Not been on here for advice for ages - not been great lately! Husband had 1st session of RT on Monday and now has poor flow ,prior to which was amazing. Is this normal has anyone else experienced this? Thanks you great support! X
Happened to me but not after the first one! I think from memory about day 12 or so, got me in a bit of a tiz. Just happened to be a day my consultant called me to ask about how I was going, he was very good (I had a doom and gloom moment), prescribed me Tamsulosin which I’ve taken every day since and that fixed it at that time. I’m not sure if I’m on it forever but still taking it a year later. Be ready for things to happen, about 3 months ago I suddenly needed to get up 4 or 5 times a night, before was 1 or 2. Got it tamed a bit now through taking a diary of food/drink in and out. And be ready for him needing to stop a couple of times on the way home towards the end. Make a note of available toilets (McDonald’s or Tesco, pubs etc) because for me it was I need to go and I need to go now. We’re not all the same but be ready!
We had a friend who went through his treatment before my husband and had this problem but I’m not sure of the timescale. We discussed the possibility of urine retention with the oncology team prior to starting RT. They gave us a 24/7 emergency phone number in case of this eventuality which would enable us to completely by pass Emergency Department queues etc in the event of complete retention and have a catheter passed. This was reassuring but we did not need it. As others have said, I would advise mentioning this at the next RT session. If the poor flow progresses to Urine retention this very unpleasant and can do harm to the kidneys and tamulosin seems to be very effective if needed, from what I’ve heard. Good luck!
Hello Youie. OH similar to others who’ve replied but bit later in treatment. Def mention to team today at your appointment. Also as others say, check out toilets on your journey. It did play havoc with urine & bowels both during & after and lately getting up quite a bit in the night after 3 months. The one bonus of RT is you do see the seam daily which means you can ask those questions. All the best x
Very sorry to hear about your husband, Youie, Very unpleasant!
I experienced this about 24hrs after my first Prostap injection and on day 15 of my Hormone Therapy with Bicalutamide 50 mg for Prostate Cancer. It was frightening..burning urges..nothing comes out..I knew I was in trouble so phoned the nurse who said I would need to come into the walk-in clinic so I (prayed not being a religious man) gritted my teeth and got up (didn’t sleep at all..burning urges pain etc.) and went to Hospital an hour before the clinic opened and was first there. Night mare waiting on my own as I could lose my place in the queue if I went to the loo which I needed to. Got seen to eventually when they opened and thoroughly tested and examined. Urine sample test and flow tests and blood tests.
Eventually I was prescribed Tamsulosin (CONTIFLO XL) 400 mcgs XI daily, AND Mirabegron (BETMIGA) 50 mg x1 daily, and Lactulose 15 mls x2 daily
The doctor told me this is what I SHOULD have been prescribed when I started my treatment and he was somewhat shocked that I hadn’t been. Anyway…THANKFULLY worked for me and still is working ( still up at night once or twice depending) but I’m not exactly sure how long I will need to keep taking the medication and what the side effects will be. Any ideas anyone?
Thanks to everyone for letting me know what might be coming when radiotherapy starts if it does.
PS thanks for help reminding me I’m running low on these meds.
Yes this happened to me on the first day of RT. It got better as the treatment progressed but often recurred on the first day of the week after the weekend break.
If it persists they will prescribe Tamulosin if your husband is not already taking it.. Failing that they can consider intermittent catheterisation (single use) to help. I would try and avoid indwelling catheters if possible.
Thanks to all of you! I’ve just forced him to call the specialist nurse who is going to talk to the oncologist (not even seen him yet!) now waiting for call back. It’s so frustrating it’s his body but is so blasé about it, I’ve become a nagging wife!!!!!
Hi Youie Hope your husband gets things fixed and finds comfort,I’ve got all this to come as am waiting for appointment to see what treatment I’m starting
You have asked the question about how long you should be taking the Tamsulosin and Betmiga. The answer is as long as your doctor continues to prescribe it. The Tamsulosin is prescribed to relax the muscles in the prostate and the neck of the bladder - if you are still taking Bicalutamide then remind the doctor of this as the Tamsulosin dosage needs to be calibrated with this due to the fact that they both use the same metabolic pathway. Caution should be used if you suffer from low blood pressure, kidney or liver problems and generally you should be monitored regularly whilst taking it. The Betmiga works on the bladder itself but can take a while to be effective. The recommendation is that it can be used long term if necessary. Please remember we are not medical experts.
I have attached a couple of information sheets about side effects.
Snap another nagging wife here. Yesterday I said do you think I could just have one day when I don't have to nag. He agreed. It lasted about 10 minutes!!
Like others on here I started suffering with poor flow & hesitation in starting to pee overnight after about 12 RT sessions. In my case, they arranged for me to see one of the specialist nurses immediately after the RT session, & after checking my blood pressure I was prescribed Tamsulosin which resolved the problem. One thing they did advise is that Tamsulosin can lower blood pressure hence them checking beforehand. I have found that the effects last about 3 days so only need to take a tablet every 3rd day.
