Drowning

[SCCooter]

Anyone have any suggestions on how to cure incontinence after failed radiation treatment for prostate cancer, Currently on ADT for 2 years.

[RMontana]

SCCooter, I am 67 and have had a RP and RT, plus am on a post RT 2 year ADT regimen...I too suffer from some level of incontinence and did some research which may help...check out the study linked; it has a lot of information for your review...some highlights;

See: uptodate.com/contents/urina...

- Criteria; literature generally uses "pad-free" as a strict definition of continence, but 0 to 1 pads per day has been accepted as a definition of "social continence" [3,4].

- Occurrence; Using 0 to 1 pads per day to define continence, 68.2 percent of men are continent by 3 months, 84 to 91 percent are continent by 12 months, and 93.2 percent are continent by 24 months postoperatively

- Age; Older age is an independent predictor of worsened continence status after RP (dont know about after RT)

- Pad test: Pad testing is the gold standard for the quantification of degree of incontinence.

> The one-hour pad test has been described as a screening tool to determine the presence of incontinence, while the 24 hour pad test is more useful in quantifying the volume of leakage [73-75]. [Check out the ART for how to test yourself]

- Also listed are success rates for treatment via a Sling or AUS (artificial urinary sphincter)

- The AUS is the most predictably reliable treatment for SUI for men with all degrees of incontinence

> 20 percent of patients never leaked,

> 55 percent reported leakage of a few drops daily, and

> 22 percent had leaked less than a teaspoon daily (15ml/cc) [102].

> In another large cohort with up to 11 year follow-up, mean pad use declined 85 percent (4.0 to 0.6 pads per day) following surgery..

But note, 80% these men are not "dry" as your led to believe you are supposed to be after 'recovery.' So first quantify your leakage via a Pad Test, start weighing your pads, then see what options you have and which may work for you...according to this ART for men that have undergone RT the AUS is the best treatment; Slings may not work on patients like us...see the details...

Note that "dry" is not really totally dry; its like ED does not occur if a pill or an injection does the trick...so definitions are key...I dont know the level of leakage you have...again, there is a test included in the ART that helps you quantify it...

Other things I had to do was give up caffeine (even Decaf), hot sauces, spicy foods, green tea (even decaf) and limit my intake of liquids...do a test and see what foods irritate your bladder, keep a log, then eliminate them form your diet. For me after having done all this and practiced months and months of Kegel exercises I am now "Socially Continent" and as such 'cured' according to the literature...so, hope this helps...Cheers