3 years post surgery - still require a pad - Side effects

User

Posted 18 May 2026 at 13:09

I’m now just over 3 years post surgery. Main thing PSA remains at <0.01.However despite doing squeezes 4x a day I still require a pad only one a day level 2. Some days I am basically dry other days it quite damp. I do occasionally get a sense of a leak - if sneezing or laughing and I do try to squeeze when I know there’s a chance of a leak. Other times I’m surprised why the pad is wet. I’m wondering is this normal and it’s now what I can expect going forward as I’m one of the unlucky ones or should I see if anything else be done? Immediately post op I could not hold water as they say and went through 9/10 pads a day until about 4 weeks when something clicked and I started to get a semblance of control such that after around 7/8 months I was down to the 1 pad a day I’m now on. Most of the guys in the support group I’m in were dry after a few months. Thanks

User

Posted 18 May 2026 at 14:13

Hi MGOR

My experience is not very encouraging. Following prostatectomy 15 years ago I am still using a small pad a day. I suffer from arousal climacturia: leakage of urine when sexually excited and at orgasm. Not exactly conducive to any intimate connection. However we have had to rethink our intimate life and have managed to re-establish our sex life within the new normal, with unexpected benefits. If you are interested in reading about our experience please have a look at the following link:

https://community.prostatecanceruk.org/posts/t28948-Re-establishing-Sex-Life

'Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that’s not why we do it.' Richard Feynman (1918-1988) Nobel Prize laureate

User

Posted 18 May 2026 at 20:13

Pratap - thanks for that. I am similar to you in so much that I also leak when excited. Just needs a different approach. It’s not something which bugs me as the main thing is fingers crossed I remain cancer free. I’m just curious if I’m one of the unlucky ones.

User

Posted 18 May 2026 at 21:26

MGOR, if it's any consolation I shared your experience. The considerable leakage after catheter removal settled down but I continued to need a pad a day - albeit some days fairly dry but unpredictable in advance - and occasionally, usually after some activity keeping pressure on the bladder, a second pad.

10 years later, including salvage radiotherapy, I still need pads.

One of the things I have learnt from this forum is that we are all different. Some men are lucky (from my point of view) by returning to complete continence, some leak at a manageable level (like us), and a few have significant ongoing problems. My solution is to take life positively, because I never need more than two pads I know that having a spare in my pocket will see me through the day. Crises only occur if I can't access a discreet place to change.

User

Posted 18 May 2026 at 22:59

MGOR - one pad a day, PSA <0.01 it is unlucky but not too difficult to have a reasonable life. How is your erectile function. I have permanent ED but we are still enjoying sex. So everything is possible.

'Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that’s not why we do it.' Richard Feynman (1918-1988) Nobel Prize laureate

User

Posted 19 May 2026 at 01:48

Hi guys, slightly off piste, I recently got a very sore looking penis ,it is under the penis quite close to the scrotum. It sometimes stings ,a bit like when you trap a few pubic hairs in the foreskin. I was going to fill in a triage form at the docs, we can't ring for appointments any more, anyway good old Google came to the rescue. I have a suprapubic catheter but still dibble around 2.5 mls a day into a pad. Being conscious of urine smelling at night I rinse my penis at the sink night before going to bed. Sometimes I use water sometimes I use soap, I think the soreness is caused by not rinsing off the soap. Anyone else with a similar experience.

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 19 May 2026 at 12:09

I count my blessings that I was diagnosed early and treatable. Using 1 pad a day is a minor inconvenience and is now part of life. I was 50% nerve sparing and initially there was no life even with silenafil. After some 18 months /2 years post surgery I was surprised and my wife even more so when there was all of a sudden life (not quite as we know it!) so much so that neither of us could remember what to do! Anyway it’s not consistent but every little helps.

User

Posted 19 May 2026 at 12:52

After 3 years of pelvic floor exercises, your pelvic floor isn't going to get better, at least not by doing the same exercises. There is a possibility you aren't doing them correctly, in which case a session with a pelvic health physiotherapist could help. They could also identify if there's some other issue which needs investigating. It would be worth asking for a pelvic health physiotherapy referral.

You might also try easing off on the pelvic floor exercises to see if that helps. I have come across several people who were over-doing it, and making it worse.

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3 years post surgery - still require a pad

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