difficulties with bladder control post RP

fred3030

About 2 1/2 weeks ago, I had an RP. The surgery went extremely well. My catheter was removed about 5 days ago, and I'm feeling a bit frustrated with the fact that I just don't have very good bladder control. I know that it's early days, and I have been doing my kegel exercises faithfully. It's just that everything else seemed to go so well that I foolishly assumed that regaining full bladder control would be a snap, too. Any ideas on how long the "average" guy takes to regain full control?

AuthorUnknown

I had laparacopic removal Aug 24, 2004 and am just now in the final stages of drying. Each individual is different; I know some people who were bone dry at day one and others who are a year and still padded. Just bear with it; I am not sure how much the exercises help. Stay away from caffeine, sodas, alcohol! (chocholate has lots of caffeine so nix it too! It wil slowly dry.

bmorris

I had a RP in September 2004 and had very good bladder control three weeks after the surgery. I started performing kegel exercises two weeks prior to surgery and continued afterwards. I still have some leakag if I drink alcohol or perform some heavy lifting. I will say that you should see some improvement daily -- stay patient as difficult as it may seem.

jenswilliam

I'm twelve years out, and after a period of discomfort and leakage (2 months) my life has been great. Currently, I've had a recurence in my lungs. Don't lose faith.

ckd86

It took me about three weeks after my catheter was removed to go padless. I did the Kegels faithfully. Like any other exercise, you are try ing to strenghten a muscle you have not used much in the past.

dhatton

Hi Fred..hang in there. I'm 8 weeks after RP and still using pads. Keep doing your exercises. I have found that standing up slowly helps with the leaks.Everyone heals differently. Remember that the "leaks" ain't to bad compared to the alternative. Give your self a chance adjusting to the new you, and you'll do fine. I found the healing from the surgery was the easy part, the journey after is the tough part(at least for me). Let us know who your doing.

JimDSM

I had an RP in late Feb 2004 and the catheter was removed 12 days post-op. I managed to gain enough confidence to stop wearing pads at night at about 3 months and during the day at about 4 months. I still had frequent minor leaks on exertion (esp sitting up from a reclined position). A few times I had to go home from work early to change but still felt better about myself without pads. Overall it took a good 6 months to feel I had regained "most" of my bladder control. After a year plus I still occassionally leak a bit on exertion but I try to not let it worry me. As others have suggested - do the excercises and give yourself time. My wife and I decided that even if I had to spend the rest of my life in diapers, being alive was still the best alternative.

Jim in Des Moines