The Bladder Nurse

Did you even know there was such a thing as a bladder nurse (Nurse Continence Advisor)? Well on December 19, 2018 I did have an appointment with the bladder nurse!

This process is interesting even if a little invasive. This appointment was mostly information and a little coaching.

After a radical postatectomy many men face incontinence. This is because the prostate is right up against the bladder and its removal takes some of the muscles that control the bladder discharge. Also the urethra that carries the urine goes right through the middle of the prostate and so of course that portion comes out with the prostate. The surgeon then attaches the remaining urethra back to the bladder and a catheter is placed to promote healing of this area. This catheter is held in place by a balloon at the bladder end and after healing the Doctor deflates the balloon and removes it. This usually happens about two weeks after surgery. The nurse showed me the catheter so I would be familiar with what I will be dealing with.

The bladder nurse goes over all of this and gives me a brief lesson on how to care for everything following surgery. This includes how to keep clean and avoid infection. It also teaches about what may happen after the catheter is removed and that one will have to deal with leakage. Hopefully this will only be for a short time.

Finally she wants to make sure I know how to do kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor which can help to control the bladder function. For this she has to check, inside, to know that I am exercising the correct muscles. One thing nice about having my prostate out is that maybe in the future the health professionals will stop sticking fingers and other things inside of me!

After that appointment I bought supplies she suggested and spent time reading over all the literature. Besides walking a couple miles each day at 3 mph I am doing exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor and my center core muscle group.

Being retired and having cancer really helps me to get in better physical shape.

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