Blood in urine after I resumed running

[gamma909]

Had RP about 8 weeks ago and MD OK'd my return to running about 1 week ago. I resumed moderate running (I had already been walking 3-5 miles daily) and started to notice blood in urine after running (pinkish) along with a bit of stinging. It got a bit worse so I checked in with MD who ordered urinalysis which was negative for infection but confirmed blood in urine. I've been instructed to hydrate more and perhaps cut back on running. I can try that approach but still leaves me wondering what's going on - are the bladder or urethra injured, etc.? Appreciate any perspectives from others who may have experienced or read about this.

[Tall_Allen]

You may have pulled some stitches. High impact exercise (running) should be off the table for at least 6 weeks. You've got to let it heal without jostling things around.

[gamma909 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks. I did wait 7 weeks and the urologist cleared me for running but I guess something still is not quite healed.

[MelbourneDavid]

Since they have to cut the urethra and reattach it directly to the bladder neck, it takes a while to heal fully. 6 weeks is the standard estimate for the healing time, but everyone is a little different. On the other hand a little blood makes a lot of pink urine, just as a dirty cloth can make a whole bucket of water dirty, so it's not a big deal.

Keeping well hydrated so the urine is dilute, not strong (gentle on the wound), is standard good advice to help this healing.

I had other issues including urinary infection and a follow up treatment for a stricture at 4 weeks, but everything urinary is excellent now.

[gamma909 in reply to MelbourneDavid]

Appreciate the feedback and moral support. Be well.

[lillyofthevalley37]

Running after just 8 weeks recovering from RP - is it so surprising you have come up against this ?

I certainly commend you for being so active but maybe you haven't healed properly yet

May I suggest you look into taurine which is an amino acid that helps with internal healing

[gamma909 in reply to lillyofthevalley37]

Thanks for the reply. On the one hand, the urologist said it was OK to resume running and on the other hand, perhaps not a big surprise. What would've helped is for urologist (who is a runner BTW) to mention that I should watch for things like BIU and if I encounter it, what to do. Not blaming the urologist, but I was very specific when I met with him on this topic. So at this point, I stopped running but very unclear on when/how to resume - e.g., if I need another month to heal, then doing a trial run after a few days off is useless.

[rocket09]

I am like you in that I love to keep active and in shape. After 6 weeks they said I could go back to normal activities slowly. I had been walking 3 plus miles per day already so I started to carry more and did some light snow shoveling. I then had something go wrong in my operative area and it became swollen and I became very sick with infection. It was an abscess or hematoma with fluid that they wanted to drain. It has been since Sept. 21 since the op and I am still healing. Hope to be cross country skiing soon! I learned the hard way it is better to take the time just to heal up. RP is a much more serious operation than they bill it as. Slow down and take the time to heal. Also we are not as young anymore so don't heal as fast. Good luck !

[gamma909 in reply to rocket09]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope you recover soon from your complications. Appreciate the advice - at this point, I just wish I knew what the underlying cause so that I'd know how to proceed; it's really just trial and error at this point. Be well.