Bladder Pain 65y/o male

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ccws1950
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 10:34 am

by ccws1950 on Wed Aug 12, 2015 11:12 am

Bladder Pain 65y/o male

I was diagnosed with BPH and had a TURP procedure in Feb 2014.

One of my chronic symptoms still remains even after the operation. This is a dull lower abdomen( bladder pain), for 20/25 minutes, after voiding during the night

This is worse at night after I get up to pass water. I cannot get back to sleep because of it. Then later as I am awakening the pain seems to get worse. I then have to get up and the pain starts to subside.

My doctor prescribed solifenacin 5mg which seemed to help for a while. My doctor told me if I go back to the Urologist I will "end up with a bag".
The dose is now 10mg and I take 2 paracetamol before going to bed. This reduces the pain to just being uncomfortable but I keep waking up so quality of sleep in not improved.
This pain/poor sleep/quality is very wearing and makes me irritable. What should I do?

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Sarah Buchan
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:32 am

by Sarah Buchan on Thu Aug 13, 2015 2:26 pm

Re: Bladder Pain 65y/o male

Hello,

thank you for your post, I am sorry to hear you have been suffering from these symptoms for such a long time.

There are a number of recognised therapies for the improvement of BPH symptoms (particularly night time urination / wakening) which I have detailed below:

1) Lifestyle changes
- avoid drinking 1-2 hours before bed to avoid bladder filling during the night
- try taking your prescribed solifenacin later in the day e.g. around 7pm, to avoid night time urination / wakening
- limit or even stop caffeine and alcohol intake altogether
- partake in regular exercise, even 30-60 minutes walking every day has been shown to improve symptoms of BPH

2) Bladder training
- this is an exercise programme which aims to increase the amount of time between urination episodes and increase the amount of urine your bladder can hold.
-this training should only be carried out under medical supervision.

3) Drug treatments
- finasteride, which your GP has prescribed, is one treatment option, which blocks the effects of the DHT hormone, in turn reducing the size of the prostate and subsequent symptoms.
- alpha blockers, such as tamsulosin, help to relax muscles in your bladder making it easier to pass urine. They may also be used in combination with finasteride.

If you are not emptying your bladder properly, there is a risk that bacteria present in the urinary system will not be flushed out. This may cause a urinary tract infection (UTI) (one of the symptoms of which is pain in the lower abdomen). Repeated UTI's may cause damage to the bladder and kidneys so it is important that they are treated quickly and the cause of infection is prevented from recurring.

In your situation, I would advise discussing your ongoing symptoms and treatment options with your GP or Urologist.
I would ask that if not already done, they test your urine for a UTI - which can be easily treated with a course of antibiotics.
It may also be useful to consider the other treatment options detailed above, including the lifestyle changes, to improve your symptoms - a "bag" is certainly not the only option.

I wish you all the best, please do get in touch again if you have any further questions.

Kindest regards,

Sarah
Sarah Buchan
Clinical Pharmacist, Rowlands Pharmacy
http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... buchan.php

ccws1950
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 10:34 am

by ccws1950 on Thu Aug 13, 2015 8:11 pm

Re: Bladder Pain 65y/o male

Hi Sarah,
Many thanks for advice.
There are obviously things I can do to try improve the situation which give me a bit of hope for the future.
My Best regards
Chris :)

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