Here it is. I’ve been looking forward to writing this for a long time ago and then for what seemed like the longest time, fearing I wasn’t going to be able to write a positive note. Let me explain. I was experiencing increasingly worse symptoms from enlarged prostate for a few years when my doctor said it was my time. As with most doctors, mine is a technical specialist and not strong on communicating, so I went to the Internet for information. I found a lot of promotional reports on prostate procedures from other doctors and this site. Not too enlightening. I was told to expect a few days out of commission, restrict myself to a few weeks of mild activity and I was going to be a new man. The blogs on this site seemed rather pessimistic to me. I was going to have a much brighter story to tell.
So I wake up from my surgery which I’m told went really well. Couldn’t be better. So. I begin my journey to recovery. A few days of crying like a little girl when I peed and then a few more weeks of bleeding. But worst of all, my pee signals went haywire. For a long time (four months), I felt I had to pee almost all the time. Constipation complicated peeing for a few weeks. And if that wasn’t bad enough, incontinence began after two months. So, based on what my doctor had told me to expect, I thought I was careening way off course. Not to drag this out, I committed to doing Kegel exercises. At first, I was shocked to find that I could not feel a thing down there. I couldn’t stop or slow the pee stream at all.
What a mess. Working hard to avoid becoming disheartened, I’m considering how I’m going to live out my life and I don’t see a positive outcome. And then it turns. Really, just like that. I kept working the Kegel exercises for a couple of weeks before I began to feel the muscles working a little. I mean I was really committed, so if you are experiencing this, keep going. Even now, I still have to “work” those muscles, but it is becoming second nature, and I just work them often all day. I no longer have to pee all the time and I can often sleep for about five hours. I used to have serious shy bladder, meaning it took a long time to begin peeing and I needed privacy. Now, I can pee in a pig trough with a crowd (I used to hate going to sports stadiums because so many of them have this archaic method of relief). I gotta pee, I get up and do it. No delay. That’s all! And what a stream! So do you have to work to get through this? Yep. Is it worth it, you bet!
So I wake up from my surgery which I’m told went really well. Couldn’t be better. So. I begin my journey to recovery. A few days of crying like a little girl when I peed and then a few more weeks of bleeding. But worst of all, my pee signals went haywire. For a long time (four months), I felt I had to pee almost all the time. Constipation complicated peeing for a few weeks. And if that wasn’t bad enough, incontinence began after two months. So, based on what my doctor had told me to expect, I thought I was careening way off course. Not to drag this out, I committed to doing Kegel exercises. At first, I was shocked to find that I could not feel a thing down there. I couldn’t stop or slow the pee stream at all.
What a mess. Working hard to avoid becoming disheartened, I’m considering how I’m going to live out my life and I don’t see a positive outcome. And then it turns. Really, just like that. I kept working the Kegel exercises for a couple of weeks before I began to feel the muscles working a little. I mean I was really committed, so if you are experiencing this, keep going. Even now, I still have to “work” those muscles, but it is becoming second nature, and I just work them often all day. I no longer have to pee all the time and I can often sleep for about five hours. I used to have serious shy bladder, meaning it took a long time to begin peeing and I needed privacy. Now, I can pee in a pig trough with a crowd (I used to hate going to sports stadiums because so many of them have this archaic method of relief). I gotta pee, I get up and do it. No delay. That’s all! And what a stream! So do you have to work to get through this? Yep. Is it worth it, you bet!
Thank you so much for explaining what happened with you and telling us about yours tory. How long were you living with an enlarged prostate? Can you tell us a little more about what that was like? I would like to learn more about this. THanks!