How Does Removing Your Prostate Affect You

Scott Gets The Average Joe Like Me

He presents everything in plain English that is easy to follow. No complicated lingo.

He makes sure that there is no confusion and that all possible questions are answered, every step of the way.

And I didnt have to shop in expensive health food stores or search for specialized items on the Internet.

I got everything I needed for every step of the plan at my local supermarket.

How To Maintain Your Sex Life After Prostate Surgery

Although prostate surgery can affect your sexual experience and performance, getting surgery to remove part or all of your prostate doesnt mean that you can no longer have sex or enjoy a satisfying sexual life.

If youve recently had prostate surgery, its important to talk to your healthcare provider before you make any changes to your health habits. Theyll be able to inform you about what you can do to restore and improve your sexual function after surgery.

Urinary Problems After Surgery

Leaking urine

Most men cant control their bladder properly when their catheter is first removed. This is because surgery can damage the muscles and nerves that control when you urinate.You might just leak a few drops if you exercise, cough or sneeze . Or you might leak more and need to wear absorbent pads, especially in the weeks after your surgery.Leaking urine usually improves with time. Most men start to see an improvement one to six months after surgery. Some men leak urine for a year or more and others never fully recover, but there are things that can help and ways you can manage it.

Difficulty urinating

A few men may find it difficult to urinate after surgery . This can be caused by scarring around the opening of the bladder or the urethra .Some men find they suddenly and painfully cant urinate. This is called acute urine retention and it needs treating quickly to prevent further problems. If this happens, call your doctor or nurse, or go to your nearest accident and emergency department.

Watch Paulâs story for one manâs experience of managing urinary problems after surgery below.

Sexual problems after surgery

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Urinary Leakage Associated With Chronic Retention

Incontinence associated with chronic retention is when the bladder is unable to empty properly, resulting in frequent leakage of small amounts of urine.

Symptoms that your bladder is not completely emptying include:

• need to strain to pass urine

• a weak or slow urine stream

• feeling as if your bladder is not empty just after going to the toilet

• little or no warning when you need to pass urine

• passing urine during sleep

• frequent urinary tract infections or cystitis, and

• ‘dribbling’ of urine after visiting the toilet

Possible Causes Of Functional Incontinence

Functional incontinence may be the result of not being able to get up and walk to the toilet

• when the toilet is hard to get to or use e.g.: lack of handrails, good lighting, etc.

• not being able to find the toilet without help

• clothing that is hard to remove when using the toilet

• the inability to communicate the need for going to the toilet

• Some of the causes of functional incontinence include problems with walking and problems with memory or learning like dementia and intellectual disabilities.

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How Will Prostate Surgery Affect My Sex Life

Experienced robotic surgeons like Dr. David Samadi dont open the endopelvic fascia during surgery, which spares the rick of damage to nerve bundles that control sexual function. The recovery of the function, however, is not immediate and you should not feel discouraged if weeks or even a few months after surgery you experience erectile dysfunction. It is not an indication of long-term damage.

Now Saturdays Are Fun Days With Grandpa

I take them to the park, the movies, wherever we feel like.

I empty my bladder before leaving, and I dont have to worry for hours.

I dont count the sips of beer during the game just to make it to halftime anymore.

Or map out pitstops before taking a road trip .

And I can visit friends and family without the embarrassment of getting stuck in the bathroom when my bladder just wont let go.

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What Have I Learned By Reading This

You learned about:

• Why prostate cancer treatment can cause erectile dysfunction
• What can be done about erectile dysfunction
• How erectile dysfunction may affect your sex life
• What your partner can expect

If you have any questions, please talk to your doctor or health care team. It is important that you understand what is going on with your prostate cancer treatment. This knowledge will help you take better care of yourself and feel more in control. It will also help you manage any side effects you may have from your treatment.

How To Remove Prostate

The process of removing your prostate gland is called a prostatectomy.

A prostatectomy is a surgery where part of the prostate or all of the prostate is removed from your body. It may be done to treat cancer or something called benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Common surgery for the prostate is to cut it out. There are two ways to do this. One way is through your lower abdomen, and the other one is right below your scrotum.

Before you have a prostatectomy, you will need to get a prostate biopsy. It is usually done before the surgery. It will help your doctor know more about your prostate.

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What Can I As A Partner Expect

One of the effects of prostate cancer treatment is erectile dysfunction or impotence. This means that your partner may not be able to have erections that are hard enough for him to have sex with you or that he may not be interested in sex because of the medicine he is taking to treat his prostate cancer. This affects not only the man, but you, too, as his intimate partner. If you are the partner of a man with erectile dysfunction, it can be difficult to cope with changes in your sexual relationship. Sometimes men struggle to come to terms with changes in their body image or their ability to perform sexually. This can sometimes result in him staying away from intimate situations where he may feel under pressure to make love. As a partner you may feel rejected by what seems like a lack of sexual interest or intimacy. This may not have anything to do with his feelings for you, but is a result of his cancer treatment. Erectile dysfunction can be difficult for both of you. You may want to reassure your partner that:

• Sex is not as important as long as he is healthy and that he is no less of a man to you
• You will work through it with him
• You understand his feelings
• He is important to you

It may help if you explain to your partner how important nonsexual touching and intimacy such as kissing and cuddling is to you.

I Didnt Have Prostate Problems Anymore

After experiencing how effective these action steps are, I got upset about how few people know about them.

I wanted Scott to go on TV and radio, write books, and do everything required for the masses to know about his incredible approach.

But Scott is highly concerned that his methods not be influenced by any institutions.

Thats why he refuses to join any medical facilities or drug or supplement manufacturers.

The honorable doctors who refer their patients to him do so of their own will.

So, instead of running after mainstream media, Scott joined up with like-minded health experts.

Together, they founded an independent publishing company named Blue Heron Health News.

These are the folks he trusts.

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I Dont Think We Would Ever Divorce

But my wife and I had been looking forward to our golden years together. And I was wasting most of that time in the bathroom. Or worrying about having to go.

My wife was concerned about me.

But she was also irritated when I woke her up going to the toilet. So, I ended up sleeping in the guest room.

And when we had our alone time together, my little friend was severely impacted by my prostate issues.

Not anymore!

Were not 20 anymore, but our marriage is now intimate, fun, and playful.

Its all we ever wanted!

Types Of Prostate Surgery

There are several ways of removing the prostate keyhole surgery either by hand or robot-assisted, and open surgery.

Although robot-assisted keyhole surgery is the newest technique, the most recent research suggests all three techniques are as good as each other for treating prostate cancer, as long as the surgeon is experienced. They also have similar rates of side effects.

The advantages of keyhole surgery, both by hand and robot-assisted, are that you are likely to lose less blood, have less pain, spend less time in hospital, and heal more quickly than with open surgery.

Keyhole surgery

Keyhole surgery .

• Robot-assisted keyhole surgery Your surgeon makes five or six small cuts in your lower abdomen and a slightly bigger cut near your belly button, and removes the prostate using special surgical tools. These include a thin, lighted tube with a small camera on the tip. The image will appear on a screen so the surgeon can see what theyre doing. Your surgeon controls the tools from a console in the operating room via four or five robotic arms. Although its called robot-assisted, its still a surgeon who does the operation. You may hear the equipment called the da Vinci® Robot.
• Keyhole surgery by hand As with robot-assisted keyhole surgery, the surgeon will make four or five small cuts in your abdomen. But they will hold the surgical tools in their hands, rather than using robotic arms.

Open surgery

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Caring For The Catheter

You will be discharged with a Foley catheter, a tube that continuously drains urine from your bladder into a bag and that you will use for seven to 10 days. Before you leave the hospital, your nurse will teach you how to empty and care for your catheter and drainage bag. The catheter works with gravity and should be draining urine at all times, so you have to keep the drainage bag below your bladder at all times, even when you shower. If your urine is not draining, lower the bag and check the connection for kinks or loops. Loops can cause an air lock that prevents drainage. You can also try emptying the bag. Then try briefly disconnecting the catheter from the clear plastic tubing to allow a little air into the system. Your nurse will show you how to do this before your discharge.

To prevent infection, you must keep your catheter clean. This section explains how to clean the catheter, the area around the catheter and the drainage bag. It also explains how to apply your leg bag and secure the catheter to your leg.

We will provide most of the supplies you need to care for your catheter. They include:

• StatLock Foley catheter securement device
• Shaving supplies

You should empty the catheter bag when it’s half full. This helps prevent air locks from developing in the tubing.

To apply the leg bag:

Providing Your Medical History

At first, the doctor will probably ask you about your medical history. Do you have any chronic illnesses? What illnesses and operations have you had in the past? What medications are you taking, if any? Your doctor is also likely to ask about your psychological well-being and lifestyle: Do you suffer from depression? Are you under a lot of stress? Do you drink alcohol? Smoke? Use illegal drugs? Have you felt a loss of affection for your partner? Have you recently grown interested in a new partner?

As part of this health history, be prepared to tell your doctor specific details about the symptoms that brought you to the office and when they began. Your doctor might want to know how often you had sex before the problem started and if there have been weeks or months in the past when youve had erectile dysfunction. Your doctor may conduct a written or verbal screening test.

If the cause is clear a recent operation for prostate cancer, for example the conversation may move directly to your treatment options. Otherwise, you may need to answer more questions to help the doctor narrow down the possible causes and avoid unnecessary testing.

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Preventing Adult Diaper Rash

The good news is that adult diaper rash can be prevented. Follow the steps below to avoid this potentially painful and frustrating problem:

What Is Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy

As men grow older, its common for their prostate to grow larger, constricting the urethra and leading to uncomfortable symptoms, including:

• Difficulty and stopping urination
• Increased frequency or urgency to urinate
• A weak or intermittent urine stream
• Inability to fully empty the bladder

In addition to urination issues, BPH can sometimes cause urinary tract infections , bladder and kidney damage, or bladder stones.

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Impotence After Prostate Surgery

In the past, up to 70 per cent of men who had their whole prostate removed because of cancer had some difficulty achieving an erection afterwards. This is because the prostate lies next to the nerves and blood vessels that are important for erections, and these nerves and vessels can be damaged during the operation. Newer surgical techniques that aim to spare the nerves associated with erectile function have reduced the risk of impotence.

While there is a still a significant risk of erectile dysfunction after prostate surgery, there is often a gradual improvement in erectile function over time. Some men only have short-lived erectile dysfunction and others continue to improve for up to 3 years.

What Scott Discovered Was

The Tsimane Amerindians had exceptionally effective prostate receptors.

And the same was true for American men in their 60s,70s, and 80s who did not develop enlarged prostates.

Some had high testosterone levels others lower.

Some had low estrogen others higher.

It didnt make any difference.

What mattered was how well their prostate receptors functioned.

For the men who had enlarged prostates, something began to damage their prostate receptors starting in their 30s, 40s, or 50s.

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What Kinds Of Surgeries Treat Urinary Incontinence After Your Prostate Is Removed

There are two types of surgery for urinary incontinence: the urethral sling and the artificial urinary sphincter. Usually, the incontinence needs to last for about one year after the prostatectomy to be sure there is not going to be further improvement before your healthcare provider suggests this type of therapy.

What Is Urinary Incontinence And How Is It Related To Prostate Cancer Surgery

Urinary incontinence is the loss of the ability to control urination . Urinary incontinence sometimes occurs in men who’ve had surgery for prostate cancer.

If youve had prostate cancer surgery, you might experience stress incontinence, which means you might leak urine when you cough, sneeze or lift something that is heavy. This happens because of stress or pressure on the bladder. There is also a type of incontinence that is called urge incontinence. When this happens, you are hit with a sudden need to urinate right away and have leakage before you can make it to the bathroom.

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What You Need To Know About Prostate Surgery

What is prostate surgery for?

The prostate is a gland located underneath the bladder, in front of the rectum. It plays an important role in the part of the male reproductive system that produces fluids that carry sperm.

Surgery for partial or complete removal of the prostate is called a prostatectomy. The most common causes for prostate surgery are prostate cancer and an enlarged prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia .

Pretreatment education is the first step to making a decisions about your treatment. All types of prostate surgery can be done with general anesthesia, which puts you to sleep, or spinal anesthesia, which numbs the lower half of your body.

Your doctor will recommend a type of anesthesia based on your situation.

The goal of your surgery is to:

• cure your condition
• minimize pain before, during, and after surgery

Read on to learn more about the types of surgery, risks, and recovery.

The goal of prostate surgery also depends on your condition. For example, the goal of prostate cancer surgery is to remove cancerous tissue. The goal of BPH surgery is to remove prostate tissue and restore the normal flow of urine.