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Join our national team of volunteers dedicated to raising awareness of bladder cancer and supporting bladder cancer research!
Each year, we host Canada Walks for Bladder Cancer events across the country, made possible by our committed volunteers.
Want to learn more? Listen as staff members/Walk Co-Leads, Shasa and Theresa, share details about the event and the incredible work volunteers do.
Email us today to get involved – volunteers@bladdercancercanada.org
I have been dealing with surface bladder cancer for about 7 years now and it is still largely under control. I have had 3 TURBTs in that period of time as well as numerous BCG treatments. My last three cystoscopies haven’t shown any tumours so I’m pleased that the cancer seems to be at bay.
My only concern is having to pee SO many times at night. It’s been over two weeks since my last BCG treatment and I still pee 6 or 7 times a night over an 8 hour period. In the six months prior to my last BCG treatments, I had gotten it down to peeing 4 or 5 times a night but I get no deep sleep ever, and everything I read about lack of deep sleep is not good.
Every time I get a BCG treatment I ask the nurse about this problem and they all say the same thing- its a problem. Is there any solution, I ask. No one knows one.
For the first week after I finish my BCG treatments, when I am up literally ever hour, I also get tingling in my arms and hands. I’ve looked online at respected websites and they all say it usually means a bladder infection of some kind. Well, it’s not a bladder infection. I have also seen more than one website tell me the tingling could be a sign of nerve damage. I think that’s possible.
Anyways, does anyone out there have any answers? Please share them with me. Oh, and by the way, I’m a 78 year old male.
Hello David_Sheard,
I did a search in our online Forum and found information from one of our trusted moderators. Here is what she suggested to another patient, based on her own and personal experience.
“For frequent peeing – ask about meds for an overactive bladder. My uro prescribed the guy’s prostate med Flomax for me. It took a couple of weeks but it slowed down the frequent night time trips. I was only allowed to be on it for a short time being female. An overactive bladder and inflammation seem to go hand in hand. I found as my bladder healed from the inflammation the bathroom trips lessened even more.”
MarySue goes on to explain that up until that point it was frequent enough to disrupt her sleep.
I like you got diagnosed 15 yrs ago with with low-grade Non-muscle invasive and thankfully never had a drop of BCG. Consider asking your medical team if BCG is necessary, especially since you’ve clear for a while.
Lastly, I’m going to wait until the end of next week, before moving your original post and my response (including any other responses) under a different section heading, since this one is targeted towards people interested in doing the fund-raising walk.
Let me know how you make out.
My Best,
Hi David_Sheard:
You sound like you have an over active bladder. As you have discovered it may be a side effect of BCG treatments. The BCG inflames the bladder and urethra and makes it very sensitive to the urine collecting in the bladder. Unfortunately when our bladders are inflamed they don’t have the ability to fill to normal capacity hence the constant feeling of needing to go. I discovered on this last go round with BCG (2022-23) the inflammation prevented me from emptying properly because I couldn’t contract my bladder muscles the way I normally do.
As Nightingale mentioned, I dealt with it especially on my last round of TURBT surgery and BCG treatments in 2022-23. As he mentioned my doctor did prescribe Flomax for me for short term use. It did help but took about 2 weeks before I noticed any difference. I strongly recommend that you call your urologist and ask for help. Don’t downplay it. Having to get up several times a night is detrimental to your health. Ask if he would prescribe something to help calm your bladder down. I would also mention the nerve tingling. It may or may not be related.
I also found a hot water bottle or heating pad placed on my abdomen helpful. My bladder hates catheters and now BCG thanks to the last difficult go round but I found gentle heat did help some.
Your bladder will start to behave better once the BCG treatments are finished but it may take some time for the inflammation to subside. It may sound counter intuitive but continue to drink lots of water in the day time to keep your urine diluted and that will help your bladder heal faster. Obviously taper off the water consumption in the evening. Also, if you have not already done so, avoid caffeine for a while. Nightingale has mentioned in the past that some folks found green tea helpful. I was not one of those. I had to avoid caffeine entirely which meant no coffee, tea, cola or even chocolate. I stuck to drinking water, and herbal teas like peppermint and chamomile. I hope my suggestions help. ((((HUGS))))
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