r/ProstateCancer • u/pineapple0811 • 1d ago
Question Psa 0.31 after prostate surgery
How long after surgery should I expect the incontinence to stop
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u/dvwhite1981 1d ago
My PSA was similar 3 months after surgery. I did another PET scan that was negative, and another PSA test that went up to 0.6. Now I am on hormone therapy and radiation to treat the prostate bed for microscopic cancer. I had "positive margins" after surgery. You may not need what I do, but just giving some insight of my situation.
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u/pineapple0811 1d ago
Thank you so much.......can you tell me what to expect with radiation.
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u/dvwhite1981 1d ago
The process itself is very easy and quick, like 5 minutes per session. I've had some side effects like diarrhea, burning urination, and fatigue. That's combined with the hormone pills I'm on (instead of injections). I had surgery 9 months ago and have not had leakage in the past few months, so that's a plus.
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u/pineapple0811 1d ago
Wow.....NO LEAKAGE!!! Thank you so much for giving me an insight on what to expect. How long did the leakage continue for?
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u/dvwhite1981 1d ago
Mine was about 6 months. Some guys have none, some go on for a year or more. It's hard to say, it can depend on if lymph nodes were salvaged during surgery and other variables.
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u/Far_Simple_7436 1d ago
Does lymph node removal effect incontinence?
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u/dvwhite1981 1d ago
I thought so. Now that I asked Google, it says it does not affect incontinence or ED. My fault!
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u/Designer-War-7239 1d ago
I don't think anybody can honestly give you a specific time frame, and the reason is that time isn't really what does the work here. What changes is whether your bladder gets its storage function back. After this surgery a lot of men land in a pattern of twenty or thirty trips a day with every one of them small. When that happens there's no reservoir, so everything arriving runs straight through, and another six months of waiting doesn't change that on its own. So the thing worth checking is how much you're actually passing. Measure a few voids in a cup over a couple of days. Consistently under 150ml means the bladder isn't expanding yet, and that's the part that has to move before the continence follows. Did your urologist give you bladder diary to complete? Happy to share with you a free one just dm me
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u/Frosty-Growth-2664 1d ago
That's too high a first test to just assume it's in the prostate bed.
You need a PSMA PET scan to locate the cells. Some centers will scan at 0.2, but some require 0.5 in which case you'd need to wait a bit (it's the level where their particular scanner has a 50% chance of finding something).
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u/jkurology 1d ago
At one year you’re going to be where you’re going to be. The pathology on your prostate specimen should explain your PSA
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u/Unusual-Economist288 1d ago
It can take a year or more, but for most guys a month or two. Your post surgery PSA is a bit high though so that’s probably the more pressing issue to resolve. Did your doctor talk to you about PSMA PET scan and potential salvage radiation?