Temporary Improvement in Incontinence

tpelle
tpelle Member Posts: 184
in Prostate Cancer #1
It has been a while since I posted. Radical Prostate Surgery in 2003 at age 71, Gleason 7, less than .01 PSA since. Did the usual Kegels during the first nine months following surgery, reducing Depends pad usage to an average of 1.5 per day. Suddenly, doing Kegels caused lower left abdomen pain, and pad usage creped up to an average of 2.5 per day, which I have lived with since. EXCEPT For ONE WEEK THIS SPRING. Suddenly, without changing medications or fluid intake levels or daily routine, drippage and pad usage reduced from 2.5 per day to 1 pad per day and it was lightly used. This 1 per day usage continued for one full week. It was going so well I decided to do several Kegels (20). Immediately the drippage reverted back to my using 2.5 pads per day. During the eight years the surgeon/urologist scoped the urethra/bladder several times and found nothing to prevent the sphincter from closing and remaining closed. Later he injected a bulking agent near the urethra/sphincter with no positive result. I will relate this experience to my surgeon/urologist at my annual visit next month. I'm hoping it may be a clue to a possible remedy to the incontinence issue. Have any of you other incontinence sufferers experienced a sudden temporary or long term improvement in drippage? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Lou T.

Comments

  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,339 Member
    #2
    I wonder, if you are
    doing kegels correctly. Is it possible that the exercises that you are doing have a negative impact?
  • lion1
    lion1 Member Posts: 241
    #3
    hopeful and optimistic said:

    I wonder, if you are
    doing kegels correctly. Is it possible that the exercises that you are doing have a negative impact?

    Incontinence--no let up
    Tpelle,

    Sorry to hear you are still leaking, but was encouraged about your temporary decline in wetness. You and I have spoke in detail in the past and I still suffer from incontinence. I'll be 52 later this year, so it will be 6 years with incontinence. I have had alot going on in my life the last 6 months, so I backed off seeking any further treatment. As you know, no medications worked on me, no collagen or botox worked on me, and I cancelled the interstim inplant in April, because even if it worked, it would probably only help 50%. So I am just living with this for now. Also, since we talked last, my situation is purely driven by an overactive bladder.

    In reference to your question, I was hoping that for whatever reason my overactive bladder would just stop being overactive and then I would see significant improvement. I wonder if that could happen???

    So , no I haven't heard of anyone whose dripping just stopped after they have had it for years.

    Not sure what my next move is?????

    Lion1
  • tpelle
    tpelle Member Posts: 184
    #4
    hopeful and optimistic said:

    I wonder, if you are
    doing kegels correctly. Is it possible that the exercises that you are doing have a negative impact?

    Doing Kegels correctly?
    H&O: Urologist had me do several Kegels while the scope was in the bladder. He said I was doing the exercises correctly and that the sphincter was strong. That was many years ago. I've tried doing Kegels many times over the years, but I found that they made the drippage worse. Initially he advised me to do several hundred Kegels per day. I did. Later he told me that several hundred per day were not necessary -- said they recommend twice as many as necessary because most patients typically do only half the recommended number. What a deal! I think I may have over-done it. Thanks for your comment. Lou T.
  • tpelle
    tpelle Member Posts: 184
    #5
    lion1 said:

    Incontinence--no let up
    Tpelle,

    Sorry to hear you are still leaking, but was encouraged about your temporary decline in wetness. You and I have spoke in detail in the past and I still suffer from incontinence. I'll be 52 later this year, so it will be 6 years with incontinence. I have had alot going on in my life the last 6 months, so I backed off seeking any further treatment. As you know, no medications worked on me, no collagen or botox worked on me, and I cancelled the interstim inplant in April, because even if it worked, it would probably only help 50%. So I am just living with this for now. Also, since we talked last, my situation is purely driven by an overactive bladder.

    In reference to your question, I was hoping that for whatever reason my overactive bladder would just stop being overactive and then I would see significant improvement. I wonder if that could happen???

    So , no I haven't heard of anyone whose dripping just stopped after they have had it for years.

    Not sure what my next move is?????

    Lion1

    Been Watching your Posts
    Thanks, Lion1, for the update. As you may remember, earlier I was convince that the AMS Advance was the answer -- minimally invasive and outcomes seemed good. But, the positive outcome reports were early in the Advance usage. The AMS website's last update is three years ago. You and I were unlucky to fall into the low percentage of those who suffer incontinence after radical surgery. In fact, my urologist/surgeon told me that only 1 to 2 percent of his patients suffer incontinence after surgery. He does only open surgery and does not even do male sling procedures. I've been watching closely the possts of the guys getting the AMS 800. I'm not ready for that yet, still hoping something else will come along. I've never been told that I have an overactive bladder. I took Imipramine for several years which is supposed to calm the bladder. It didn't reduce drippage and had too many side effects. Good luck in your search for a solution. I'll watch for your posts. Lou T.

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