Surgery to stop Incontinence

Claudio
Claudio Member Posts: 4

I had my prostate removed 2 years ago. I had incontinence right from the beginning. I was leaking, it started to improve, then i did 30 days of radiation, and my incontinence got worse only slightly, then hospital offered me Optional chemo (which i took) 5 treatments every 3 weeks. During this period my leaking got worse (3 diapers a day) When i lie down sleeping i have NO incontinence. My last chemo was March 1, 2018 and i experienced no improvment. I read about surgery as possible method to cure the incontinence. I would like to know if anyone in the forum have experienced surgery. Given its 2 years i dont think my incontinence will stop on its own? I have an appointment in late August with a incontinence specialist. But i would really like to hear from you. 

Comments

  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,339 Member
  • RobLee
    RobLee Member Posts: 269 Member
    Artificial Urinary Sphincter

    I had the AUS implanted and activated one year ago, a year after my prostatectomy in 2016. For the first year I primarily relied upon silocone external catheters and a leg bag.  It was a tough decision to go ahead with the AUS but I needed to be continent enough to hold a full bladder in order to procede with adjuvant radiation.. which I did about a year ago.

    There are several other guys on this forum who have the AUS.  You will find a number of our posts in the thread linked above by H&O. There are actually a number of different threads here about the AUS.  Most guys have an easy go of the procedure. Mine didn't go so well, but the device works okay and life with it is far better than without it.  Unfortunately it will need replacement every 5-10 years or so, so one never knows what the future will hold. Good luck to you!

  • Josephg
    Josephg Member Posts: 383 Member
    edited July 2018 #4
    Artificial Urinary Sphincter

    I've had my AUS implant for over 5 years, and it is still doing the job.  For me, this implant was a true game changer.  Without it, my quality of life was dramatically negatively implacted, but with the implant, my quality of life is just fine.  When I was researching options to deal with my complete incontinence, following my prostate surgery, the folks on this forum were incredibly helpful, and key to my final decision process and outcome.

    I detailed my experiences with the AUS implant on this forum, and listed below are links, in chronological order, to pages where I posted my experiences.

    http://csn.cancer.org/comment/1324584#comment-1324584

    http://csn.cancer.org/comment/1326323#comment-1326323

    http://csn.cancer.org/comment/1339326#comment-1339326

    http://csn.cancer.org/comment/1339561#comment-1339561

    http://csn.cancer.org/comment/1344785#comment-1344785

    http://csn.cancer.org/comment/1413239#comment-1413239

    Good luck with your research, consultations, and final decision.

  • Old Salt
    Old Salt Member Posts: 1,315 Member
    Thanks

    for those posts Rob and Joseph! 

    and H&O, of course