Men who have undergone radiation or surgery for prostate cancer frequently experience urinary incontinence or the loss of the ability to regulate urination. You should be mindful of this potential and be ready for the likelihood that urinary incontinence will make your life more difficult, if only temporarily.
Urinary incontinence comes in various forms and levels of severity. While some guys may drip urine, others may completely leak. Stress incontinence, the most prevalent type of urine leakage men have following prostate surgery, is the loss of pee with a couch, laugh, or sneeze. However, the most frequent type after radiation treatment is urge incontinence, characterized by frequent urination and leaking episodes. Medical professionals keep improving the incontinence products for prostate cancer to lessen incontinence following surgery and radiation.
The role of the prostate in urination
A pair of valves (sphincters) keep urine inside the body; it empties into the kidneys’ bladder and remains closed until your body “tells” them to open when urinating. You’ve had a radical prostatectomy if it removed your prostate during surgery. The surgeon and the prostate gland must remove one of the valves outside the prostate that opens and close to let the urine out or keep it in. The presence of one functioning valve is usually sufficient, but the surgery may also have residual effects on the nearby nerves and muscles. Urinary incontinence affects 6 and 8% of men who have surgery to remove their prostates.
How long after prostate surgery does urine incontinence last
It isn’t easy to gauge how long it will last. Your age, weight, and the anatomical qualities of your urethra may all impact your likelihood of developing urinary issues (the tube that moves urine from your bladder out of the body.) After a radical prostatectomy, most men eventually continent (control their urination). After around three months, men can frequently refrain from using any form of incontinence product (bladder control pads or adult diapers) without risk. It is especially true for males who are generally in good health and are between the ages of 40 and 60.
How is urine incontinence managed following prostate surgery?
Your healthcare physician may advise starting with noninvasive treatments like medicines or pelvic floor muscle for physical therapy exercises if you experience mild to moderate leakage following surgery. These treatments might also reduce the number of times you must get up at night to urinate. Men with mild to moderate leaking may occasionally find these techniques helpful. If men desire to stop using leakage pads, they may need surgery if they have persistent leaking or a more serious issue.
How can patients deal with persistent incontinence?
Incontinence is among the most aggravating side effects that individuals experience following specific prostate cancer treatments. The shortened version is provided here, along with information on the causes of incontinence and treatments available to males.
- Pads
After a prostatectomy, most people must wear pads for a few months. But another choice is to keep using pads over the long run.
- Physical therapy for the pelvic floor and kegel exercises
Physical treatment for the pelvic floor strengthens the entire region and helps much more than just incontinence. The sphincter muscles are strengthened and trained with kegel exercises to keep you dry. Here is a fantastic how-to on men’s Kegel exercises from AvaCare Medical. We advise you to perform Kegel exercises daily following a prostatectomy.
- Sperm clamps
The clamp, another item the patient would wear, applies sufficient pressure to the urethra to maintain its closed position.
- Catheters
You could choose an internal or external catheter worn like a condom and fasten it to a bag. Your urethra and the area above your bladder are both entered using an internal catheter. It links to a bag and has a tiny balloon that holds it in place. Since catheters are a device you must wear and may cause additional infections, and this isn’t the best option for most men.
- Operative choices
Men who are 6, 12, or 18 months post-treatment, most commonly after a prostatectomy, and who continue to leak a lot of pee (and who have attempted kegel exercises and other pelvic floor physical therapy) may be candidates for surgery.
Sling operation. An implanted sling is essential to a hammock that compresses your urethra. The concept is the same as before: you have an open pipe, we’ll close it, and the pipe will leak less. Although it is a solid surgical option and a good alternative for many men, if the patient leaks severely, which means he loses every drop of urine in his bladder, this procedure is unlikely to dry him out.
Artificial sphincter in the bladder. It’s a hydraulic device, and inserting it inside your body necessitates surgery. It comprises a small pump located in the scrotum rather than the testicles and a cuff that fits around the urethra. Once implanted, the cuff is inflated in the active form to prevent urethral leakage. The patient then walks to the restroom; when he needs to urinate, a small button and the cuff open up. About a minute after he finishes, the cuff closes once more.
Bulking agents. Some collagen or other substance is essentially injected inside of it to make the urethra more closed. Think about a pipe. The liquid will flow through it if it is open, but less liquid will seep out if we make it narrower. The technique is quick to complete, and although it requires surgery, some urologists can execute it in their offices. The drawback is that while it frequently doesn’t last that long, it rarely provides patients with complete contentment. Men would need to return and have it redone.
Final Thoughts
It can be physically and emotionally taxing to deal with prostate cancer and have your prostate removed. It might be demoralizing to have endured surgery to only experience a temporary lack of bladder control afterward. Many men are not yet ready for this thing to happen, so finding a forum, using the right incontinence products, or message board with like-minded individuals can help reduce some of the stress you might be feeling.
Most men undergoing this treatment are free of urine incontinence and no longer need pads. The others typically develop to the point where they stop using as many pads as they formerly did. If you need other solutions to your bladder, AvaCare Medical is here for you. For more information, please call 1-877-813-7799 or email us at info@avacaremedical.com.