Fluid intake and incontinence

Three litres a day sounds a bit OTT. I was advised at least two litres a day and I think that should be enough. Most teas contain a lot of caffeine which is a bladder irritant, have you tried decaffeinated tea or Redbush which is caffeine free? I drink Roibos Earl Grey (Tesco) or Dragonfly Earl Grey (Morissons) both of which I love (unfortunately SWMBO hates them so we have separate teapots).

Should of said, its only decaf tea i drink, also i miscalculated my fluid intake, more like 1 to 1.5 ltrs a day

Hi Tia,

Night time incontinence can be distressing and can make you feel very tired. It sounds as if it has only become more of a problem since your cystoscopy? If this is the case could you have picked up a UTI which can be checked out by having a simple urine test?

Seamus is right in that an average male should be drinking at least 2 lt a day, the reasoning being that more concentrated urine can irritate the bladder and cause you to pee more frequently. Well done by already switching to decaf tea.

There can be other underlying causes of night time incontinence such as diabetes or other medical conditions so have you had a recent blood test? In the meantime there are techniques to try and train your bladder such as double voiding just before going to bed. Also try using your muscles to prevent voiding for a minute, then 2 minutes and gradually building the time up. Kiegel exercises may help. Your doctor should be able to put you in touch with an incontinence clinic which will give you practical advice if your incontinence becomes long term.

I hope you get to the bottom of your problem soon and get back to your normal routine.

Hi Seamus.

Just to clarify, Earl grey is normally a black tea which has about 50 mg caffeine? I would be interested to know if the two varieties you have mentioned are based on a decaffeinated version especially as the addition of rooibos gives a different flavour and is supposed to have some health benefits.

Alwayshope said:

Just to clarify, Earl grey is normally a black tea which has about 50 mg caffeine? I would be interested to know if the two varieties you have mentioned are based on a decaffeinated version especially as the addition of rooibos gives a different flavour and is supposed to have some health benefits.

I used  to drink Earl Grey until I was diagnosed with PC and advised to abandon caffeine and alcohol. I probably didn't make it clear, but both of the teas I mentioned are commercial names for Redbush which is caffeine free.

Thanks for that Seamus. I live outside the UK and do not have access to some of the brands but will definitely look online. We are limited to local herbal tea like mountain, mint, eucalyptus, rosemary so a change would be welcome. It's good to share knowledge.

Things went massively downhill immeadiatly after cystoscopy, inc possible uti. Uti was not confirmed by urine test but i was given ABs anyway which seemed to do the trick, but still have'nt got anywhere near back to pre cystscopy situation, very frustrating.

Plus i still havent been told what was causing the original problem of blood in urine, btw that that still keeps flaring up every 9 or 10 days lasting 2 or 3 days, very disconcerting.

I am a great coffee lover - however to help sort out the old hot flushes - I am on Sage tablets but to be honest you can't beat a cup of sage tea made from fresh or even dried sage - it tastes magnificent - and it's helped with the hot flushes. 

I think if I were you Rob with the incidence of the recurring urine it would be back to the consultant or at least my CNS to ask for advice on the problem - it's clearly an issue.

Best wishes - Brian.

3 ltrs a day is quite a lot.  Drink decaff Coffee and Tea.  the best I have found is Kenco decaff instant coffee and Lavazza decaff for my coffee machine and decaff Yorkshire tea.  You are right not drinking or eating after 6 - be like a model and drink mostly in the morning maybe is a good idea - they drink early in the morning so no bloating and needing to go to the loo when on photo shoots I am told.  My youngest son was a model so he picked up on this.  When you are sitting down at night elevate your feet so that you should get rid of more fluid before going to bed.  elevating your feet pools the fluid in the mid area of the body so you should go to the loo more often - this is why you tend to urinate more at night because you are laid down and the fluid pools into the mid area.  I did a study with my urologist before i even had prostate cancer and measured everything I drank and urine coming out and yes more fluid did come out than fluid went in - but food also contains fluid.  I would ask about possible problems after the cystoscopy.  You may have picked up a UTI which won't help.  Drink two litres of fluid a day I have been told that only 2 cups of coffee and 3 cups of tea can count - but that's from a heart perspective but not to count too many cups of tea and coffee as part of that.  Water is the best thing apparently - though it doesn't taste like that.  Chocolate also contains caffeine unfortunately and not heard of a caffeine free hot chocolate drink.

Thanks for the useful information Freefaller. Didn't know about the pooling when lying down. We have been given similar information about what to drink from the nephrologist point of view and also have to take into account fluid intake from soups, cereals, foods with sauces etc.

We can get sage tea here Brian and agree it helps with hot flushes.

Rob, I take it they have ruled out kidney stones? It's good that you are still passing good amounts of urine but it would be safer to go back to the issue resolved. There are different types of AB and it maybe that a different one, or a longer course may be needed as some UTI's can be very persistent? From your profile you say that you were diagnosed with PCa over a year ago but haven't said if you have had treatment. Side effects can sometimes rear their head a long time after initial treatment as they may have affected the nerves or muscles which mean it may take longer for them to recover from possible mechanical damage caused by the cystoscopy. It must be very frustrating, especially as you still haven't had an answer.