Posted , 4 users are following.
3 weeks post op. feeling well. how long can I expect to need to wear pads to help with leakage?
I still have about once a day red blood "threads' in my urine (very minimal) and an occaissional darker spots. how long will this last?
0 likes, 6 replies
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n-mac richard98806
Posted
Hi Richard,
Sounds like we're almost on the same track. My RALRP was performed on 03/31. I've had several challanges in recovery such as trapped gases and another that I like to refer to as Scrotumous Gargantuous (almost cantalope size at its worst)! The former pretty much went away after 2-weeks, and as of today the latter side affect is almost totally resolved. However, my abdominal area is still a good bit puffy and swollen in places, and the largest incision on my left side still gives me pain spikes when I move to suddently or flex the wrong way.
With all that said, the one dreaded side effect that I've been surprisingly fortunate to not experience is urine leakage of any kind. I've been 100% dry and leak free from the moment the catheter was removed at post surgery. From what I've been told by several urologists that I interviewed for this surgery, assuming all goes well, about 90% of all patients obtain total or very close to total dry within 12-weeks post surgery. Also, that results tend to depend on how rigorous and disciplined one is with respect to performing the highly recommended kegel repititions. Did your doctor give you instruction on a daily post-surger kegel regime? Have you been performing that regime on schedule every day? If not, then I highly recomend that you do so, and IMO add a fair amount of daily fast pace walking to that schedule as well. One thing that I think helped me pre-surgery was to have walked almost daily for 4+ miles with periodic sets of 12 x 12-one-thousand count kegel reps added in as I did so. Doing at least one set of 12 about every 1-mile should be good enough. I think that I'd most often do about 5 sets during my walks.
My surgeon's nurse practitioner and pre-post surgery guide booklet informed me that the small amounts of blood in urine from time to time is also a possible side effect that should resolve itself within 2-3 weeks after catheter removal. If it does not, then I highly recommend that you report such to your surgeon's office.
Wishing you the very best as you continue to recover.
richard98806 n-mac
Posted
thanks. I have been increasing my speed and intensity of my walks. unfortunately a month prior to my surgery I came down with an upper respitory infection which curtailed my plan of being in best of shape as possible. I also have not been rigorous and disciplined in the Kegel regime. I still have the urine leakage which is minimal and non existent during the night. I did have 2 occassions of a large "accident" which occurred after consuming 2 beers.
So, moving forward I will work on the kegel regimen and stay away from the beer.
steve82587 richard98806
Posted
steve82587
Posted
barney34567 steve82587
Posted
Not unsurprising. It took me three months after the catheter was removed to return to pre surgery continenence.
I didn't bother with kegel exercises. What I found crucial is no drinking of any kind say four hrs before bedtime. That way, I did not wake up at night to pee.
barney34567 richard98806
Posted
I did not perform any kegel exercises at any time.
three months post op I stopped using pads altogether.