Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi All,
Thanks for sharing your experiences so i thought i would share mine -
I am 52, live in the UK and generally in good health, 2 years ago i was diagnosed with enlarged prostate (70cc) due to intermittent flow issues. Nothing too serious. I was prescribed Tamsulosin which seemed to help.
September 2019 PSA was between 5 and 8 so i had a biopsy and that was all clear.
November 2019 i got a UTI so it burnt like hell when i peed. I had to wait until Monday for antibiotics but in the meantime i was drinking a lot of water. By Monday evening I had gone into urinary retention.
Rushed to A&E and had catheter fitted which quickly eased the pain.
But by the time i was leaving the hospital i was starting to get chronic cramps and spasms. I was sent home without medication if i recall and the next month was a bit of a nightmare. 3 catheters, pain with and without catheter, more trips to A&E, stays in the Urology Dept. Just really bad time so i was put on the list for a TURP.
In January 2020. Things started to settle a bit and get better so i cancelled the TURP. Nights were pretty bad, up every hour or so but slept in between. I was put on Finesteride for the prostate and Noqdirna to reduce the urine produced at night. Things weren't great but ok.
Obviously Covid put a spanner in the works but things weren't too bad though i am out the marital bed due to still getting up a lot. I set an alarm for 2, 4, 6, 8 because i want to get up and pee because i get pressure on my bladder and want to releave it.
In November 2020 I went for a scan on my pelvic region. Drink a litre of water 2 hours before they said. Ok I said. By the time i got to the hospital i was starting to go into retention again. Struggled through the scan but then had to get to Minor Injuries and have another catheter fitted. I couldn't believe it. I had to have it in for 2 weeks. After 7 days it started to fail and i had to stand in the shower for 3 hours as pee bypassed the catheter and shot down my legs. Thankfully the district nurse night team came out and replaced it. 7 days later the catheter came out and i was back to voiding.
I am now back into 'coping' and looking at next steps. I decided on Green Light Laser but then another consultant said i was too young for this type of surgery so am waiting on maybe a Urodynamics test to see what the situation is really like down there but life is quite tough with this hanging over us.
The point of my story though is to share what works for me which i haven't seen previously-
I have come to the conclusion that drinking a lot of water caused the blockages (for the UTI and scan). I now drink 5 cups of coffee a day, the last one at 7 and it's reasonably ok. About 1 1/2 litres in total. I'm scared to drink more! Apparently i shouldn't be drinking alcohol on Tamsulosin.
Standing up also helps a lot - I use a stand up desk at work and i almost feel normal. Peeing 3 times during the day with only minor discomfort. But getting in the car, relaxing at home and sleeping appears to put pressure on the bladder and the frequency and urgency to pee kicks in.
Hopefully things will continue to improve but i guess i am destined for surgery at some point.
Thanks for your time.
0 likes, 5 replies
TKM kevin00462
Edited
Kevin,
You should try intermittent catheterization. You would not have to go to Emergency rooms to have them put in foley catheters. I have been doing intermittent catheterization for 2.5 years now, 5 times per day. There is no pain involved, as I thought there would be before I started. I clean the area with providone iodine wash before, each time, which helps prevent UTIs. Still I get a UTI a couple times a year, usually when I travel and can't always use the iodine. Antibiotics always clears it up.
There are a couple good discussions in Patient forum about Intermittent catheterization, started by Jim James. A Urologists office showed me how to do it, but there are also good videos online. Medicare and my supplement insurance pay for the catheters, which were prescribed by my Urologist.
Good luck
michael31017 TKM
Posted
I agree with the suggestion to try CIC (Clean Intermittent Catheterization) as a way to take control of bladder emptying. After I had two emergency runs to the hospital (here in US) due to a completely blocked prostate, I needed control over my situation and catheters have been great. Only one UTI so far but that may have been from all the Foley catheters I had before CIC.
One thing I've discovered in this journey to be able to pee again one day is that you are told to drink a lot of water but you're not told what to do if you cannot pee. Just like when you are sent home after a TURP and you find out that there is a lot of blood (from the average person's pov) involved in healing. Learn, plan and prepare for as much self-care as you can manage so that you are not completely dependent on the health care industry to make you comfortable.
TKM michael31017
Posted
Michael,
It is common to have bleeding and UTI when starting catheterization. However those go away after the first few attempts. It's as if you develop calluses after a few times.
And yes, I think you can develop UTI from a Foley that is left in too long, you would have to ask a medical practitioner how long is too long, or research it on the internet.
Thomas
kevin00462 TKM
Posted
thanks for your input Michael, Thomas
I'm trying to stay away from catheters at the moment because of the previous issues i had with them. I am voiding reasonably well during the day and even in the evenings and during the night.
In the short term I hope that the general discomfort continues to ease by standing up as much as i can and walking.
I will carry on with the Tamsulosin, Finesteride and Noqdirna.
And I won't be drinking more than 1 1/2 litres a day because that brought on the retention as far as i can tell.
I don't know if people see drinking too much water as an issue and standing up as a help because i know i do. Regards
kevin00462
Posted
Things are still just about bearable with my BPH.
My advice would be -
Stand up as much as possible, walking etc. as it puts less pressure on the bladder.
Drink less - the more you drink the more pressure in your bladder. I feel that drinking a lot (for UTI and a scan) caused both my bouts of retention.
What i really need to know now is what is the best position to sleep in to avoid nighttime pressure on the bladder. I need to google it, but if anybody has any ideas let me know.
thanks