For me the big problem was the RT. If your hospital give you a diet sheet follow it to the letter. In short no alcohol, caffeine or green leafy veg. In addition low fibre everything.
We were told 20% get constipation with the the balance getting diarrhoea. The diet will help if you are in the 80% cohort and the RT guys will give you something if not.
The Prostap will give you fatigue - for me this was the worst side of my treatment.
There are many reasons why you may be having frequent incontinence and stress can be one of them, a urine infection can be another. Besides diet, like reducing caffeine, fizzy drinks and alcohol after 18:00 hrs it can also help to do pelvic floor exercises. There is an app you can download on your mobile if you have one called the SQUEEZY APP which explains how to do it properly and reminds you when to do it. These exercises will help strengthen the muscles used when you need to control urinating. This will also help if you are going to have radiotherapy. It may also be useful to speak to your doctor and have a urine test to rule out infection. I know it sounds counter intuitive but drinking plenty of water can also help.
Hi DavLaurjen, no bowel issues for me until a month after RT. I stayed on a healthy diet, with a few changes, no uncooked veg especially brassica's, no fried/fatty foods, keep dairy to a minimum and definitely no fibre it will make it worse and drink plenty of water which is so important, If your going 4 or more times a day you should talk to your doctor
Here is some more information about incontinence. Talk to your doctor as there are also drugs which might help. When you have RT they usually ask you to have a full bladder so it might be an idea to sort out why you are peeing more now in preparation for this. It could be an overactive bladder, or the bladder might not be emptying fully, and infection, constipation......
I have come across mention of alcohol and caffeine in some books and leaflets I have seen. I have much reduced alcohol consumption and are well within 14 units a week [UK NHS guidelines] and indeed am probably nearer 7. Coffee consumption is also way down 2 cups a day. The nearest I've ever got to why however has been irritation of the bladder. Can you provide any info on why these substances should be avoided?
For coffee it is more to do with the effects on the bladder. There is some evidence that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of developing metastatic prostate cancer.
