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Starting pelvic floor PT

TurtBean
TurtBean CSN Member Posts: 14 Member
in Prostate Cancer #1

7 weeks out from having my catheter removed post-surgery, I’m still totally incontinent, so I had my first pelvic floor PT session yesterday.

I’m told pelvic floor therapists are few and far between (at least in my area), so I was happy to find one just 40 minutes away, and she specializes in treating male incontinence. Also fortunate that insurance is paying for the lot - they told me at the clinic that was unusual.

Light work, starting with strengthening my core while continuing the kegels I started nearly two months ago. Looking forward to making at least some headway on this - getting tired of being constantly damp, sticky, and with mild irritation down there.

The therapist did tell me I’m in no way unusual in my lack of progress, echoing others on my care team, so I’m staying upbeat and positive.

Would love to hear about anyone else who’s had this type of therapy.

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  • capecodder
    capecodder CSN Member Posts: 55 Member
    #2
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/330034/starting-pelvic-floor-pt

    I am 3 plus weeks before my surgery so cannot speak to post-op PT, but I have been doing kegels for several weeks now. Found a therapist near me and she is giving me core and hip strengthening exercises in addition to some kegel-specific ones. I hope you find success soon as 7 weeks sounds miserable. I have seen plenty of comments that it could take 6-9 months to get to just some dribbles and only needing a pad, so it is a patience tester. How old are you, and did you have any continence issues prior to surgery?

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  • TurtBean
    TurtBean CSN Member Posts: 14 Member
    #3

    @capecodder - I’m 59, and I was having a dribble here and there when I couldn’t find a bathroom quick enough - that (and a host of other urinary issues) was related to having an enlarged prostate, which of course, is no longer an issue.

    Matters aren’t helped by being on a diuretic for HBP - fluids run right through me, and that 64 ounces all my docs tell me to drink leads to a lot of brief/guard changes.

    I’ve been told by several professionals that 3-6 months seems to be the sweet spot for beginning to see signs of improvement, though some can take as long as 18 months, and an unlucky few don’t get it back at all, so here’s hoping I’m average-to-slightly-better.

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