Will doing Kegels even help at this stage?

[Lyubov]

Past 9 months various treatments for bleeding & blockages; indwelling catheter (2+ months to dilate) removed yesterday. We get home & he's incontinent. Supposed to self-cath but no urine comes out of cath. How can it if he's peeing all day into his Depends? What to do? I am sick of the urologist & assistants. No alert to this at all. What to do?

[Tall_Allen]

I hope his pelvic muscles will recover soon after being blocked by the catheter. Did you ask his Uro if kegels will speed up the process?

[Lyubov in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thank you for responding. Sadly, no. Nurse Ron removed it; explained all about the scar tissue in the bladder, etc., etc. But not a word about incontinence! Hubby called office but only mentioned that no urine came out when he self-cathed. Now weekend's here. . . I'm trying to get him to at least try some Kegels. . .until Monday morning, when will call uro's office again. Appreciate your support.

[jmurgia in reply to Lyubov]

The university hospital in Syracuse had an "incontinence nurse" who dealt with these issues. She used to say that a catheter is the "kiss of death". I don't know if she's still there. They do have 3 physical therapists who work with patients to restore continence. Maybe if you look around you could find one somewhere. Good luck.

[tango65]

Kegels do help with urinary incontinence. You could talk with a nurse specialized in incontinence to explain how to do kegels correctly.

If Kegels do not help, then you need to consult with urologists to see what surgical options are available. They could go from an artificial sphincter to a pelvic sling.

my.clevelandclinic.org/heal....

Urine may not come out with the catheter because he is leaking all urine into the diapers.

[Lyubov in reply to tango65]

Yes, he had a PT work with him following his RALP (4/1014); it took about 6 months to regain full control. He has had intermittent bleeding starting about 2 years after the IMRadiationTherapy (2016). So, he's had a number of dilations, cystoscopies, & the camera-procedure. It really seemed to get worse after another one of those procedures in Jan 2020.

I fear he wouldn't be able to handle surgery -- he's 77.

Will see a med onc in a couple of weeks, and we're hoping we'll get better guidance. But yes, he will work on Kegels starting tomorrow using a youTube video from Australia!

[tango65 in reply to Lyubov]

Let's hope the kegels will help.

Best of luck.

[Hidden in reply to Lyubov]

It’s a grueling duty . Do Kegals ! I think that he can improve . Many go through these type of things . Somehow he will get a handle on it ..

[kaptank]

Hi, it's important to have a uro that takes this seriously. Look for another uro. There can be any number of things happening from the disastrous to the trivial. I am totally incontinent due to a slack uro. It sounds like you need to find one you can talk to. It's important to get to the underlying causes.

Kegals will help but not the solution.

One bit of practical advice: instead of pads, think about external catheters for at least some of the time. They are condom like devices with a tube coming off the tip that drains into a leg bag. You can wear them 12hrs at a time. Pharmaceutical and disability aid suppliers will know them. The same people who supply ordinary caths would likely also stock these. It makes life much easier, especially if the bladder reacts to internal caths, blocking flow.

[Lyubov in reply to kaptank]

Thank you so very much for your most helpful advice -- I've been worrying something else is going on, too. I appreciate the suggestion of the external catheter & leg bag. We haven't heard of it before.

[ck722]

A kegel alternative is to drink a gallon of water every day and try to hold it as long as you can. Pads will be necessary for a while and perhaps diapers too in the beginning. Living in the country I could always step outside and go behind the wood shed or a tree. Kegels get boring but they do work. It took my neighbor a year to get this under control but he persisted and was rewarded for it. The odds are good so persist. Get a PT to check that you are doing the exercise properly, very important.

[j-o-h-n]

Best price for depends are by the carton from Costco......

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 10/10/2020 1:11 PM DST

[Shooter1]

5 Kegels before trying to stand from chair really helped me. Even now I use them if riding bike with grandson or setting to long in front of computer without a break and a cup of coffee at my side. 3 1/2 yrs+ into this recovery.

[Hidden in reply to Shooter1]

Miss ya shooter!🏜

[Shooter1 in reply to Hidden]

Sure was great to see you and your new home.

[Hidden in reply to Shooter1]

Me too! Lifted me up

!👍