Sorry David, but you're experience is probably the most common unless you're
one of the lucky few who are quickly dry.

Per a John Hopkins study "almost 50%" were continent 3 months after surgery.
Off hand I can't remember the rest of the data such as the number at 6
months and one year. Perhaps someone who has a copy of Walsh's book can
provide the information.

I'll be 4 months post-op by the end of the month.  I go through 4 to 6 "man
pads" per day depending on my level of activity.  At five weeks I was going
through 6 to 9 per day.  I *do* see slow progress but progress nontheless.

Good Luck

OK folks David is the old friend of mine I spoke about some time
earlier this month.  Let's make him welcome to the club that no one
wants to join....

Heather, David is in your neck of the woods.

Chuck Harris

David,

It was a couple of months for me before I had almost total control.  
then over more months it got even better yet.  My memory is fading on
all this stuff, but I think at a week from the removal of the catheter I
had some dripping too while walking which is troublesome to say the
least so I know what you're going though.  I also was able to start and
stop the stream right from the beginning and that's a very good sign
told.  I take it you have not had problems while sleeping?  Lots of
things come into play with this stuff, but have hope I think you'll be
ok.  This is a slow process and not everyone gets back to normal again,
but the vast majority do, but each at a different pace.

Dale J.

Had my catheter removed one week ago, and since then have had zero
bladder control when walking or standing.Everything is under control
while sitting or lying down, but once I stand up I am unable to control
the flow, and the flood starts. Same while walking and standing -
constant uncontrollable drip. Has anyone had a similar experience, and
if so how long did it take to get some sort of control?
--------------------
hi david - welcome aboard.  

you are about where i was at that time frame.  i use to hear how
everyone got dry almost right away, but i didn't.

there are three phases of getting dry.  first, to stay dry while laying
down.  second.  to stay dry while sitting.  third, to stay dry while
walking.  as you can tell, you know exactly where you are in the getting
dry process.  now, how fast you get dry will vary from person to person.  

in my case, it was so bad, that when i got up to walk, i carried a
washcloth in front of me and filled it as i walked around the house.
they say walking will help.  i have a treadmill and i used a male urinal
as i walked.  by the time i walked 1/4th of mile on the treadmill, i
have leaked over a cup of urine.  i got off the treadmill and went to
the bathroom and couldn't pee.  dry as a bone.  everything had leaked
out.  i was wondering if my life was going to be like this forever or
some modification of it.  

to complicate matters, i had excessive scarring blocking the flow and i
had to end up having two more surgeries to be able to pee.  so, by now,
i'm really wondering if i will ever be dry.

in 7 months, i was 95% dry, and in 10 months i was 99% dry.  i'm 15
months post op and still about 99.5% dry.  i say that because i will
have days were i will leak just a little bit.  seems to happen when i
really tired or for a day or two.  so, if that happens, don't get upset.
you are going to have days later down the road where you will leak more
and then you will dry up more.  but the end result, you are following
the average path, so don't lose sleep over it.  just plan accordingly on
your leakage for the time being, carry some extra pads and work on
getting your life back.  getting dry will take care of itself.

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional    
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."

At Hopkins,  Walsh says that half the men are continent by 3 months and
almost all by one year.   You are still at an early stage, so you
shouldn't be concerned yet.  Do your Kegel exericses and get lots of
walking in, and be patient.

Hi David,

The same answer that everyone else is giving you.  I'm 4 months post-RRP
and am down to one pad per 24 hours.  I sometimes change after work if
I'm going out of an evening but only for "insurance" purposes.

I was hoping to be over this by now but maybe in the next couple of
months...

Good luck and keep positive

Dave
Dec 03 Age 51, PSA 10.8
Jan 04 Dx PCa T2a Gleason 5
Mar 04 RRP, post op path good, all contained
May 04 cystoscopy & BNI now pi**ing like racehorse
Outlook optimistic

David,
It seems that it'll never return but it does.  My catheter gave me
such fits I was tempted to yank it myself.  Then when it did come out
the bladder irritation lent itself to my dribbling and sometimes
gushing for the next six weeks.  When I went back to work I was still
using pads and thought that this was going to be it from here on out.
Then it simply got better.  Stay busy and walk.  Walking seems to help
the best.
Good luck with it all and keep the humor.

Chuck McClellan

I had my cath removed about 3.5 weeks ago.  I'm finding that I'm just now
healing from the effects of the cath.  I was very dry early on, but am now
dripping some.  I've found it's a "two-steps forward, one-step back" healing
process.  As others have said - walk as much as you can and do your kegels.
It will get better as time goes on.

Sandy K.

David from another David,

You're exactly where I was a year ago almost to the day.  Went through
about 5-6 pads a day, then gradually down to 4 pads, then at about 10
months 1-2 pads/day.  I can now go all day with one pad although I
often change it just because a new dry one feels better, not because
the old one is full.  What's interesting for me is that even now
during the day I rarely experience a fullness in the bladder so that
if I want to be dry I have to make a trip to the can every couple of
hours whether I think I need to or not.  Of course sometimes I forget
and the pad fills a little faster.

I read that things improve in this department for about 18 months.  I
don't think I will ever be totally pad-free what with sneezes, coughs,
etc. but things aren't bad for me now and this will all get better for
you too.  Hang in there.
Dave Perry

Your doc has done a very poor job of preparing you for what to expect
David. What's happening to you is the classic response after surgery. It
gets better and better, and in almost all cases, you become dry eventually.
It took me almost 6 months, and mine was on the long side I think.  My best
advice is to stop and start your stream as many times as you can during
urnating.

stand up I am unable to control the flow . . .

IMO, you're doing well. Do Kegels AND, while your hanging out and
sitting down, try to hold as much as you can before peeing, this works
the muscles directly involved. You'll be continent in a couple months
or so.

I'd say most people have a week of no control except when lying down.

From: "david" <david@nospam.com>

My experience has been much the same as the previous descriptions.  I find
that my progress has not been steady.  I have made rather sudden advances and
then plateaued for a while, then made more advances.

I started very much as you described.  At about 10 weeks I suddenly achieved
much better control, but not dependably.  I'd do great for a day or part of a
day and then start leaking significantly again for a while.  For the last week
I have again seen a sudden change, overcoming this intermittent loss of
control.  I still have occasional small amounts of leakage, but the
uncontrolled soaking has stopped.

Today marks 15 weeks since my RRP.

 -Al