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Posted 4/26/2013 8:32 PM (GMT 0)
I was told not to drink alcohol or caffeinated beverages after surgery because it would irritate the urinary tract.  I'm about five weeks post surgery now and wondering when it would be okay to resume drinking those beverages, in moderation, of course. I'm a newbie hee.  Anyone have any guidance/experience with this issue.  Thx.    

 

Posted 4/26/2013 8:37 PM (GMT 0)
I don't drink very often but I was having a beer now and hten and coffee daily at 5 weeks as I recall.

Who is your bladder control?

Mine was excellent so it wasn't an issue. If you're still suffering of incontinence by any chance it might be a different story.

What did your urologist say?
Posted 4/26/2013 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
Bladder control is pretty good. I'm still using pads but have never had to use more than one per 243 hr period. Just an occasional minor leakage. My uro or his nurse (can't remember) is the one who said not to drink alcohol or beveages with caffeine but I can't remember if I was told how long that should be in effect. I can call the surgeon's nurse hotline Monday but just wondered if anyone here had any advice.
Posted 4/26/2013 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
Of course, that would be 24 hrs, not 243.
Posted 4/26/2013 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
Aljct:

Everyone's body reacts differently, as soon as I was released from the hospital I had my first cup of coffee. 20 months post op still 100% continent, I was forced to give up erections but not my Java>>>

Posted 4/26/2013 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
aljct – Welcome to HW!

With regards to caffeine / alcohol, it's all about controlling leakage. Slowly reintroduce these beverages, and as long as you don't have increased leakage problems, go ahead. If things get worse - cut back or stop. As time moves on and bladder control gets better, your tolerance for these beverages will improve.

-- Tigerfan
Posted 4/26/2013 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
aljct,

It's a bit of a trade-off and where the balance point lies is sort of up to you. Beverages that irritate your bladder generally won't injure you but they may make you less comfortable and make your leaking worse. On the other hand if you are a wreck without an occasional cup of coffee (as I am) then you might decide to put up with a bit more leaking if it lets you feed the monkey on your back. Alcohol (in moderation, of course) is the same proposition.

One further thing to bear in mind with alcohol: the medical definition of what constitutes an alcoholic is "a man who drinks noticeably more than his doctor". Relative moderation is the key.
Posted 4/26/2013 9:25 PM (GMT 0)
Great advice eveyone. I'll gradually introduce some caffeine and an occasional beer or wine into my system and see what happens re leakage, etc. Thanks!
Posted 4/26/2013 11:46 PM (GMT 0)
I never have been able to re-introduce anything carbonated (water, beer, cokes) late in the day without having an overnight flood.

Coffee has not been a bit issue, but orange juice is completely out.

Posted 4/27/2013 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
I had coffee the morning after my surgery, and beer 2 days later.

It hasn't bothered me in any way, in fact, I think I can now hold more beer or wine before going the bathroom to pee it out. smilewinkgrin

All I can say is go for it, you will know soon enough if it affects your urinary tract.
Posted 4/28/2013 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
3 weeks after surgery I had one can of Coke Zero (which has caffeine and carbonation). And a few days later I had a second can. In both cases, I didn't have any "issues" (i.e. I didn't have much leakage before I drank it, and didn't have more afterwards).

I was a bit more careful to urinate fairly soon after I felt the urge, just to be safe.

-Gedman
Posted 4/28/2013 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
I pretty much steamrollered this one when it was sprung on me.

I had tried giving up coffee at some point within a few years (ahead) of surgery. Avoided all other forms of caffeine, went through withdrawal headaches, etc. etc. Went about 3 months to be sure I was not merely still suffering withdrawal. Never did see any upside, so eventually I got tired of spending the entire day, all day, every day with my brain in idle and brewed a pot of coffee. If I hadn't been through that experience in recent memory , I might have tried it after surgery. As it was, I wasn't going to repeat it.

Besides which, I take HCTZ, so I'm going to pee a lot anyway.

The whole business (bladder irritant, my eye - caffeine and alcohol are diuretics, not irritants - they simply make you make more pee, and it has to leave - so you hit the john more often) seems to be based on the idea that less pee means more control - not really true, I think, and not an option for me in any case, given HCTZ (also a diuretic) and maintaining hydration. In any case, I flatly refused to give up coffee.

I'm a moderate and occasional drinker of alcohol, and I still do that too, though I did lay off for a month (which I sometimes do without trying, as I am "occasional" between 1/day and 1 in more than a month, so it was no hardship.)

If you'd like to think my remaining slight leakage issues (I still wear a pad 18 months out, get several days out of one and change more for sanitation than soakage) would magically vanish if I knocked off the coffee and booze, feel free to think that, but I'll feel free to disagree. The occasional day where I don't have my coffee is no different on the leakage front, and I'm not willing to give it a week or a month for the sake of experiment...

YMMV...
Posted 4/30/2013 5:41 PM (GMT 0)
its not going to hurt anything. they tell you not to drink coffee/alcohol because it
1) irritates the bladder, which is already pretty irritated
2) the are diuretics, and you end up going a lot more than normal

Personally I do not know how to live w/o coffee in the morning!
Posted 4/30/2013 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
The hospital served me coffee the morning after surgery and I drank wine the day my catheter came out. The only liquids I have a problem with are any with carbonation, no leakage, just increased frequency.
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