Dear Simon Foundation,
I'm an old member of HU as a CLL type Leukaemia patient in the UK, but only just discovered your Simon foundation.
Now I've always had poor bladder control and that could be due to bladder sensitivity, BPH, or damaged nerves in my lower back or all three, or more.
I've gone through the drugs in order: Tolterodine Tartrate (dryness issues), Tamsulosin (soreness), Mirabegron (great, but your "full" indicator stops working), and currently Finasteride 5mg for suspect (but unproven) BPH.
My digestive system is not in the greatest shape due to the antibiotics I've taken over the years for chemo and other issues, so invasive diagnostic tests are ruled out, and I'm trying to figure it out by trial and error with the different drugs.
Now being a Leukaemia patient I'm immune compromised, BUT very luckily only mildly so in my case. So I take care in public spaces with hand squirt etc.
Due to that, amazingly I've only just had my first COVID infection, with positive LFT tests for about 12 days. My first clear test was about 6 days ago.
Now my two questions please:
1. My bladder control for the last few days has gone from bad to completely awful. Could this be the COVID 19 lingering ? I still don't feel well.
2. The key question: Is it worth me trying restarting Mirabegron ? (and perhaps drop the Finasteride down to 1mg) ? I've been on the full 5mg Finasteride dose for about 5 months now since the middle of June.
Just at the moment I'm trying to get a private GP. I have a new job starting 4th Dec after 5 years of unemployment. That job will be tricky with the problem above. I'll do my best to work round it.
Thank you for reading, and best wishes to all,
Ernest