Does pee urgency get worse after radiation?

[Derf4223]

I had IMRT 60 Gy circa August 2022. Since then sometimes it is very hard to hold a pee back. I'm concerned it might be getting worse.

This is probably going to get a lot of responses -- please bring them on!

[Tall_Allen]

Yes. It's called "late-term" urinary issues. I got it 1 year after SBRT and it lasted for a couple of months. I found an alpha blocker called Rapaflo worked very well for me. There are about a dozen alpha blockers - find one that works for you. My urologist had samples, so I tried a few.

[NotDFL]

As Tall Allen already indicated, your issue may well improve with time. For me it did (after IMRT and SBRT).

[Radars in reply to NotDFL]

I finished my rt/ht in 2016 for locally advanced prostate cancer, I still get up 4×nightly for a pee even though I stop drinking liquids at 6pm,

[Peealot]

I had radiation treatment for Gleason 9 in 2013. Ten years later I still experience urinary urgency. For the last few months I’ve been doing daily kegels and that helps some to reduce the urgency.

[Condor77]

A month after my radiation ended I was getting up 20 times a night to urinate. 8 months later I am down to twice a night. I do not drink any alcohol, coffee, or carbonated beverages at all. I do not drink any fluids for 3-4 hours before bedtime. One thing I have run into is partial voiding at night. I will wake up to urinate at 3:00 AM, then have to get back up in 10 minutes. What I do is wait for 2-3 minutes after 1st urination and usually I can totally drain the bladder and sleep the rest of the night. This seems to get better as time progresses.

[BanjoPicker]

My urgency issues resolved to an acceptable level shortly after IMRT ended. However, radiation did nothing to correct my large median lobe that restricts urine flow. I am now, 13 months after radiation, scheduled for a TURP. Your urologist has options for your issue.

[Huzzah1]

I had 44 IMRT - ended 1 year ago. I too had some issues holding it. I'm glad to say that that has resolved itself!

[BadNews4me]

Complete EBRT Jan 2020. Voiding issues medicated with Tamsulosin and Myrbetriq with questionable results. Started Proscar Jan 2023 to reduce prostate size and recently have sleep for up to six hours without getting up.

Not certain if so many meds are good or bad and new urologist (recently moved) says very little which seems to be normal with patient information from doctors.

[Shorter]

I think my sense of urgency got worse about a year and a half post IMRT and still remains worse 3 years post IMRT. I also have trouble with incomplete voiding and often start to dribble a couple minutes after I feel like I had no more to go. I have learned to just wait a few minutes, so I don't wet my pants. I usually get up 2 or 3 times a night but have to wear Depends because I occasionally do not wake up soon enough.

[Hidden]

I urinate around 3 AM, unfortunately, I dont wake up until 3:15.!!!

OK, seriously, it's been 4 months, I get up at least 1 time, sometimes 2, 2nd being near dawn, so does it count? maybe.

After radiation, I was getting up nearly every hour.

Radiology Nurse told me to try Azo. Works well for people getting bladder radiation. But Azo has Soy Germ Extract, not good for PCa. Its main ingredient is Pumpkin seed extract. So I bought just plain old Pumpkin seed extract. Seems to help.

[tsim in reply to Hidden]

Azo is only for the burning of a temporary inflammation (like urinary tract infections), not really going to help much with stop and start issues.

[Hidden in reply to tsim]

From their website:

azoproducts.com/products/az...

AZO® Bladder Control, formulated with pumpkin seed extract and soy germ extract, supports bladder health, helping to reduce leakage and urgency. You’ll go less—and worry less—both day and night.*

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

[tsim in reply to Hidden]

Of course, they can say anything. Haven't you noticed Pfizer and Moderna? I had 6-7 years of experience with this. A mother with Alzheimers and chronic bladder infections

[Hidden in reply to tsim]

If you go to Azo website, they also make a product for bladder infections too.

So we are talking about two different products.

[tsim in reply to Hidden]

Ok, that's new

[Qiviut]

Lots of good advice and comments here. 2 years after BT and IMRT I have good days and bad days. Normal to get up 3 times a night but luckily I fall asleep quickly. During daytime mornings are worse. Again, good days and bad. I sense it is slowly improving but I am reconciled with the new lifestyle. BTW I also have radiation proctitis in the lower colon area. Unfortunately, a gel spacer implant was not offered as part of my treatment. Sudden liquid farts are unpleasant but this happens only occasionally.

[Clouds_69]

Has anyone tried pelvic floor physical therapy? That sounded like kegels to me, but apparently there's more to it than that. I've got an appointment for it in a couple of months.

[Hidden in reply to Clouds_69]

Its Kegels!! Do it at home watching the game.

[bldn10]

I had no issues for 2 years and then started having to get up at night and also stress incontinence. Levels helped for awhile but I do have lingering stress incontinence. Really bad when I have a cold with cough.

[SCreader]

A little late to the thread as usual, and a bit off-topic, but is anyone like me that has to get up once or twice a night but not because of anything PCa or treatment related? In my case, I don't drink much, if anything after 6 pm, but I produce a good amount of urine throughout the night. I'd say an average of 24 oz. I've read that as you get older, you lose a hormone that results in concentrated urine overnight resulting in less urine. I read a different article that stated if you drink a good amount of water during the day, it can take 12+ hours for it to clear your system. So a pint at 2pm would be coming out ~2am (without enough of this hormone). When my RO nurse asks how many times I get up in the night I explain "...but it's not because I don't empty my bladder fully"!