Well, fellas, I can't stop smiling!
A quick recap to bring you up to date. I had Salvage Cryo in October 2015. It was the entire gland type. The incontinence didn't immediately set in. But, by the end of February 2016, I was full blown incontinent, wearing depends and going through 8+ pads daily.
I had my AUS implanted at Duke by Dr. Peterson on May 5th. All went smoothly, and the recovery has been uneventful.
I drove down to Durham today for the activation appointments. I was scheduled for Xrays at 11 am and the appointment with his PA at 1. Well, to my surprise, the activation was immediately after the first set of Xrays was taken. All she had to do was squeeze the pump and it was primed. They took another set of Xrays and sent me off to drink a couple bottles of water and return in an hour.
They called me back promptly at 1 and she demo'd the apparatus with me. She showed me how to use it for regular urination and how to activate/deactivate it if needed.
Then the magic words, "Are you ready to try it out?" "Heck yes" was my reply.
I went into the adjoining restroom and gave it a go. Had I not been sitting, I would have broken out into a happy dance! Words can't express the elation of regaining some control over being able to pee again and ditch the depends.
I stopped a couple of times on the ride home (4 hours). I was initially worried because the pad was wet. But, I attribute that to not waiting long enough for the cuff to refill.
Now that I am home, I am dry, dry, dry. I've tossed the Depend diapers and am in briefs with a pouch and one pad. Thus far, that seems to be working.
I've found that one good squeeze on the pump allows me to fully relieve myself and it takes about
two minutes to refill. I take my IPhone with me and direct Siri to "set timer for two minutes." Once the alarm sounds, I am good to go.
I've been drinking a good amount of fluids tonight (beer) and the AUS is working like a charm.
However, it seems my bladder capacity is diminished. My theory is that it's probably shrunk over the past year and will gradually stretch with time.
That's it for now.
Tony