Cured, am I, will I ever be.

Al985

Hi I am sorry to hear that you are struggling at the moment have you considered the Bupa Macmillan counselling service ? This is free and you can self refer. I did this and it helped me immensely. Also do you not have an incontinence team that can support you post surgery in your area ? I was offered support by the incontinence bladder and bowel team in my area. In the end I didn't have the surgery but they still were available to me if I had issues with the treatment that I chose.

I'm not an expert but I hope you can get some relevant support. There are some amazing strong and knowledgeable members of the forum I'm sure they will be happy to give you some advice.

Kind Regards 

Michael 

Hello Al

You may well be cured but unfortunately only your PSA results post surgery can confirm this. Also your surgeon should have been able to provide a detailed histology of your prostate and the margins achieved during surgery which can give an indication of how effective the treatment has been.

Most men suffer from incontinence post surgery and most manage to work through it with Kegel exercises and other management options. Stick with it as you should definitely expect some improvement with time.

The Macmillan Nurses are able to provide advice and your surgeon and urology team should also be providing follow up care.

All the Best Rob

• Hi Michael. The local inco service gave me a sheet on pelvic floor exercises but they don't seem to be working as there is no improvement and there is no way of checking my technique. I think this is a  " did i choose the right treatment" wobble indifference I did there is nothing I can do. I will take your advice and look for professional support as I need to start to move on which I can't do by myself at the moment

Thanks for taking time to reply

Alan

Hi and thanks for taking time to reply. My wife says its just a" did I pick the right treatment wobble" , perhaps it is but I can't sem to get things into perspective. The surgeon did say I had positive margins but didn't explain. By not fully explaining to me I thought this was good, I now know it isn't. I actually think my consultant deliberately played it down, not sure why but he did me a dis-service by not being honest. Especially as knowing more about positive margins has greatly increased my anxiety, making the PSA tests more worryingthan they ought to be.  Things can only get better, I hope!

Hi Alan

no worries keep in touch on the forum I get where you're coming from with the pelvic floor exercises I struggled initially and wasn't sure I was doing them correctly but the Squeezy app was useful and there are online videos which give you an idea of the correct technique if you Google pelvic floor exercises. The Bupa Macmillan counselling is worth checking out. I think what you're going through is probably a normal reaction after surgery you're going to have down time and low days it's all part of the recovery. Be kind to yourself you've gone through major surgery it is different for everyone and it can take time. I didn't have the surgery but a friend of mine has gone through it and he's ok now but it is a stressful process. 

Keep us updated with your progress 

Best wishes 

Michael 

Hello Michael (Ziggy63) 

Just a quick one to let you know 

Ziggy63 said:

The Bupa Macmillan counselling i

Is no longer available - I am so sorry to say as the funding has been withdrawn. Other local counselling should be available in your area but you need to check this out.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes - Brian.

You are all heroes from my perspective offering me way more than those paid to support me.

The members of this group offer amazing support

 Thanks