No more catheter

I had my catheter removed last Wednesday and my bladder is starting to work again. My bladder is now connected directly to the urethra and the only thing controlling the urine stream is the external sphincter muscle (same as with females). I am wearing a pad because I do not always have full control of leakage during the day. My surgeon has recommended Kegel Exercises of my external sphincter muscle to strengthen it to assure future continence. It can take up to 18 months to fully regain control of this important function. I had a weak urinary stream because of the cancer tumor squeezing the urethra, but never an incontinence problem. Now, without a prostate, it is a very strong stream, therefore more difficult to control. I will keep working at it.
I have had a profound improvement in mobility without dragging around an external bag tied to a catheter. I am up and around and dressed every day. I can now go outside for walks. I am for the most part off of pain medicine, although I still take Tylenol or Aleve at bedtime to help me get to sleep.
My instructions from my doctor were to get into manual stimulation and heavy petting with my wife as often as possible to see if I can avoid future erectile dysfunction. I was told it might be as much as three month before anything happened. If nothing happened within three months, I was to go on Viagra to see if that helped. I am happy to report limited success on that front with a partial erection during the first such session two days after the catheter was removed. I am looking forward to continued daily sex therapy.

Posted by Jim H. at July 4, 2004 11:53 AM