Prostatectomy saddle

[geoff967]

Hi all
Received Good advice to buy gazelle grenoble bike approx 2 years ago from you good people
Done approx 9000 miles in 18 months so good advice. I am now back for any further advice
I am to have radical robotic prostatectomy (look it up on Google) at end of month and I wonder if anybody else has had same and can give any tips particularly about possible new saddle.
Some advise saddle with no front protrusion but with pads for butt checks to take pressure of perineum between scrotum and anus. Others seem to advise long protrusion to maximise contact area. Gel saddle as supplied is comfortable but unsure of plumbing arrangements after surgery.
Thanks

PS if you are having delay in peeing make sure youbinsist on mri as the 3 years it took to get my doctor to acknowledge problem has almost certainly contributed to fact I need radical surgery now. Thank God it had not spread to bones but they were unsure and had to have further mri to check

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Old age may take much from me, but I am determined that cycling will never take away...

Can cycling cause erectile dysfunction? - Harvard Health

Cycling is a great low-impact exercise, which is ideal for many older men. But can putting in miles in the saddle cause temporary erectile difficulties? It depends....

www.health.harvard.edu

...which is why I tilt my saddle, to such an extreme angle:





It's pretty much a wide bottomed saddle without protusion, when angled like that... and comfortable for 40+ mile rides.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

After such major surgery - rest up and heal for a long time first.

 

[geoff967]

After such major surgery - rest up and heal for a long time first.

Absolutely.
will take time to heal. Surgeon reckons a month but I am reckoning on 2 months before I get in saddle literally as well as figuratively

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Absolutely.
will take time to heal. Surgeon reckons a month but I am reckoning on 2 months before I get in saddle literally as well as figuratively

Surgeons always say things like that - I've had a couple of major surgeries, and each time it's taken many months to heal completely. One was for a jaw tumour in 2000 - it still could come back. I was initially very angry, drank a lot etc. Then for a couple of years, I did nothing but grow my own veg. The overall experience does very strange things to your mind. Reflecting on it all, many years later... I realised that it's a lot like the stages of grief:

The Stages of Grief: How to Understand Your Feelings

While everyone experiences grief differently, here’s a rough estimation of what to expect when going through a difficult life event.

www.healthline.com

Five stages of grief - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

...with all the fine blood vessels down there, I'd definitely schedule some serious time out, before potentially complicating the physical healing process.

 

[flecc]

PS if you are having delay in peeing make sure youbinsist on mri as the 3 years it took to get my doctor to acknowledge problem has almost certainly contributed to fact I need radical surgery now. Thank God it had not spread to bones but they were unsure and had to have further mri to check

Best wishes for your forthcoming operation and for an optimal outcome, sorry I can't help with saddle advice.

My prostate gland packed up at the young age of 49 years with BPH resulting, but with no chance of MRI back then in 1985 with the first unit here being installed that same year at the Royal Brompton. Nor was there the advanced prostatectomy of today, so I took my chances with plenty of exercise and lots to drink and managed to maintain reasonable micturition for 25 years more without any medical intervention. For the decade since then I've used Tamsulosin to assist with that and am still managing ok. Of course at 85 now and with heart problems I no longer worry about the possibility of full blown prostate cancer since there's plenty else that is likely to get me first!
.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Many men seem to survive with prostate scares for a long time, eschewing surgery. But I could be completely wrong about that.

 

[geoff967]

Many men seem to survive with prostate scares for a long time, eschewing surgery. But I could be completely wrong about that.

You are so right.
It is said more people die with prostate cancer than from it but in my case it had nearly spread to my bones which would have meant "Good night Vienna" or major chemotherapy all because I was not as assertive as I should have been. If spotted earlier it could merely been removal of growth instead of the whole plumbing.if in any doubt insist on MRI not on DRE or PSA.it takes approx 5 years from start to removal so if you insist you have time. In my case it has only taken 4 months from acceptance by my GP that there was a problem to admission to hospital.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

if in any doubt insist on MRI not on DRE or PSA.

Thank you, I'll definitely bear that in mind. I'm a big fan of private scans - it's costs a few £hundred to about a thousand, for a swift MRI. One in two of us will get some form of cancer, sometime - it used to be one in three.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

in my case it had nearly spread to my bones

Cancer's spread through soft tissue (vs bone - but marrow is a big problem) can be extremely swift. One of my neighbours died so rapidly from testicular cancer - I barely registered that he had it. He had a secondary in his kidney, then it travelled into his brain, so he had some of that removed too, plus an ear cochlea, which meant he had an electronic gizmo installed where his ear used to be... then I loaned him an electric oil radiator because his central heating had packed up, then his dog tried to maul my cat, then he died. (The last two events, are not related).

My tumour was very slow growing, but it had to go - left to itself, it would have grown through my sinuses into my brain and slowly driven me insane and then killed me brain first, after some years of agony. Some surgery decisions are easy.

I'm sure that in a decade or two, surgeons will marvel at the barbarity of today's cancer surgeries. I would much rather have had a targeted tumour gene killer pill, made from my own stem cells.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Healing from robotic surgery looks a lot faster.

 

[Battenhall]

Had a (robotic) prostatectomy 18 months ago, age 64 then.
Surgeon said get back exercising within a month or so......
I didn't cycle for nearly 3 months, that was my choice. Did fast walking /slow jog at 6 weeks.
No issues, no altered saddle. Normal biking then resumed. Have a pee before setting off, that control takes a bit longer to achieve, Good luck.
Steve

 

[Barnsleyrob]

I can’t help with the saddle advice but I do wish you all the best with the op and the subsequent recovery. I like the attitude of the old guy interviewed on the news who, after his Covid vaccine at a ripe old age, summed things up as “well there’s no point in dieing now !”

 

[budsy]

Hi flecc
Also wish u all the best , i know someone who had such and he is doing away fine now

after getting rid of it ..

 

[Deleted member 33385]

If I was going under the knife again, I'd find it reassuring that it was robot-assisted. Surgeons seem to vary in skill quite a lot - you only have to look at dentists... some are clumsy, heavy handed morons. You can't learn manual dexterity from a book, it has to be practised and if the individual doesn't have a natural aptitude, it takes a very long time to acquire. Thank goodness the robots are taking over. Or taking over assisting.

Immediately before one of my operations, a medical student asked if I could sign consent for him to assist... to get experience... I said no. There was a consent form for sampling your DNA for storage somewhere, "Anonymised". Who knows what happens to that.

Best not to worry, worrying only ever makes things worse. I trust that it all goes well.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

managed to maintain reasonable micturition

I hope you don't mind my asking flecc, but could expand on this? It sounds very interesting. Are you talking about trace minerals, like selenium?

 

[Deleted member 33385]

possible new saddle.

Here's a recent thread about saddles and shock-absorbing seatposts - there may be some useful products mentioned:

Saddle Advice and help identifying pain

Hi guys, After 1200 painless and comfortable miles on my Moustache Lundi my commute has now changed to 24 miles a day (it 12 mi so double). Ever since I start experiencing pain in my bum after a ride. The pain is only present when I sit after a ride and is gone on the following morning. It's...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

 

[WheezyRider]

Just a thought to throw into the mix - how about a recumbent bike? Spread the load over your body rather than on its most sensitive bits.

Best wishes for the op, hope all goes well!

 

[flecc]

I hope you don't mind my asking flecc, but could expand on this? It sounds very interesting. Are you talking about trace minerals, like selenium?

Nothing fancy at all, just plenty to drink and lots of exercise for 25 years, then helped over the remaining ten years by the Tamsulosin capsules which dilate and relax the urethra.

Apart from vitamin D I dont use any supplements but do have a healthy wide ranging diet which includes meat in moderation.
.

 

[Croxden]

Nothing fancy at all, just plenty to drink and lots of exercise for 25 years, then helped over the remaining ten years by the Tamsulosin capsules which dilate and relax the urethra.

Apart from vitamin D I dont use any supplements but do have a healthy wide ranging diet which includes meat in moderation.
.

I, too, am on Tamsulation, It started to work almost immediately. How did they find that, accidentally like Viagra I wonder?