Sorry to bother you. Have just had a Cystoscopy because I had bleeding. They have discovered something in my Bladder. Very worried it is Cancer. I have got to have Biopsies. I suffer from anxiety and depression. Very frightened.
We sympathise because we have all been where you are. And as someone older than you I agree with those who say that age isn't the important thing. Healthy life is what matters.
You talk about wanting to control things. But you can't guarantee that not having this investigation will leave you as you are today for any length of time. We have all faced this and moved forward, despite really not wanting to know what the surgeons will find.
All of us have had to cope with what we learnt at this next stage. And all of us hope you will be able to cope too.
That's the real way to have control - to work with the specialists to deal with what we've got, good or bad.
I hope you will think of that and move forward as we have done. But as we all say, it's your choice.
Dear James, I fully understand about the antibiotics and IBS as I have friends with this. One lady has asthma and every time she gets a chest infection they will give her antibiotics for that, which then set her ibs off. But there is no particular reason to think that you are likely to be offered antibiotics just because you have a TURBT.
What you need to know, is that if people who have a TURBT do not drink enough afterwards, there is a slight risk of getting a water infection. Yes that could lead to antibiotics.
SO, prevention is better than cure: buy a bottle of Robinson's Lemon Barley Water. This was recommended to me by my lovely old GP 45 years ago. I had a touch of cystitis. He told me to go out of the surgery and get the lemon barley water. Drink it diluted as per the instructions on the label over the next 24 hours. He said, if you still have a sore bladder after that come back and I will give you the antibiotics. If not, don't need to come back. I did not need to go back as it cleared it completely in the 24 hours. So if you do likewise after your TURBT it is quite unlikely there'll be any question of needing antibiotics. Many on here will confirm this.
I suppose we all differ in how we deal with health.My partner was a terrible ostrich and would gloss over his symptoms to the specialist.I had to point out that he really wasn’t doing himself any favours by pretending he was ok when he wasn’t.20 years on he is very much better at health communication.I am the opposite I want to know everything good or bad.
Hi Winkers60, I'm like you and my husband is the opposite. When doctors ask him to describe a pain he can't do it - despite having had a heart attack. We have to do a multiple choice questioning session to get anywhere. And even then can't be certain we really know.
At least he takes most medications if he needs them. Though never likes painkillers. Age has been a shock to him - but he's still fit and we walk a lot even if creaking now.
Thank so much for your replies. It is greatly appreciated. The thing that worries me most is incontinence. The surgeon who did the Cystoscopy said the abnormal bit was in the neck of my bladder and difficult to get to and about 1 to 2 cm in size. This is very large. and will cause some damage if it is removed. If it proves not to be cancer I will be incontinent for nothing.
Dear James, the whole point of a TURBT is to discover whether it is cancer or not. The lab will find out within a couple of weeks. And I don't want you to think I am trying to be competitive, but many on here have had either one or more tumours a lot more than 2 cm. Or as in my husband's case, so many tumours you could not even see the bladder lining. They are all gone, and he is not incontinent.
Others have had them in awkward places too. Please try to trust that the medics really do have your best interests at heart and certainly will do everything to clear the growth, whatever it's nature, without leaving you with any continence problem. Let's be honest, even if it should be a rare benign growth, it has already caused you some problems in that department so needs to be attended to anyway.
