Showing posts with label bladder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bladder. Show all posts

Monday, August 3, 2009

To Pee or Not to Pee...

...that is the question. Of course you recognize that line from the famous Shakespeare "Prostatectomy" soliloquy - or maybe not. But the question is relevant to anyone who has had one or more prostate cancer treatments in the past.

You've no doubt seen some of the numerous late-night TV ads for men who have trouble with urination (enlarged prostate/BPH). They tout all sorts of pills and liquids and ointments to make passing water easier. Us men who have been treated for prostate cancer have no such problems. As a matter of fact you can probably go pee any time you want - and sometimes when you don't.

After six years of various treatments - ranging from surgery to radiation to hormone pills - I have had reason to be concerned. Even though I long ago decided that living in a diaper was better than being dead without one, I did NOT want to go in that direction.

The bad news: You probably know that your likelihood of incontinence increases in the years after treatment.

The good news: There are some things you can do to improve your odds, so don't give up hope. I didn't.

For years I have done Kegel exercises (when I could remember) and that probably did help. More recently my Urologist prescribed some pills to relax my bladder. How could that help, I asked? He said that sometimes a more relaxed bladder makes it easier to control those unintended leaky moments. After a month I saw no difference, but after six months there has been a major improvement. It could all be psychological but that's OK, too. And I have a relaxed bladder - assuming that's a good thing!
axman