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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / January 2004maybe a dumb question
hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank God my recovery has been uneventful.I have been 98% dry for about two months ,and although I have not recovered erectile function,with the help of Evritra things look promising.My dumb question is ,is bicycle riding helpful or harmful to my recovery.Recently I bought a bike for casual exercise and notice after riding a short time I begin to leak a little.Does the riding exert too much pressure in that area? I dont want to do anything that will set me back,but I do enjoy the riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and God bless you all. Hi, I had LRP (Laporoscopic) in Jan '03. I'm 46. My surgeon, Dr. Douglas Dahl, told me that I could do anything I wanted except ride a bicycle with a standard seat or a motorcycle "for a few months". He cleared me for my mountain bike after a year. If I were you, I would contact my surgeon with that question. What I did in the mean time is buy a recumbent (http://www.escapekey.biz/bent.html) bike. Now, The recumbent is all I ride on the road. It is the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden. I went to a recumbent rally in the fall and found quite a few recovered PCa brothers there... - John > hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading > for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > God bless you all. Not an expert opinion, but I'd say that you will have to train your kegel to hold while riding, just like you did while sitting and walking. In any case, leaking "a little" should not curtail your chosen exercise.  SignatureProstate Cancer Survivor (so far), not a doctor PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 PSA .1 .1 .1 .3 .4 .8 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .3 .2 .2 .2 .3 Erection 05/12/2003 @ 48 HTbegins 07/21/2003 @ 48 PSA .1 Lupron 7/03, 8/03, 12/03 > hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading > for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > God bless you all. My hubby was told to stay off the mountain bike for a few months post-op. He is 42 yrs old and had RRP 6/23/03. He was back on his mountain bike 8-10 weeks post-op, although taking it easy. He had no incontinence from the get go and biking didn't seem to aggravate him or cause leaking. He does notice when skiing that if he's had to much coffee beforehand he has very little time to find a toilet before he can't hold it at all. (Beware of the yellow snow in Whistler!) The only thing that seems to cause leakage is a little too much alcohol. His urologist did warn that some of his patients have had issues with different types of exercise. SignatureRebecca Ford > hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading > for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > God bless you all. I had my rrp August, 2003 and began riding my exercise bike six weeks after surgery and have not seen any particular problem with leakage due to the bike riding. I believe the exercise good. Steve M. > hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading > for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > God bless you all. Leonard is a bike rider and I think he suggested some sort of seat(s) for someone else. I think some seats do put more pressure on the area in general. I'll bet if you went to a real bike shop (not the local "sprawl-mart") and asked, someone there could probably recommend a seat for you. I'm not a rider but I know if you have the wrong seat your tush is going to hurt! So folks need one based on size, weight, type of riding, etc. and maybe on tender RP'd tushes. Bev > hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading > for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > God bless you all. > Leonard is a bike rider and I think he suggested some sort of seat(s) for > someone else. I think some seats do put more pressure on the area in [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > and maybe on tender RP'd tushes. > Bev I use a fairly standard touring saddle -- probably it looks too narrow to be comfortable to some folks, but it's not as narrow as some racing saddles. I've looked at those saddles with cutouts long before my RP and after, but there are just too many edges and stuff on the ones I've seen, that might cause chafing, so I've stayed away. A saddle is something that needs to be tailored to a person's anatomy. Each person's butt is different. It took a lot less time and trouble than it takes for some people to find one that works for me, and I've stayed with it, prostate or no. A lot of tourers like the traditional Brooks B17 saddle. It's a heavy leather one that takes some breaking in. I tried one out 3-months or so after my RP, thinking I now had an excuse to treat myself to the expense of one of the finest. Then I thought, this is really stupid, using my tender butt to break in a new saddle at this time. I took it back off after riding a few miles. (I sort of had it from a friend, on approval, so didn't lay out any money for it.) JohnG http://www.tesco-shopping.com/bikeseat.htm . This bicycle seat was discussed in a prostate cancer group last year and my husband bought one to use on his exercise bicycle. It needed a bit of modification for this non-standard use, but works very well for him. . He used it before his cancer diagnosis and was back on the bike 3 months after his RRP. He really likes it because there is no pressure except on the sitting bones. > http://www.tesco-shopping.com/bikeseat.htm > . [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > after his RRP. He really likes it because there is no pressure except > on the sitting bones. thanks for your help,I'm going to try it,snowbird > > http://www.tesco-shopping.com/bikeseat.htm > > . [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > thanks for your help,I'm going to try it,snowbird Here's another one. Somewhat similar concept. Lower price. http://www.specialized.com/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=5290&JServSessionIdroot=crn7k5l 58k.j27005 > hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading > for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > God bless you all. I had my surgery at the end of January and don't remember getting on a bike before April. Maybe I did, but I don't remember it. I have heard from people older than I am who started riding sooner after surgery than I did. (I was 53 at the time.) I had a few sensations in the prostate region at first when I'd ride, so I took it easy. I remember doing a 60-mile ride in mid-May. Maybe those sensations were gone by then and maybe not -- it's hard to remember now. I was concerned about leakage because wet undershorts on a long ride means rashes, soreness, and blisters! But it was never an issue with me. I had dribbling problems for a while, usually associated with peeing, but riding never caused a problem. Later in the year, when it was cold outside, I'd sometimes have a bit of a dribble issue when I'd lean over to pick something up (I was laying concrete blocks that fall) but never when riding. I'm not saying it would be the same with everyone, just how it worked for one person. Later when I was making far less progress with ED than I had hoped for at the time, I sometimes wondered if riding had set me back. But I have no reason to believe that it did. (Things finally got better in that department at about the 1-year point.) JohnG > hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading > for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > God bless you all. Generally, exercise should do more good than harm by increasing blood flow to the entire body, including the area where the prostate was. But it is prudent to take some precautions. Make sure the seat fits you well, and that it is positioned properly. A good bike shop will help you with that. Check it regularly to be sure it doesn't get loose. When riding, if there is even a hint of 'numb penis syndrome', stop and rest or walk around a bit. Don't spend more than half an hour on the seat at a time without a short break in any case. What I found most helpful was a shock absorbing seat post. It makes for a much smoother ride and protects you from shocks to your anatomy when you go over bumps or hit potholes. > Make sure the seat fits you > well, and that it is positioned properly. A good bike shop will help > you with that. To add to this, I'll mention that a good bike shop will help you get it close, but you still may have some tuning ot do to get it right. I have found that a difference of an eighth of an inch up or down can make a difference between sore knees or not when I'm riding moderately hard. If I start to feel knee soreness, I get off and try to tune it. And one advantage of riding hard is that you put less weight on your butt. The most agonizingly sore seat I ever got when riding was when I went on a 30-mile ride with my wife (in pre-RP days) and we rode slowly. (It was worth it to have her company, though. I'd gladly do it again if she could.) When I'm out on tour if my butt starts to feel a little sore on day 2 or 3 when I start to ease off the initial pace (usually because I'm tired after the 1st day) it's a reminder to me to ride harder. And by that time, I should really stop babying myself so much anyway. (I'm not really going that fast, btw. If I ride 80 miles in a day, I take longer to do it than anyone else I know, with lots of stops to talk to people, look at the scenery, take a nap on a park bench, etc.) You'd think that once you find the right seat height you're done, but in winter when I use different shoes and wear extra clothes, I have to readjust. And so on. And if I have even a hint of 'numb penis syndrome', as Leonard calls it, I stop immediately and figure out what's wrong with the tilt adjustment and fix it. A good bike shop will help you get pretty close, but you may need to make final adjustments. > Check it regularly to be sure it doesn't get loose. > When riding, if there is even a hint of 'numb penis syndrome', stop and > rest or walk around a bit. Don't spend more than half an hour on the > seat at a time without a short break in any case. JohnG My goodness, I went through all that stuff when I rode "regular" bikes. Now, I sit down on a comfy chair, clip in and eat roadies for lunch :) The only adjustments I've had to make on my recumbent is the boom length (the distance between the seat and the pedals) and the seat angle (pretty upright at first, more laid back as I got more miles in). Recumbent bikes eliminate all the problems of chafing, numb nuts, numb hands (no pressure on that nerve in your palm), expensive bike shorts (no need for a crotch pad) and shirts (no need for back pockets), breathing problems (do you have trouble beathing in your recliner?), and so many other issues. The main reason diamond-frame bikes are the standard is because the ICU made recumbents illegal to race as they gave the rider an unfair advantage! At 15mph, 80% of an upright rider's effort is overcoming wind resistance. On a recmbent, that figure drops to about 15%. You go faster with less effort and have a comfortable chair to sit in when you get there. A fully faired recumbent (purpose-built) did 81mph on the flats in Nevada in 2003. Speed, comfort and fun. I know the next thing you are thinking: those things stink on hills. It's true that you can't stand on the pedals and grind your way up a steep hill. Once you have built up your legs (takes about a month), you can take just about any hill you could with any other bike assuming apropriate gearing. The secret is spinning but that's what you should be doing on any bike. Of all the blessings I have recieved as a result of cancer, Dr Dahl saying, "Try a recumbent." was one of the best. -john > > Make sure the seat fits you > > well, and that it is positioned properly. A good bike shop will help [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > JohnG i was on my bike and running too eight weks post RRP. Until then i did LOTS of walking. I've had no problem with incontinence in general or with my road and mountain bike riding. After a year, I did purchase a new seat for my bike, one of those with the cutout to releive pressure on the prostate (even though i don't have one anymore - haha!!) i find it makes the ride more comfortable. good luck - and happy spinning. Bill > hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading > for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > God bless you all. > i was on my bike and running too eight weks post RRP. Until then i did > LOTS of walking. I've had no problem with incontinence in general or [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > > God bless you all. thanks to all of you for your help,what a great group!!God bless you all!! Not such a dumb question, I have been a cyclist since my teen years. I had my RRP in Septmeber of 2003, at age 49. I started riding short rides 3 weeks after surgery. I was back to riding like I was pre-surgery after 6 weeks(150-200 miles a week). I have been using a Selle Max-Flite Trans Am saddle for the last 3 years, it has a cut out in the center but is stiff enough that it doesn't squish around. I don't have any leakage problems, although I have yet to get any erectile function, but I didn't have any nerve sparing. I had a high Gleason number. Fortunately my PSA's have been very low since surgery. The kegels did help, but I do leak when I play the trumpet( I played professionally for many years), the pressure on the diaphragm that is involved in playing makes me leak pretty severly. Good luck and keep riding! Tom > hello all, I am new at posting a message,although I have been reading > for quite some time.I am 66 years old and had a r.p. in may /03.Thank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > riding.Anyone have any advice.This is a great forum ,keep it up and > God bless you all. |
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