Holding a full bladder for RT

So, I went for the imaging a couple of weeks ago and of course, I had a full bladder. After they took the pictures of my guts the three techs were talking behind the wall and I was feeling like my back teeth were floating and really couldn't hold it any longer. I finally spoke up and they released me to go across the hall to use the bathroom. I managed to make it to the toilet, but not by much.

Walking with a full bladder didn't used to be that bad 'cause I had an extra sphincter to rely on, but that's a done deal since RP. So, I'm wondering what you guys who had RT did. I'm actually thinking of getting one of those plastic "pee bottles" they use in hospitals just in case I can't see myself making it across the hall. Anyone else done that?

Any words of wisdom? Leaving a stream of pee as I hobble to the bathroom has me a little twitchy. I go back for "verification" on 12/11 and start RT on the 12th.

Thanks,
Ted

RP 2006 - RT 2010

I had it down pretty good. Had a 9:30 AM appointment every day for RT. I drank the water at about 9:02 before

i left. Got to the center at 9:20. They would call me in at 9:25. Would be on the table by 9:30 and usually

finished around 9:50. Then off to the bathroom. Worked well except for one day when they had some kind of

electrical problem. The machine kept stopping and they would need to restart. The last segment took

about 20 extra minutes to finish. I was in real trouble. I knew i could not move and didn't think it would go over

well if i asked to go to the bathroom and come right back. No idea how i made it but i did. Looking back at it now

seems funny but it sure was not that day.

I kept experimenting with the water drinking time and amount. I got pretty good at it. You want to be "comfortably full" but not necessarily ready to blow a gasket. But, more than once, I hustled to the bathroom with shoes in hand. One time the machine broke down in the middle of my treatment. They tried and tried to restart. Finally, I had to move to the other machine. The delay was heading toward 45 minutes. I told them I could not hold it anymore. They said, go, but only let a small amount out, and then stop. Wow! That was tough -- acid test for my kegel exercises. I succeeded. But, what a miserable day. I am so glad to be past the water drinking routine. Good luck. I think you will do fine. It is not the worst thing in the world if you leak once in a while on the way to the bathroom. You can always practice ahead of your first session to start getting a handle on the amount and timing.

Just before I leave work to head off to the cancer center I pee and then drink 12 oz of water. As I drive I slurp on a 20 oz bottle of Gatorade trying to time is so I arrive with about 1 inch left in the bottle. Then if there is only one person ahead of me in the waiting area I sit down and wait. If there are two or more people ahead of me I go to the head and pee then sit down. It works pretty well. If there is a delay (as there often is) I can readjust because I have enough fluids to keep my kidneys busy and I can replace what I pee away.

The problem with this arrangement is that in my 20 mile drive home after my treatment I need to stop to pee three times.

Ted,
I used to get to my sessions early so that I could drink my water and sit quietly in the waiting area and not over stress my bladder by hurrying to the hospital to get there just in time.
I also travelled by train so as not to have to drive along some of the busiest motorways in Holland where queues and delays are very common.
I always had to pee immediately my sessions were finished, which I took as a sign that my bladder been full, and almost exactly the same amount of pee came out each time, suggesteing the bladder had been the same size each day as well. The doc said keeping the size and position of everything inside me was the key, so I think that worked okay.
Once I got offered a slot early as another patient had been delayed, but I said that I'd prefer to wait till I was full, after that the nurses remembered me and always checked if I was okay even if they came to get me only 5 minutes ahead of time.
Once when there was a major delay they came to find me and told me to have a pee and drink another bottle of water and then re-timed me on that basis so I did not have to sit in the waiting room bursting.
Towards the end it was getting difficult to hold the pee in me and they said it would not be a problem if I peed on the floor before I could get to the bathroom across the passageway as they often had to clear up far worse things. As for wearing a pad that was not possible as I had my SRT sessions naked from the chest down.
But for me the only really important thing was that my PSA was right down at the next test, so I hope yout SRT works a treat too.

Alf

It's all about the timing. I would drink an 12 oz. glass of water before I left home, and then sip a 12oz. bottle on the way over on the 15 min. drive. When I walked in the door of the clinic, I would go directly to get my gown, straight to the changing room, slam the rest of the water, about 4 oz.. then sit outside the door of the radiation room for about 5 minutes. When the previous patient walked out, I'd say, "Good afternoon, ladies." Hop on the table, let them do their positioning, and away we'd go. Finish the session, hop off the table, get dressed, chat for a few minutes, out the door to the nearest restroom, drive home, pee again. Had it down pat and it worked for me. Hope all goes well for you.
Bob

As many have indicated, you get into a comfortable routine...most of the time. The challenges come when there are unexpected delays and especially on that one day each week where they shot extra pictures.

I would time things to be almost full at my scheduled time. We had a bathroom in the waiting area and I would pee a few spoonfuls if I had to wait and was over full. Tried to keep it so I would come close to refilling while they were setting me up on the table and doing daily X-rays.

Had one day where things went a little long and I was absolutely dying during the second revolution of the machine. I tried to distract myself, counted the 45 second revolution time, sang some songs, recited the Gettysburg Address, and whatever else I could do to hold my water until I could get off the table and bee line to the loo.

Well, I made it to the end of the radiation but that was about it and the dam broke. Peed right there on the table and didn't really care. There was a blanket under me and a gown but it was a soaker. The tech came in to lower the table and I explained my dilemma. He got some extra towels and mopped me up. As I was leaving he explained how salts in the urine could really mess up the machine...particularly if the beam head was directly under me. Oh, well...

I did find early on that a warm blanket over my legs and feet was a huge help against the chills and we made sure to have one daily after that episode.

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