Welcome new member Logans Nana -- husband has urinary retention problem two weeks after brachy.

Hi Logans Nana,

I'm sorry to welcome to the board -- wish you didn't have to come here. Two weeks after brachy is about when the worst of the acute symptoms begin -- the good news is that they will go away over time. In the meanwhile, it'll be hard for both of you to get a good night's sleep.

If your husband seems to be peeing out a lot less liquid than he is taking in, and especially if he can't pee at all, he should get over to Emergency immediately for catheterization. A burst bladder can be life threatening.

I found that one Rapaflo worked a lot better than two Flomax. There are other such drugs in this class called "alpha-blockers," and different men will respond better to different ones. His urologist probably has free samples of some of them so he can try different ones out to see which works best. He can also discuss with his urologist other medications that reduce bladder spasms (e.g., Vesicare), that relieve pain and burning (e.g., Pyridium), and others that coat and soothe the mucosal lining of the bladder and urethra (e.g., Elmiron).

Cialis is also known to help with such lower urinary tract symptoms, and if prescribed for that, insurance should pay for it. It also has been found to help prevent ED caused by radiation. I found two Aleve a day helped reduce the inflammation.

I'm sure he knows to avoid caffeine, keep his fluid intake low and avoid acids like cranberry juice that would stimulate his kidneys -- that's the last thing he wants to do right now.

I hope you both get a good night's sleep.

LDR brachy for me, symptoms worse after 4 weeks, but still manageable.

However, I was on a steroidal anti inflammatory for the first week, followed by 400 mg of ibuprofin 3 times a day and Terazosin twice a day. I 'd be in trouble w/o these meds right now

Medication to reduce the swelling is essential

Hello all you wonderful people. This is actually "Logan's Nana" here. I changed my name on my profile last night to something that seemed more suited to me. Oh my gosh, this is so empowering. I apologize but I am still getting the hang of using a forum and just figured out today that this thread has been here all this time with so much wonderful support and valuable information. I got on a different thread last night not realizing this one has been here all along. I'm afraid I am just now getting used to our "new normal" in terms of life events. My husband has had a rocky ride since my first post having had a catheter since June 20th. The urologist has made several attempts at "fill and pulls" (did have to go to get the catheter) that have all failed miserably resulting in trips to the ER, each reinsertion becoming more and more difficult. The last trip to the ER the nurse's attempts at inserting the catheter resulted in a lot of blood loss not to mention the pain for which he was given a Vicodin after the worst of it. They called in a urologist but by the time he got there and got the job done using his "special tools", they relieved hubby of a liter of urine.

We were not getting what we needed from his urologist all this time. Part of it was geographical because he is clear across town. I won't go into all the other factors here but suffice it to say we we've been spinning our wheels and Chuck has not been getting the care he needs. We did some research, talked to his R O's assistant (RO was on Vacation), have had his records sent to a urologist who specializes in urethral strictures. I will say that urologist #1 mentioned at one point (as he was rushing out of the room) that he might be a candidate for a supra pubic catheter. As it stands we are fearful that there is a secondary problem now with all the pushing, pulling, overfilling of the bladder and oh, I didn't mention the UTI that went undetected because of busy doctor who was more focused on telling my husband all the reasons why he shouldn't be taking anything other than Tylenol for pain. I can practically count the number of times my husband has asked for a so much as a Tylenol in the 35 years I've known him and now he was being treated like a drug seeker. Enough venting...I said I wasn't going to do that. We are doing our best to stay in the solution and appreciate all the advice and positive thoughts coming our way in regard to getting another opinion.

After watching what my husband has been going through and how brave he has been and reading how well the rest of you men cope I swear I will NEVER do the eye roll and equate anything a man has go wrong with his plumbing as if it could never be as bad as what we women go through. I would take natural child birth over this any day! My prayers are with you all.
Nan P

David (Purg),

I started this thread two months ago. Don't remember who was first you or me. Not sure it matters.

Nan P,

We all vent here from time to time. Feel free to let fly.

Sorry your husband is having to go through all this. This stuff can almost always be fixed with enough patience and the right doctors. Sometimes that combination can be tricky -- it is counterproductive to be too patient if your doctor isn't getting the job done for you.