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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / August 2007Dealing With Incontinence After Surgery
Three weeks ago I had surgery to remove my prostate (radical prostatectomy). One week ago the catheter and the drain were removed. As soon as I sat up on the table to get dressed, I left a puddle on the floor. Fortunately, I had a Depends with me so I could get home reasonably. Since then, it appears that I am extremely incontinent. Just about any time I stand up I release urine, and although the urologist tells me I should try to resist this happening, usually I am not able to make it to the bathroom before it mostly goes into the Depends. I then try to drain myself as best as possible, usually with mediocre results. The problem seems much worse at some times than at others. Yesterday it took me six hours to get to the point where I needed to change the first Depends, then I went through two of them in little over four hours. I don¹t think my liquid consumption varied enough to account for the difference. I¹ve also had some burning with urination, although that has gotten somewhat better as time goes on. Sleeping is not so bad, I try to cut back on liquids before going to sleep, though I always have to get up and go at least once during the night. When I get up it does seem not too much winds up in the Depends and I can take an actual leak into the bowl. One thing that may be helping at night is that I have been taking a Darvocet-N 100 tablet each night an hour before going to bed, but I run out of these in a few days, and I doubt the doc will give me any more since these are a controlled drug. But they are a great sleeping pill, I can¹t take these during the day if I want to drive or do much of anything else. I have been doing Kegel exercises, but I guess it¹s too early to tell if these are doing any good. The urologist tells me things should get better is six to twelve months, that seems like an awful long time. It¹s summer here, I want to do outdoor things, and not have this burden to deal with. Making maters worse is that I¹m a nudist, and I just can¹t see walking around a nudist park wearing a Depends. Just letting it tinkle on the ground would definitely be uncouth and would probably get me thrown out. We¹re nudists, not pigs! I¹m supposed to go back to work in two weeks, but if this continues like this I don¹t see how. My work is such that I can¹t always leave the room when I want to. I¹m a TV Master Control operator. If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can better deal with this please let me know. I appreciate your suggestions and experiences.  SignatureLarry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH Hello, Larry: I sorry to hear about your surgery, but I hope they got all the cancer. Regarding your incontinence, what you are describing thus far is pretty typical of the early post-op period. Some men are lucky enough to get dry very quickly, but most of us are not. I am a little over 9 months post-op, and am down to one pad that gets a little damp in 24 hours, mostly due to coughing and sneezing. But my early experience was a lot like yours. A nudist, eh? You're a better man than I; I'd just stare at all the women until I got either thrown out for being a lech or smacked by my wife. :-) Your friends will understand if you have to wear baggy shorts to hide the Depends, I'm sure. Kegels will hep. Activity is supposed to help the incontinence, too, so if you walk a lot, that's good. Just remember that you are healing. As far as work goes ... You'll probably find that, as long as you can get a break every couple hours, you'll be able to manage for the time being. In the words of a great philosopher, "Never pass up an opportunity to pee." So, what does a TV Master Control operator do? I assume it's not what I do when I lay on the couch at night and mindlessly flip through the channels ... --charlie Signature6/2006 PSA 5.2 DRE suspicious 7/2006 Biopsy 2 of 10 positive Gleason 7(3+4) 11/2006 LRP Clear margins 1/2007 PSA < 0.01 3/2007 PSA < 0.01 6/2007 PSA < 0.01 so far, so good > Hello, Larry: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > and am down to one pad that gets a little damp in 24 hours, mostly due to > coughing and sneezing. But my early experience was a lot like yours. It is comforting to get several replies from people who had it as bad as I do at first, who did eventually get better. It's interesting to see how different people react differently, some people say kegels were helpful, others say they're useless. > So, what does a TV Master Control operator do? I assume it's not what I do > when I lay on the couch at night and mindlessly flip through the > channels ... I'm running the station, I'm responsible for seeing that the correct material airs. Especially the commercials! I am not allowed to leave the room unless a qualified person who is not otherwise busy is available to relieve me. SignatureLarry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH > It is comforting to get several replies from people who had it as bad as > I do at first, who did eventually get better. It's interesting to see > how different people react differently, some people say kegels were > helpful, others say they're useless. Personal experiences prove little beyond the range of possibilities. For trying to predict another's response, what matters is large scale statistics, which say Kegels work. I.P. > Three weeks ago I had surgery to remove my prostate (radical > prostatectomy). One week ago the catheter and the drain were removed. Welcome to the club, Larry, for which no one ever applies for membership. > As soon as I sat up on the table to get dressed, I left a puddle on the > floor. Normal. > The problem seems much worse at some times than at others. Yesterday it > took me six hours to get to the point where I needed to change the first > Depends, then I went through two of them in little over four hours. Many factors contribute. I think the least of which might be how much you drink (except at night before bed). There are many who believe the more you drink, the less problems you will have. I know that I can hold a distended bladder much better than a nearly empty one. Infection can contribute and contibute to burning urination. Even sexual thoughts can cause leakage. Obviously alcohol, especially beer, and maybe your Darvons are contributors. The long and short of it, however, is that we all regain continence at our own rate. Some here have been dry since they pulled the catheter. Others, never. As I recall, I was wearing diapers for six weeks and went to pads the day I returned to work. > Sleeping is not so bad, I try to cut back on liquids before going to > sleep, though I always have to get up and go at least once during the > night. When sleeping, especially on your back, you have gravity on your side. > One thing that may be > helping at night is that I have been taking a Darvocet-N 100 tablet each > night an hour before going to bed, but I run out of these in a few days I don't know what good these are doing you. > Making maters worse is that I¹m a nudist, and I just > can¹t see walking around a nudist park wearing a Depends. Just letting > it tinkle on the ground would definitely be uncouth and would probably > get me thrown out. I have the same problem in a mens shower. Irritiating. SignaturePSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins PSA <.1 <.1 <.1 .27 .37 .75 PSAD 0.19 years EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD .056 years Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 and every 4 months there after PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.4 years Casodex added daily 07/06 PSA <0.04, <0.05, <0.04 (06/12/2007) Non Illegitimi Carborundum > As soon as I sat up on the table to get dressed, I left a puddle on the > floor. Give it a few months, with Kegels. Your crotch was just traumatized; it won't heal for months. Fortunately, I had a Depends with me so I could get home reasonably. "Fortunately"? Your doctor should have told you to expect continence to take months. > Since then, it appears that I am extremely incontinent. Many of us are plumbed directly from bladder to pants when standing for weeks to months post-op. We wear Depends, change 'em often, do our Kegels, and are glad our cancer is (we hope) gone and our incontinence is in our bladders rather than our bowels. Then some day or month or year, we switch to the triangular Serenity Pads for Men. > The problem seems much worse at some times than at others. Yesterday it > took me six hours to get to the point where I needed to change the first > Depends, then I went through two of them in little over four hours. Yup. No surprise there. These guys who are dry within days or weeks are from Mars, aka the dry end of the Bell curve. > Darvocet-N 100 ... is a great sleeping pill ... I'm a nudist. You run around the park au nautural; why not sleep the same way? What do the other senior men wear around the park? Surely some of them are incontinent. I'd inform everyone of my cancer and its aftermath and make a big joke of the Depends, for one simple reason: I can't do a damn thing about it and don't plan on letting it ruin my life. Maybe you could design a G-string for pads for nudists and market it. If diapers are good enough for astronauts and fighter pilots (you really think even a 22-yo F-117 pilot flies a 20-hour mission without peeing?), they're good enough for me. > I¹m supposed to go back to work in two weeks, but if this continues like > this I don¹t see how. My work is such that I can¹t always leave the > room when I want to. I¹m a TV Master Control operator. Big diapers, booster pads, and no khaki trousers are allowed. Besides, most of us are quickly continent while sitting. I'm something like 33 months out of a surgery which my surgeon thought would leave me dry within months. I may get 24 hours out of one pad, or I might soak three in one day, at home, around town or even in the gym. But at hard physical play I. P. Freely and almost constantly. It's a good thing my thing is water sports and not basketball. Once we get over the mental aspects of it, diapers and pads are mere logistical hassles, if that. I.P Freely > Three weeks ago I had surgery to remove my prostate (radical > prostatectomy). One week ago the catheter and the drain were removed. > > As soon as I sat up on the table to get dressed, I left a puddle on the > floor. Same thing happened to me... I made a big mess on the floor, and all the way home. Hang in there, it gets better, and better, and then you move on to complain about erectile probs instead! LOL. That gets better too. SignatureJK Sinrod www.SinrodStudios.com www.MyConeyIslandMemories.com >Three weeks ago I had surgery to remove my prostate (radical >prostatectomy). One week ago the catheter and the drain were removed. Sorry to here it Larry. Best wishes for healing. >As soon as I sat up on the table to get dressed, I left a puddle on the >floor. Fortunately, I had a Depends with me so I could get home [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >Depends. I then try to drain myself as best as possible, usually with >mediocre results. I just had my RLRP in June. When I had the cath removed, I didn't leak anything immediately, but I wore the depends anyway. My Dr. told me to bring one or two. By the time my wife got me home (90 minute ride) my diaper was soaked. The scary part for me is that I never felt a thing! It got better and better though. >The problem seems much worse at some times than at others. Yesterday it >took me six hours to get to the point where I needed to change the first [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >it tinkle on the ground would definitely be uncouth and would probably >get me thrown out. We¹re nudists, not pigs! Kegels helped me a lot, do not overlook this exercise. As for your fellow nudists, no they're not pigs but I'd hope they'd have a heart and let you were a diaper and a pair of shorts for a period of time. Hey I know that defeats the purpose, but what the heck man you just went through a lot. >I¹m supposed to go back to work in two weeks, but if this continues like >this I don¹t see how. My work is such that I can¹t always leave the >room when I want to. I¹m a TV Master Control operator. > >If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can better deal with this >please let me know. I appreciate your suggestions and experiences. Best wishes on a speedy recovery. SignaturePSA @ 45 yrs. = 4.7 02/06/2007 Biopsy 03/16/2007 G7(3+4),T2c RLRP 06/12/2007 G7(3+4),T2cN0M0 Neg margins PSA 7/16/2007 = <0.1 > As for your > fellow nudists, no they're not pigs but I'd hope they'd have a heart > and let you were a diaper and a pair of shorts for a period of time. > Hey I know that defeats the purpose, but what the heck man you just > went through a lot. Have some fun with the Depends at the park. You could draw or paste photos of virtually anything on them, front and/or rear (those possibilities -- and genders -- are endless). If they're all you're wearing, they will get heavy and begin to sag as they fill, so you'll want suspenders for them ... another prospect for humor. Clown suspenders, black formals with a bow tie, ratty twine, duct tape, fake staples or nails or nuts and bolts, etc. Heck, stick a sprig of catnip in the diaper or rub a dab of dog food on them and see what shows up and happens. Treating your new hassle with humor will endear you to your friends, and I'd think that in a nudist colony the bare facts of life would offend few people. I.P. > Three weeks ago I had surgery to remove my prostate (radical > prostatectomy). One week ago the catheter and the drain were removed. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can better deal with this > please let me know. I appreciate your suggestions and experiences. Check out: http://palpable-prostate.blogspot.com/2007/02/post-rp-urinary-incontinence.html which gives info that will allow you to compare your progress with a large number of other prostatectomy patients. It also discusses factors affecting incontinence progression. This one: http://palpable-prostate.blogspot.com/2007/02/urinary-incontinence.html has a section on Pelvic Floor Exercises that references a number of helpful links on how to actually do them. --- The Palpable Prostate http://palpable-prostate.blogspot.com |
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