In this video, the Birds answer common male urinary incontinence questions. If you're incontinent and thinking about getting an artificial urinary sphincter, this video is a wealth of information!
What is often missed in discussions about ED and male incontinence is the impact it has on partners. In this touching follow up to Galen's story, Linda shares what it was like from a wife's perspective. It really has an affect on the entire family.
Galen and Linda Bird travel the country sharing their story to help men learn about solutions to ED and incontinence. In their first post, Galen and Linda talked a little about insurance and intimacy. Now Galen shares what led him to seek out surgery to solve his ED and incontinence and how it changed his life. It's a great little story and I don't mind telling you I got a little choked up watching it. If your story sounds similar to Galen's please know that you can get help. Also, Galen has graciously offered to answer your questions directly by telephone in Missouri (please be respectful of the time zone) at 816-392-6444.
Here's his story.
Continuing our theme from yesterday, today I’ll provide a couple of definitions for male incontinence and then the top four terms I hear that used interchangeably with male incontinence. First the technical description.
Male incontinence is usually caused by a damage sphincter. When damaged, often the unavoidable result of prostate cancer surgery, the muscle cannot close the urethra, which causes urine to leak.
This is a great description but there is another one I like that Dr. Kuan provided:
“If you are leaking urine at times that are socially unacceptable to you, you may be suffering from male urinary incontinence.”
Now that we have a couple of nice definitions, here are the top four terms I hear in community health talks that mean male urinary incontinence:
- Urinary incontinence
- Stress incontinence
- MI
- Male Incontinence
Those are the terms I hear most often so you can use any of them instead of male urinary incontinence. Remember, if you are dealing with any form of urinary incontinence, seek out the advice of your urologist.
So, your surgery has been scheduled and you are all set to go. But what should you be ready for after your surgery?
Post-operation recovery
Depending on the type of surgery you undertake, recovery may require up to a few days of hospital stay, and a number of weeks of home-recovery—i.e. radical prostatectomy is major surgery. During this time most patients will experience a period of incontinence (due to damage to the urinary sphincter) and will have to wear a catheter. You should be able to return to a normal diet after a day or two.
The other typical experience is a period of impotence. While drugs may assist with achieving erection, prostate cancer surgery eliminates the possibility of ejaculation (by removing the seminal vesicles)—though orgasm will still occur.
Diet
After your surgery, it is likely that you will be on an all-liquid diet. This should quickly progress back to regular foods. However, you may want to consider some long-term adjustments:
- more fruits and vegetables—foods high in lycopene (such as tomatoes, watermelon, carrots, asparagus, salsa and grapefruit) have been found to improve prostate health.
- more nuts and seafood—foods high in selenium have also been found to be beneficial. Look to tuna, nuts, oysters and shrimp.
- more fiber, less fat—increase your intake of whole grain foods, and limit fatty foods such as fried chicken, french fries, etc.
Pain
As with any surgery, there may be pain or bleeding following your operation. These side effects should go away after a few weeks—if pain persists, contact your healthcare professional.
Infertility
With the seminal vesicles removed, it is no longer possible for semen to travel down the urethra, prohibiting the fertilization of an egg.
Urinary incontinence and dysfunction
After prostate surgery it is common to experience urinary incontinence—everything from urinary leaking to complete loss of bladder control. Urinary dysfunction (pain during urination) is also common, and is caused by the close proximity of the prostate gland and the bladder. Bowel dysfunction may also occur due to damage done during surgery.
We are very excited to have Galen and Linda Bird on Brokenhandle! When Galen was 63, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent prostate surgery to have the cancer removed. After the surgery, Galen suffered from erectile dysfunction (ED) and incontinence. Galen and Linda suffered with these complications until Galen received an artificial urinary sphincter and a inflatable penile prosthesis. Now they travel the country sharing their story to let others know that there are solutions for incontinence and ED. In this short segment, Galen and Linda answer two questions they hear frequently: did your insurance cover the cost of your artificial urinary sphincter and inflatable penile prosthesis; and how does the IPP feel?
There's much more to their story that we want to bring you but I wanted to share this post with you before Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving!
In my first post with urologist Dr. James Kuan, we learned what incontinence is and what your treatment options are. In this post, Dr. Kuan wants you to know that you don't have to live with incontinence: you can live dry. Ask your primary care physician or your urologist about your options.
The other day, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. James Kuan from Swedish Urology Group. He provided me with an excellent explanation of what male incontinence is and what the treatment options are. I hope you find it as informative as I did! He's a great speaker and a great surgeon.
On Wednesday, October 6th Bob Freeborn from the Tacoma chapter of US TOO and Dr. James Kuan from the Swedish Urology Group shared information about post prostatectomy incontinence at the Presbyterian Church of Bellevue prostate cancer support group.
Dr. Kuan started the evening off with a great explanation of the causes of incontinence; the surgical and non-surgical treatment options; and when you should consider each. Then, Bob and Suzanne Freeborn shared his post prostate surgery journey. Not only did Bob provide a great story but he was kind enough to tell us about Us TOO. Check out the video above! Hats off to Jack Stevenson for doing a great job organizing the meeting!
I'm always amazed at the tremendous support that exists for dealing with the challenges of post prostatectomy incontinence. You don't need to face it alone! Here's a list of the great resources we heard from on Wednesday!
- Tacoma Chapter of Us TOO
- Us TOO - Find a chapter in your area
- Presbyterian Church Prostate Cancer support group
- Swedish Urology Group
The Bellevue chapter of Us Too, an international prostate cancer support group, meets on the first Wednesday of odd numbered months (e.g., January, March, etc) at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue. The next meeting is on Wednesday, October 6th from 7:00PM - 9:00PM in room S-223 (full event info here). Yes, October is not an odd numbered month but that's okay because there will be a guest from the Tacoma chapter sharing his experience and I'll be there to answer any questions you might have about surgical treatment options for incontinence. If you would like to meet others that are facing similar challenges to you, I really encourage you to attend. Partners are always welcome!
Place: First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue
Date: Wednesday October 6th
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Room: S223
