Bycicle seat

Hello all.Ihad radical prostate surgery 2 years ago.It went well.Psa
is 0.My problem is i can no longer ride a bike.Can anyone suggest a
kind of seat that would not cause me discomfort and ,or pain.Thanking
you in
advance.
joe b

pulabl <cast719@YAHOO.COM> wrote in news:1189355393.035244.30220
@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

> Hello all.Ihad radical prostate surgery 2 years ago.It went well.Psa
> is 0.My problem is i can no longer ride a bike.Can anyone suggest a
> kind of seat that would not cause me discomfort and ,or pain.Thanking
> you in
> advance.
> joe b
>
Joe:

Most bicycle shops have or can order you an open,split seat, that allows
freedom from peritoneal pressure and swivels independantly for each leg.
Cost should be between $35-35 US.

I personally still had some problems and bought a recumbent bike and am
very happy with it. There is a learning curve to riding one for most
people and if you choose a 'bent', ride several and do a lot of research
before buying. Good luck,and happy riding!
Paul

Joe B wrote:

> Hello all.Ihad radical prostate surgery 2 years ago.It went well.Psa
> is 0.My problem is i can no longer ride a bike.Can anyone suggest
> a kind of seat that would not cause me discomfort and ,or pain.

Joe, "discomfort and or pain" kinda contradicts "It went well."
If you can't engage in your usual past activities, than everything didn't go
well.

Have you chatted with your doctor about the problem?

On Sep 9, 1:27 pm, paul richard <ino...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> pulabl <cast...@YAHOO.COM> wrote in news:1189355393.035244.30220
> @o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com:
>
> > Hello all.Ihad radical prostate surgery 2 years ago.It went well.Psa
> > is 0.My problem is i can no longer ride a bike.Can anyone suggest a
> > kind of seat that would not cause me discomfort and ,or pain.Thanking
> > you in
> > advance.
> > joe b
>
> Joe:
>
> Most bicycle shops have or can order you an open,split seat, that allows
> freedom from peritoneal pressure and swivels independantly for each leg.
> Cost should be between $35-35 US.

Also, do some searching in Google for "bicycle seat" or "bicycle
saddle".
There is a surprising variety of saddles available. You'll be able to
preview the options and get some ideas before choosing anything.

Ideally, you want to buy one from some place that will allow you to
return it if it doesn't do the job for you.

You might also post some questions in rec.bicycles.misc, or
rec.bicycles.tech.

Alan


> I personally still had some problems and bought a recumbent bike and am
> very happy with it. There is a learning curve to riding one for most
> people and if you choose a 'bent', ride several and do a lot of research
> before buying. Good luck,and happy riding!
> Paul

pulabl wrote:
> Hello all.Ihad radical prostate surgery 2 years ago.It went well.Psa
> is 0.My problem is i can no longer ride a bike.Can anyone suggest a
> kind of seat that would not cause me discomfort and ,or pain.Thanking
> you in
> advance.
> joe b
>

What kind of surgery did you have? There is no special reason you
should have pain after a conventional retropubic radical prostatectomy
(RRP), the most common operations for prostate cancer. If you do,
consult your surgeon about it.

I had an RRP in 2000, and I've been riding since about 3 months after
the surgery without problems. But the type of seat and how it is
adjusted can make a big difference.

I don't have any discomfort, but I am specially concerned about the
"numb penis" syndrome, which can develop after a long time spent on the
seat. My erections are already somewhat iffy because of the surgery,
and I don't want to add any additional damage to the nerves in that area.

The seat should support you on your pelvic bones with little or no
pressure on the soft tissue. There are seats specially designed to
avoid such pressure, which you can find at any bicycle shop, but I
haven't found one necessary. In addition, I've found that it best if
the seat slopes slightly downward, which is contrary to the usual
advice. The forward/back position of the seat should be adjusted so
your knees are positioned properly with respect to the pedals.
Finally, a loose seat can lead to discomfort or a numb penis. Check
regularly to see that the seat has not come loose and that its position
hasn't shifted.

When riding, it helps if you get up off the seat briefly every few
minutes, and after a half hour or so riding, you should stop and rest
for a minute or two.

paul richard wrote:
> pulabl <cast719@YAHOO.COM> wrote in news:1189355393.035244.30220
> @o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com:
>
>
>>Hello all.Ihad radical prostate surgery 2 years ago.It went well.Psa
>>is 0.My problem is i can no longer ride a bike.Can anyone suggest a
>>kind of seat that would not cause me discomfort and ,or pain.Thanking
>>you in
>>advance.
>>joe b
>>
>
> Joe:
>
> Most bicycle shops have or can order you an open,split seat, that allows
> freedom from peritoneal pressure and swivels independantly for each leg.
> Cost should be between $35-35 US.
>
> I personally still had some problems and bought a recumbent bike and am
> very happy with it. There is a learning curve to riding one for most
> people and if you choose a 'bent', ride several and do a lot of research
> before buying. Good luck,and happy riding!
> Paul
>

I also ride a recumbent. Started several years ago, due to penile numbness.

Thought since I had brachetherapy, and my prostate is now essentially
scar tissue, that I could ride a "wedgie."

Still get penile numbness about about an hour.

I, too, am looking at different saddles, tried one with groove, seemed
to help at first, but one hour later, started feeling same.

jerry

good luck.

On Sep 10, 11:44 am, cognite tute <nos...@nospam.net> wrote:
> paul richard wrote:
> > pulabl <cast...@YAHOO.COM> wrote in news:1189355393.035244.30220
> > @o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com:
>
> >>Hello all.Ihad radical prostate surgery 2 years ago.It went well.Psa
> >>is 0.My problem is i can no longer ride a bike.Can anyone suggest a
> >>kind of seat that would not cause me discomfort and ,or pain.Thanking
> >>you in
> >>advance.
> >>joe b
>
> > Joe:
>
> > Most bicycle shops have or can order you an open,split seat, that allows
> > freedom from peritoneal pressure and swivels independantly for each leg.
> > Cost should be between $35-35 US.
>
> > I personally still had some problems and bought a recumbent bike and am
> > very happy with it. There is a learning curve to riding one for most
> > people and if you choose a 'bent', ride several and do a lot of research
> > before buying. Good luck,and happy riding!
> > Paul
>
> I also ride a recumbent. Started several years ago, due to penile numbness.
>
> Thought since I had brachetherapy, and my prostate is now essentially
> scar tissue, that I could ride a "wedgie."
>
> Still get penile numbness about about an hour.
>
> I, too, am looking at different saddles, tried one with groove, seemed
> to help at first, but one hour later, started feeling same.
>
> jerry
>
> good luck.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Keep me up to date on this topic. I will have RRP on 10.2.07 and want
to get back on my bike as soon as possible. I ride about 2,000 miles
a year so this is particularly important..... I don't have any issues
with numbness at this point and don't ride a cutout saddle.

As an aside, I figured my rising PSA was a result of the riding, not
cancer. I ride to my annual physical, so naturally, some sort of
prostatitis was what was showing up.... ta, da, Pca instead.

Any of you interested in a group ride next year. We could raise money
for Lance Armstrong or any other charity. I am going to do it one way
or the other!


E. Woody

44 yo
PSA:2.0 (10/04), 2.6 (10/05), 3.3 (10/06), 3.3 w 9% free (1/07), 4.1
(4/07)
normal DREs
Biopsy 6/15/07 Gleason 6 (3+3), 6/12 cores, one core 100% Right
APEX),
T1c (Clinical)

"El Woody" <El.Woody555@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1189908213.282963.234430@k79g2000hse.googlegr oups.com...

> Keep me up to date on this topic. I will have RRP on 10.2.07

Good luck, Woody. We'll pray for you and your doc on that day.

El Woody wrote:
> On Sep 10, 11:44 am, cognite tute <nos...@nospam.net> wrote:
>> paul richard wrote:
>>> pulabl <cast...@YAHOO.COM> wrote in news:1189355393.035244.30220
>>> @o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com:
>>>> Hello all.Ihad radical prostate surgery 2 years ago.It went well.Psa
>>>> is 0.My problem is i can no longer ride a bike.Can anyone suggest a
>>>> kind of seat that would not cause me discomfort and ,or pain.Thanking
>>>> you in
>>>> advance.
>>>> joe b
>>> Joe:
>>> Most bicycle shops have or can order you an open,split seat, that allows
>>> freedom from peritoneal pressure and swivels independantly for each leg.
>>> Cost should be between $35-35 US.
>>> I personally still had some problems and bought a recumbent bike and am
>>> very happy with it. There is a learning curve to riding one for most
>>> people and if you choose a 'bent', ride several and do a lot of research
>>> before buying. Good luck,and happy riding!
>>> Paul
>> I also ride a recumbent. Started several years ago, due to penile numbness.
>>
>> Thought since I had brachetherapy, and my prostate is now essentially
>> scar tissue, that I could ride a "wedgie."
>>
>> Still get penile numbness about about an hour.
>>
>> I, too, am looking at different saddles, tried one with groove, seemed
>> to help at first, but one hour later, started feeling same.
>>
>> jerry
>>
>> good luck.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> Keep me up to date on this topic. I will have RRP on 10.2.07 and want
> to get back on my bike as soon as possible. I ride about 2,000 miles
> a year so this is particularly important..... I don't have any issues
> with numbness at this point and don't ride a cutout saddle.

See my posts on the subject. I also don't have a split saddle. If you
ride that much, you probably have a saddle which rides on your pelvic
bones and is positioned correctly. As I noted above, I found that if
the seat is tilted slightly downward, that decreases the risk of "numb
penis". If you've never had that problem before, you shouldn't have it
after surgery, but you still want to be specially careful about damaging
the nerves controlling erections. As I noted, if you get up on the
pedals briefly every few minutes, you will help avoid that, and stopping
periodically and getting off the bike will help even more. The latter
may be problematic if you ride with others.

Probably, you are better off overa ll with respect to erections if you
ride, just because of the increased circulation to the area, but there
is no reason not to take a few additional measures to be sure.

>
> As an aside, I figured my rising PSA was a result of the riding, not
> cancer. I ride to my annual physical, so naturally, some sort of
> prostatitis was what was showing up.... ta, da, Pca instead.
>
> Any of you interested in a group ride next year. We could raise money
> for Lance Armstrong or any other charity. I am going to do it one way
> or the other!
>
>
> E. Woody
>
> 44 yo
> PSA:2.0 (10/04), 2.6 (10/05), 3.3 (10/06), 3.3 w 9% free (1/07), 4.1
> (4/07)
> normal DREs
> Biopsy 6/15/07 Gleason 6 (3+3), 6/12 cores, one core 100% Right
> APEX),
> T1c (Clinical)
>

On Sep 9, 12:29 pm, pulabl <cast...@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
> Hello all.Ihad radical prostate surgery 2 years ago.It went well.Psa
> is 0.My problem is i can no longer ride a bike.Can anyone suggest a
> kind of seat that would not cause me discomfort and ,or pain.Thanking
> you in
> advance.
> joe b

I'm not sure if this is applies, but I had considerable discomfort in
what I found out to be my pudendal nerve, after prostate surgery. It
is essentially an inflammation of a nerve that is between your
testicles and anus, where you sit on a bicycle, and is often a problem
for serious bikers. In my case, erections (not that I had many after
surgery) also caused it to be in pain and really put a damper on my
efforts to regain any erectile function. I finally found that doing
sit ups every day, stretched and exercised this nerve and relieved the
problem. Bending at the waist, as in toe touches, also helped, but
not as much for me. Wikepedia has a section on the pudendal nerve and
suggest exercises such as toe touches. Why prostate surgery caused
this problem, I don't know, although this nerve is close to the
prostate. My surgeon wasn't much help on this issue either. pcep