Hi Ian,
Just seen your entry and thought it worth mentioning my position as it is very similar. I am 60 and was diagnosed with T2 and Gleason of 4 plus 3. On the basis of advice that everything was contained and my age being a positive element, I had no problem deciding on the prostatectomy which I had on the 10th April. I know everybody is different, but personally my experience so far has been better than I could have hoped beforehand! Having the catheter in for about 11 days was far less of a problem than I thought it would be. Yes, it was a little fiddly using the bags, but not a problem. I would add, however, that from a practical perspective it was vital to have my wife to help with showering to ensure I was able to do this properly and keep the vital areas clean, important to help stop any infections. Despite my slight worry of pain when having the catheter out, I can also add that this took a mere few seconds and was not in the slightest bit painful.
I feel very lucky at this point that I haven’t had any problems regarding continence at all which I must say I had basically accepted that I would. I wore proper padded men’s pants for just 2 days then decided it wasn’t necessary.
I have had minor tingling when urinating since the catheter came out just over a week ago, but this has not been a problem. Of course if it continues, I will check it out.
My wounds from the op have healed well and apart from the first 2 or 3 days where I was very stiff, it didn’t take long to loosen up. I am actively walking each day but it is important to ensure you don’t go stretching or lifting too early.
Of course I now await the follow up on the 23rd May and hope that this will tell more they have taken it all away so to speak.
Good luck to you an£ hopefully my comments will give you something to feel positive about.
Jes