it confirms what you say, that everyone has a voluntary external sphincter...
Thanks everyone for the advice and support! It's good to know that other people have had the squirting, dripping, etc., but have eventually overcome it. I'm still curious about exactly HOW one gets...
Well, the big day today, I went back to the surgeon, 10 days post-op, and got the urinary catheter removed. First feeling was "great, it's finally out!" Then I dribbled all over the examining room...
Hi Bob. Congrats on getting through the procedure and the couple of days afterwards - they are by FAR the hardest! I thought my doc was speedy getting me released at 3pm the next day, but yours is...
David, I agree, looking back on it, I should have said "thanks but no thanks" when they wanted to release me the day after surgery. A second night in the hospital would have been much better than...
WARNING - this is a LONG post (3500 words). OK'd by the moderator! Enjoy... An Unremarkable Prostatectomy This is a pretty simple story of my radical prostatectomy, which was performed three days...