I finally saw the Physical Therapist, who did an assessment of the muscles that controlled urine flow, and she said mine were very weak. She thought that the triple whammy of a cystoscopy, a catheter, and a UTI did a real number on them. But she assured me that I would regain continence, but it would take 6 to 8 weeks.

During my first session, she placed electrodes in my anal area, and then told me to do some Kegels. The instrument gave me feedback that indicated that my Kegels were not very strong. After some coaching, I improved my "technique". Like any muscle, there is a right way and a wrong way to exercise.

I've had 3 sessions so far, and my incontinence is much improved. I am hoping that I will be continent by late May/early June. I will continue to do Kegels the rest of my life, except with an improved technique.

A couple of other things: so far my Lupron side effects consist of headaches (which seem to be fading, albeit slowly). I also have 3 or 4 hot flashes a day, but they are not too intense and don't last very long. I don't seem to have any problems with fatigue or weakness (any more than what I consider normal for a 65 year old).

I get more sleep now than when I worked. I go to the gym 5 days a week. I go on a hike just about every week. I am avoiding some exercises until I regain continence. Once that's resolved, I plan on doing more intense exercises for core strength and balance.

One more thing - I met the oncologist and he was great - he may be my new favorite doctor. He gave me some good news - the prostate cancer in my bones is very small, and should be halted in its tracks by the Lupron hormone. I asked him what happens if/when the Lupron stops working. He feels that they would add different hormones, and that as of now, I may never need chemo.

He gives me an excellent chance for living a long life, and as I have always felt, the longer I live with Prostate Cancer, the better the chances that new treatments will come along. 

   

I read an article today about somebody in my town who has been and is being treated for prostate cancer. I went back to my blog and realized that I hadn't posted since February - about 3 months. So I thought an update was in order.

Our month long Myrtle Beach vacation in February was affected by my condition - incontinence (see Feb post)- though I tried be as much fun as I could, I had good days and bad days. This was our first month long vacation since my wife & I retired, and I was pissed. I wanted to blame somebody for my condition, but in hindsight it was nobody's fault but my own.

I had always gotten up to pee once or twice a night since my initial treatments in 2011-2012. I had a stricture, but I could still pee. This past December, when I learned I had advanced prostate cancer, I wasn't sleeping very soundly. I heard terms like metastasized and ocologogist. I worried that the prostate cancer had exploded in my bones (though I was in no pain, except for those that I felt because I am a certified hypochondriac!)

And what about the Lupron hormone? What if it had nasty side effects? What if it doesn't work and I need chemo? How much friggin' time do I have?

In hindsight, I believe now that with all the thoughts floating around in my head, no wonder I couldn't sleep. And when I lie there awake, I would have to pee (a little) so I'd get up so I could (hopefully) sleep for a few hours before I had to pee again.

I told my doctor that I seem to be peeing more, so he gave me a cystoscopy when he gave me my Lupron shot. Then I went home and couldn't pee at all , had a catheter put in, then developed a UTI. All before our Myrtle Beach vacation.

In S.C. I did what I thought were Kegels, which I learned 5 years ago. The incontinence continued through our month long vacation. When we got home, I had an appointment with the same office that had done the cystoscopy, which I cancelled. My reason? They want to measure volume, which made no sense to me because I was leaking so much.

I came to my senses, and scheduled another appointment, which the office had to cancel. I finally had an apt, where  I saw that they had procedures to follow during their assessment.  I finally saw a physician's assistant who referred me to a Physical Therapist. Yes, there is such a thing as physical therapy for incontinence!

This is getting long - I'll continue in another post.