Sleeping Issues

Hello  Julia ( Julia on behalf of dad John ) A warm welcome to the online Prostate Community.

I know just his problem - me and the bathroom are best friends at night and although I have cut down my visits to 2/3 a night I still need to "go". Even the dog is not bothered by my "nocturnal wanderings".

There are two initial suggestions I can make - I am sure other Community members will be along with more:

* Has dad done his "pelvic floor exercises" below please find a link to the Prostate Cancer UK downloadable booklet advising you about these and how to do them:

https://shop.prostatecanceruk.org/our-publications/all-publications/pelvic-floor-muscle-exercises

You can also download an "App" for your mobile device from the "App Store" remining you to do these and even counting them for you!

* Has he had a consultation with his GP regarding the issue ?

I hope one of the above helps and his sleep pattern improves.

If I can do anything else for you just give me a shout.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi Julia, and a very warm welcome. Brian has made a couple of very useful suggestions. Can I add a couple more. Caffeine and alcohol act as a diuretic (make you pee more), so limiting them may help e.g. by switching to decaf tea and coffee. Also try and avoid carbonated and acidic soft drinks (my husband was told to put a little bit of soda into them to reduce the acidity). Another tip is to keep the amount of liquid you consume in the evening low, but make sure that he still has the recommended daily quantity as this is important for maintaining metabolism and to maintain healthy kidneys. There is medication from the doctor which might help. My husband found that he was getting into a cycle of getting up in the night because he was afraid of having an accident. He now wears a Tena pad and has reduced his nocturnal visits to once or twice a night. There are other techniques which might help but I think that is enough for now. Please come back with any questions.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. He has very reduced mobility due to osteoarthritis however I will speak to his GP for sure. Take care x

Thank you for taking the time to respond to me. Very useful too which I will take on board and hope it gets better! Best wishes x

Hi Julia,

I know only too well the impact on getting up frequently during the night, sometimes 7 or 8 times, almost every hour, & it was the reason I first went to the doctors before being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Advice I was given was to cut down on caffeine, alcohol & fizzy drinks as they can aggravate the bladder, & to limit / stop any liquid input after 6 or 7 in an evening.  It's important to ensure that fluid input is kept up during the day to keep hydrated so water & squash are ideal.  I do love my tea & coffee so now limit any caffeine ones to the morning & switch to de-caffeinated from lunchtime onwards, ensuring that I'm also drinking water in between.   I have also been given Tamsulosin tablets by the doctor which help relax the bladder so helps ensure that it empties more easily & more importantly more fully.  I find the effects of one tablet lasts 2 or 3 days so don't need them every day,& now find I only need to visit the bathroom 2 sometimes 3 times a night & even occasionally once a night.  

All the best

Brian

Sorry to hear your Dad is having trouble but, as you say it is part and parcel of this.  He needs to get in touch with his urologist or GP to ensure that he is on the best medication for this or if his medication or dosage needs changing - you may also want to ask if he can take a mild sleeping tablet as some of them do also "dry you up".  As well as this the best thing to do is not drink anything after 6 pm.  Drink decaff  tea and coffee - we have found that Yorkshire decaff tea and Kenco instant decaff coffee is best tasting and if you use a coffee machine either starbucks decaff ground coffee or pods or lavazza decaff are best for these.  It is also a good idea to elevate the feet at night for a couple of hours before bed.  I don't know how old your Dad is but enourage him to take a nap after lunch to help him relax.  It  also might help if he asks his pharmacist if it is OK with his medication  to take something like nytol for a couple of nights a week.  I just did that last week and it seems to work.

Good suggestions freefaller. The sleeping tablets can also break the cycle of getting used to waking up. My husband takes just a half tablet for 3 nights which puts him in a better routine for a while. I just wish it worked for me as I still seem to be plagued with insomnia since hubbys diagnosis.

Thank you! Really helpful! X

Thank you for this. Got him an appointment with his gp tomorrow to discuss further :) x

So sorry it doesn't work for you too Alwayshope. x