Must we forsake Coffee & Beer to fight incontinence?

Lucky64
Lucky64 Member Posts: 29

Preparing for surgery in a couple of weeks. I drink 4 cups of coffee at a 75% decaf ratio and stop at noon. Maybe a beer or two in the evening. Have you guys who went through surgery, and had done your Kegel excercises, found that you had to give up these diuretics?

Thanks,

Nick

Comments

  • Grinder
    Grinder Member Posts: 487 Member
    My opinion

    All through my recovery I drank a lot of Ginger tea for nausea (untelated) and blood thinning. You will be using Depends for 3 to 4 months or more, and it "depends" on how many "Depends" you want to go through per day. My wife commented I was a lot like a lady during her you know what, because I was stuffing extra pads in the glove compartment, various places in the house, and wearing cargo shorts with extra pads stuffed in the various pockets. My point is, I did not let the incontinence change my fluids intake, I just adapted to the circumstance. Drink whatever you want, whenever you want, but have plenty of pads handy if you do. I don't think diuretics are going to affect your recovery schedule, just your short term volume output and pad usage. They're cheap enough.

  • Grinder
    Grinder Member Posts: 487 Member
    Ps

    Addendum. Besides the Kegels, I asked the surgeon if deep tissue vibration would help heal faster because it would encourage blood flow. He was adamant against it, I guess thinking it would also agitate the healing nerve endings.?

  • Clevelandguy
    Clevelandguy Member Posts: 979 Member
    Keep on with the fluids

    Hi,

    I did not change any of my fluid intakes qty or beverage type while I was recovering.  Of course the more you intake the more you output so you might leak a little more the first few months.

    Dave 3+4

  • Danny K
    Danny K Member Posts: 6
    cunningham clamp vs aus 800

    is anybody familiar or has anybody used the Cunningham clam before and does it help in the recovery of in continence or does it not. And compare with the artificial sphincter implatation, which one is better. Finally, does incontinence due to RP ever stop after two years of the operation? Could someone please help with an answer.

     

    thanks

  • Clevelandguy
    Clevelandguy Member Posts: 979 Member
    Danny K said:

    cunningham clamp vs aus 800

    is anybody familiar or has anybody used the Cunningham clam before and does it help in the recovery of in continence or does it not. And compare with the artificial sphincter implatation, which one is better. Finally, does incontinence due to RP ever stop after two years of the operation? Could someone please help with an answer.

     

    thanks

    Incontinence

    Hi,

    For me it took a good two years plus a little with continuos improvement in the dribble area.  I still have just a little stress leakage if I turn a certain way or strain when I pick something heavy up.  I am to the point now where I would not consider a sling due to the problems a lot of people have with them(look at some of the other posts on this board).  I wear one light pad/day and it's not noticibly wet ehen I change it at night. Are you doing your Kegal exercises, I feel they did and do help me.

    Dave 3+4

  • Weird Harold
    Weird Harold Member Posts: 11
    edited July 2017 #7
    Leakage

    Lucky,

    I am two and a half years out from RP and 1.5 years from EBRT. I dribble and surge sometimes but I drink coffee, beer ect. just as I always have.

  • GeorgeG
    GeorgeG Member Posts: 152
    At about 4 months post RP I

    At about 4 months post RP I was 95%+ and I drink coffee and eat dirutetic foods like watermellon and certain spices. I don't drink alchohol so I can't speak for that. I found that I was gunshy for a while because of early leakage events but it got better as I got braver (getting rid of the pads and holding longer). For me, abdominal excercises like crunches not only improves blader control but paradoxically, it eliminated some pulling/sharp pains in the surgery area where I must have had some scar tisue. I started back slowly and by the time I got back up to 50 sit ups my abdominal pain was gone and I can retain about 500ml on my best day with no leakage.

     

    George

     

  • Will Doran
    Will Doran Member Posts: 207 Member
    edited July 2017 #9
    Bottoms up

    Nick,

    I am almost 4 years post robotic surgery.  In the words of my urologist / surgeon.  Bottoms Up.  I was to keep up with the coffee.  In fact they gave me coffee with my supper the evening of my surgery with a liquid diet.  Then I kept drinking water all night long and by morning my urine was completely clear. The next day it was full solid food and home that afternoon.  He actually told me a little Kentucy Bourbon (his favorite), or Vodka was good for me throughout each week.  It has not caused any leakage problems.  Doing your Kegels and if needed go to Physical Therapy for help.  I did, and at almost 4 years post surgery, I leak very little.  Only under some conditions.  Like getting off my indoor trainer bike after riding for maybe 70 - 80 minutes continuous, or heavy lifting.

    Good Luck

    Love, Peace and God Bless

    Will

  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member

    Bottoms up

    Nick,

    I am almost 4 years post robotic surgery.  In the words of my urologist / surgeon.  Bottoms Up.  I was to keep up with the coffee.  In fact they gave me coffee with my supper the evening of my surgery with a liquid diet.  Then I kept drinking water all night long and by morning my urine was completely clear. The next day it was full solid food and home that afternoon.  He actually told me a little Kentucy Bourbon (his favorite), or Vodka was good for me throughout each week.  It has not caused any leakage problems.  Doing your Kegels and if needed go to Physical Therapy for help.  I did, and at almost 4 years post surgery, I leak very little.  Only under some conditions.  Like getting off my indoor trainer bike after riding for maybe 70 - 80 minutes continuous, or heavy lifting.

    Good Luck

    Love, Peace and God Bless

    Will

    Hi Will

    Hi Will

    Thought I would reply here as you touched on this in my thread.

    Interesting that coffee and limited alchohol are OK for you.

    I got told no go from a continence perspective for both and for alchohol for health as well.

    I suspect that the reason they blanket dissuade people is to avoid "just one more". I may just try and stick to "one" :)

    Nothing is clear cut about diet. For example, my PCa cook book does not ban chicken or eggs yet all the research shows Daily Mail levels of panic about increased mortality.

    C

  • GeorgeG
    GeorgeG Member Posts: 152
    I have just completed 8 weeks

    I have just completed 8 weeks of SRT which requires you to hold at least 8 ounces of urine in your bladder for an hour or so through your appointment process. I discovered a few things during that 2 months:

    The process (practice/pushing your limits) improves your retention volume over time. You start off nervous as the urge arrives and you are being vacuum sealed to the table but you learn that you can hold it better than expected. It got easier over time. At fraction 29 when they changed the field they do a verification CT scan. As the techs can back in the room one of them said holy cow is your bladder full. I can't belive that you don't have to run off of the table. I found that one of the keys was no coffee until after my treatment. Coffee did not increase my risk of leaking but it did increase my urgency and ability to hold volume so I go more frequently. It also accelerates water through the system. In a sense that is reduced continence I guess but I did not actually leak because of coffee. I don't drink alchohol so I can't comment there.

    George

     

  • contento
    contento Member Posts: 75
    edited September 2017 #12
    Same Here

    I'm 4+ years post RP and 2+ years post salvage and I only leak occassionally maybe when under duress. I don't drink much alcohol but I do drink at least 2 cups of coffee a day and I don't see it as an issue.

  • Will Doran
    Will Doran Member Posts: 207 Member
    edited September 2017 #13
    Coffee during treatment

    "C",

    Actually when I was having my radiation treatments, I didn't realize I was supposed to have a "fuller" bladder during the treatment.  I guess I missed that statement in the prep instructions meeting.  About four days into treatment the young fellow who was doing the treatments saw me coming out of the rest room, just after I got to the hospital.  Alan said I should try and not do that, and if I did have "to go" to drink some coffee in the waiting area so as to make some fluid collect in my bladder.  So, I'd come into the hospital, go to the BR and then get a half cup of coffee in the waiting area as I was waiting my turn in the radiation equipment.  

    I guess we just do what we are told and hope that is correct for our situation.

    Take Care

    Love, Peace and God Bless

    Will

  • contento
    contento Member Posts: 75
    Surprised by that!

    Will, I'm surprised that your hospital didn't measure your bladder volume every day immediately prior to treatment. I thought that was standard protocol for all hospitals .

    For me that was the worst part during my radiation treatments.

  • RobLee
    RobLee Member Posts: 269 Member
    edited September 2017 #15
    Bladder filling requirement

    C - I think it depends on the equipment being used.  Mine is a Varian RapidArc and it does a "mini CT scan" at the start of each treatment, then the scanner folds back, there is a brief pause as the tech's check the results and adjust the table position slightly, then the big zapper head moves around from back to front and back again.

    On several ocasions they told me afterwards that my bladder was low and if I came in that way the next day they would not treat me. This happened several times when I was having dairrhea, and a couple times when I had spent the entire morning in the dentist chair and could not drink the required amount of water.

    The primary reason for me getting the AUS was so that I could begin adjuvant radiation within one year following my RP. But then being able to go all day with just a single pad was an added bonus. I had heard from some other guys that they had lost some of what continence they had after RT, so I figured I'd be ahead of the game.

  • Dino_F
    Dino_F Member Posts: 16 Member
    edited April 2018 #16
    Danny K said:

    cunningham clamp vs aus 800

    is anybody familiar or has anybody used the Cunningham clam before and does it help in the recovery of in continence or does it not. And compare with the artificial sphincter implatation, which one is better. Finally, does incontinence due to RP ever stop after two years of the operation? Could someone please help with an answer.

     

    thanks

    cunningham clamp vs aus 800

    Danny K,

    Did you ever get a response about the  Cunningham clamp compared to the AUS?

    I am in a similar situation.  I am post-radiation (proton therapy in 2012) and post-RP (salvage robotic prostatectomy in 2017).  I developed urinary retention from a bladder neck contracture early this year and needed emergency urethral dilation.  When my Foley catheter was removed a week afterward I wound up in an ER for emergency re-cathterization.  Four weeks later I had TUIBNC (transurethral incision of bladder neck contracture surgery and was told I would never regain continence.  An AUS was mentioned by the surgeon as a possibility for me down the line.  I brought up the use of a penile clamp with my regular urologist (who was not the reconstuction specialist that did the TUIBNC surgery.)  My urulogist was fine with the use of a clamp, as needed.  I ordered a Cunningham clamp from Amazon and, after a few painful starts, I eventually mastered a routine for comfortably using it.  In my case, the clamp does not treat or ease incontinencein; it just provides an alternative to frequent pad changes.

    I don't know if long term uses of the Cunningham clamp are better than the implantation of an AUS.  The AUS is intentended to be a permanent solution, but I am a complicated case and I am leary to the 25% revision rate mentioned by others here who have had AUS implantation surgery.  On the other hand, I don't know if I can endure years of clamp use with all of the daily manipulations required to drain urine.

    There are always trade offs.  For me, the jury is still out on this one.

    Dino_F

  • fishinguy
    fishinguy Member Posts: 18
    Caffeinated coffee, yes

    I did wean myself off caffeinated coffee the weeks leading up to my surgery, maybe a month in advance.    I switched to decaf, and less of it.   After surgery I stayed off coffee of all types for the first six weeks.   I slowed back into a beer now and then at two weeks.  We all have priorities.   I have no leakage issue at all from day one.   At seven months after surgery, I do find that when I drink caffeinated coffee, my sense of urgency goes up.   No leaks, but when I have to go it seems to come on faster than normal and it's more apparent and I can't wait as long.   Overall, I'm just as good as I was presurgery, with the exception of coffee with caffeine, it's defintely noticable to me when I have it.   And as others have stated, early on I made myself wait longer and longer as each say went on to expand the bladder for capacity.    I had the catheter in for two full weeks.

  • Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 Member Posts: 3,803 Member
    fishinguy said:

    Caffeinated coffee, yes

    I did wean myself off caffeinated coffee the weeks leading up to my surgery, maybe a month in advance.    I switched to decaf, and less of it.   After surgery I stayed off coffee of all types for the first six weeks.   I slowed back into a beer now and then at two weeks.  We all have priorities.   I have no leakage issue at all from day one.   At seven months after surgery, I do find that when I drink caffeinated coffee, my sense of urgency goes up.   No leaks, but when I have to go it seems to come on faster than normal and it's more apparent and I can't wait as long.   Overall, I'm just as good as I was presurgery, with the exception of coffee with caffeine, it's defintely noticable to me when I have it.   And as others have stated, early on I made myself wait longer and longer as each say went on to expand the bladder for capacity.    I had the catheter in for two full weeks.

    Drinks

    fishinguy,

    Although this thread has been dormant for about six months, I will add that coffee and tea never had any effect on my bladder control, which was pretty good from the first week after cath removal.

    Beer, however -- a different issue. More than two or so, and I have to use common sense and get to the restroom in a timely manner. My theory has been that the alcohol relaxes the spincter. 

    I have seen no effects from caffine.  But I drank about ten cups a day before surgery.  Nowadays, maybe five a day. 

    max