retaining urine

[Eternity6]

my husband has an enlarged prostrate, psa of 6.1, he’s been put on tamusolin a week ago and he’s retaining so much urine, having to self catheterise twice daily and collecting today just under two litres of urine, he is a 59 year old smoker, diabetes type 2, in remission. Has just had a date 9 th of Aug for a transperineal prostrate biopsy. I must admit we are both very concerned, he has been passing urine naturally every 30 mins for 9 months has just been put on the two week pathway 4weeks ago, has had mri and bladder scan, anyone else self catheterising and retaining this amount, just feeling so worried.

[Tall_Allen]

So he doesn't have advanced prostate cancer, or prostate cancer of any kind as far as you know?

[Eternity6 in reply to Tall_Allen]

No he has t been told anything about cancer this is what has been happening, we won’t know anymore until after his transperineal prostrate biopsy which is to take place on the 9 August

[Hidden in reply to Eternity6]

Waiting in his condition is not fun . ❤️🙏

[Tommyemily]

To my own experience self-cathing twice a day is totally insufficient and will impose un-necessary pressure on the bladder. I no longer self-cath and rely solely upon tamusolin once a day, however until I fully recovered the ability to urinate naturally, I would self-cath some 500 cc 4 times a day.

Wishing the both you the best in your in your future journey.

[Eternity6 in reply to Tommyemily]

Thank you, he is hoping to contact the hospital today to explain what’s happening and to see what he’s advised to do

[Hidden in reply to Tommyemily]

Agreed! I went though the same . 🎯

[Eternity6 in reply to Tommyemily]

My husband has been told by nurse to now self cath 3 times a day this is the second day of doing this and so far every time he does this he’s getting one litre which meant that yesterday was 3 litres, today so far has only tried one time as it was 9am when he did the first one, it’s one litre again( we are in U.K.) what none of us understand is how come the bladder is retaining all this urine, when he’s still urinating normally as well without cath in between using the cath and this is every single hour, he is drinking 1.5/ 2 litres a day mostly water and one decaf coffee, still taking tamosulin

[Hidden]

Hello Eternity6, the Sooner the better the biopsy? Not knowing is the hardest part of all . I was in similar shape awaiting a biopsy by my urologist for five weeks ,self cathing hell, and I went into k failure . I hope I’m wrong but I do expect it to be pc .. if so, he’s got to get treated ASAP . Imho I’m not a doc ,follow the pros . I went into a long term remission 6 yrs now after the docs gave me very bad stats . So pray it’s not pc . But if it is treat it and put it down . God bless!

[Eternity6 in reply to Hidden]

You have hit the nail on the head yes it’s fear of the unknown, he’s never had difficulties in urinating, it’s the complete opposite urinating every 30 mins, for the last 9 months it wasn’t until two this week they did the flow test and he was told he was retaining over litre of urine, yet yesterday he was emptying just under two litres by self catheter, counting the days until he has the biopsy it seems such a long time to wait9 August,

[Hidden in reply to Eternity6]

I didn’t mean to be a doom and gloom . My prostate was gigantic . I knew it was pc we all did before I got the biopsy . I’m thinking he’s caught a little before I did . They will take care of him . My heart goes out to you both . My wife held me up when it got worse . We don’t want him to shut down like I did . Pc tumors blocked my urethra and bladder .. Get him on a strong Lupron or adt soon and I did imrt in combo and this took my tumors away never to return again . I hope he’s not going down my path . The nephrologist in the icu told me to never take the alleve pm or any nsaids again . 7 yrs and I haven’t . Pray for the best.. Keep him emotionally up . Half of my battle has been emotions . Please tell him he can make it through this , because I did . It ain’t over .. He’s suffering much now . We want that to end . Try to hydrate him although it might seem counterproductive. Dehydration can kill us . The docs will get him off of this edge .. your love will keep him fighting for a fix . APC is tmi initially . Who are you going to follow? So many so called experts online doctors we call them .. Get him a good Med oncologist onboard if it’s pc . Someone versed in pc would help . Follow the lead .Please keep yourself rested and feed and strong . This can take a toll on you both .It the stress .. Rid him of external stressors or negative thinkers too. .. Thank you goring loving him and being his advocate . I wish I found this cite earlier than I did . I found it two years after dx . Waiting now is the hardest part . Once you have the results proceed with abandonment in saving him from this . My wife had me walking even with tubes and a foley for more than a yr . I walked each day . That was about it until I got into a clear zone .. Many prayers until he’s clear! 🙏❤️

[Hidden in reply to Eternity6]

He will make it to the biopsy . I was waiting for my uro to return from spring break with his kids . Ididnt make it . Yrs later I went back and they told me “ oh , we don’t do that anymore, now with advanced Guys we get the biopsy right away” ! Thank God!

[Hidden]

I had an enlarged prostate and difficulties urinating in my mid 50's. I found blessed relief after TURP surgery. It was 10 years later that a troublesome DRE test got me sent for a biopsy; Gleason 8 prostate cancer. 5 of 12 cores positive; one 8, one 6, and the other three 7's on the Gleason scale. My PSA was only 2.7 at the time I was diagnosed. I hope things work out and your husband receives the treatment he needs and doesn't have to continue to with the difficulties he has now.

[Eternity6 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your kind words, his psa last week was 6.1 having gone up from 2.1, when I think back to months ago he did actually have a stop start flow but for months n months he’s in the toilet all the time, and so tired not getting sleep, I will look up TURP surgery sorry I don’t know what that involves, I hope you are doing ok

[Grayjay]

The Tamsulosin should help a lot, it probably needs more time to work. I am also on Finastetide. I have been on them for a year after being in hospital. I had to have a catheter for 8 weeks until the meds worked.

[Eternity6 in reply to Grayjay]

He’s only been on the tamsulosin 7 days, so praying it will make a difference when on much longer, thank you

[Hidden in reply to Grayjay]

I took tamsulosin for a good while. It wasn't enough. I was often on the edge of retention. I finally got TURP surgery and was a happy camper afterwards. No more worries of where the next restroom was.

[Eternity6 in reply to Hidden]

Maybe my husband needs the TURPS op, will see what the urologist advices,

[theamos]

My prostate stated growing when I was still in my 40' for many years I was on flomax and it worked sorta. After a while I found no relief and my doctor tried other prescriptions but for one reason or another they did not work for me. Finally my prostate closed off and I had to go to the hospital and they catheterized me. I was sent home with the catheter in and consulted my doctor. 2 weeks later I has surgery called superpubic prostate something. I had a catheter in for a week and once it was removed everything was normal. I wish I would have done that many years before. I can now make it through a movie or a play without having to rush to the bathroom

[Eternity6 in reply to theamos]

That’s great it’s worked for you, my husband has just been on tamusolin for think it’s 8 days now, so he’s just really starting out with it

[Hidden in reply to theamos]

I wonder if what you had was Trans-Urethral-Resection(of the)Prostate or TURP surgery. Also known as roto-rooter surgery. It requires a surpra-pubic-catheter -- a catheter into the bladder above the pubic bone, bypassing the urethra altogether.

mayoclinic.org/tests-proced...

[theamos in reply to Hidden]

no turp goes in a different way than mine. Mine went in through just below the navel. It is hard to find anything on this on the net. I found very few articles about it

[Hidden in reply to theamos]

My bad, you are right. I was thinking of my HIFU surgery, which required a supra-pubic catheter.

[spencoid2]

If there is no cancer a TURP should do the job unless there is a contracture at the bladder neck. When he self caths does he feel a restriction any place other than the external sphincter *where the urethra takes a bend right before the prostate) I agree that twice a day is not enough.Before my whole cancer routine started I had good success with a Urolift a simple procedure that inserts rivet sort of things to open up the catheter.

Is there any blood when he caths?

[Eternity6 in reply to spencoid2]

No he doesn’t feel any restriction at first he was told to cough to allow it to become easier but now no coughing and he finds it easy to do, yes there is blood, he phoned hospital to order more caths and explained how many mils he was draining and she said, right you must now drain three times a day

[spencoid2]

it doesn't take much of a blood clot to stop urine flow. this is best done by a competent doctor but maybe flushing would clear it up unless there is continued bleeding and more clots. i have been having intermittent retention over years, no rhyme or reason. i bought some large three way catheters with the intention of flushing if needed but so far have not needed to do so . i think you need a good urologist.

[SteveTheJ]

Having a too-full bladder can damage the bladder. If Flomax doesn't work, ask for something else. Ask the physician to do an ultrasound on the bladder if they're not already.

[Hidden]

I don’t know where this is heading. I can tell you that since April 2003, I have been on two Flomax twice a day. I will also share was an experienced Urology RN and confirmed by my RN mother..... take multiple Sitz Baths a day, relax and pee away. The urine in the water will not hurt you. As she said it’s a damn site better that a 2 am trip to the ER to get catheterized. The second thing she said was to don’t make the mistake of thinking that if I don’t take water, I won’t have to pee.... mistake, water is needed to make the waterworks function . BTW, Flomax works by relaxing the smooth muscles of your body..... I have never needed to self-catheterize, however, I have had to have 6-7 Sitz Baths a day/night. Still today, if I don’t take the Flomax, I have difficulty in urinating..... best of luck,

Gourd Dancer .

[Eternity6 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[FRTHBST]

I have had to self catheterize for awhile now. Tamulosin helped a little. I can pass urine during the day and some days urgency is high-every 1.5-2 hours, others I can go 3-4. Usually About 1-150ml is the amount that naturally flows. I am retaining some-hence the frequency. In the morning I self cath and often pass about 250ml, then do the same before bed finding about the same amount released. My urologist says that this level of retention will not damage kidneys or bladder. I had a prostate embolization last month, and am awaiting results (and relief), apparently in some cases this can take a couple of months.

[Eternity6 in reply to FRTHBST]

My husband is now passing through cath 2 litres a day, feeling very nauseous and is still passing urine every hour now normally, been told yesterday to self cath 3 times a day from today, as retaining a lot, I must admit we are concerned about this amount on his kidneys

[WillowHawk]

Hang in there, Eternity, and keep taking care of yourself too (I see you have been on other forums here for yourself). You are in the right place! These wonderful guys have a wealth of knowledge and personal experience.

It seems to me perhaps the sitz bath recommendation above from gourd_dancer might be an easy way, no risk, to handle this waiting stess if you two haven't tried it yet. I see the ultra sound recommendation too, if you get too worried maybe you can push for that? if any other opinions are in disagreement, I am sure you'll get a response here. I know nothing, just supporting my brother and others. Big hug across the pond to you both! Take time to do what helps you stay calm and strong. Cup of tea? :)❤️

[Eternity6 in reply to WillowHawk]

Thank you for your kind words