Side Effects of Brachytherapy

Could someone share your experience after brachytherapy please. I just completed and I am having problems with urination; having to go but not voiding alot. Also some constipation. Any suggestions, sharing would be appreciated.

Hi Bandit; I'd be happy to share my experiences with you. You can reach me via e-mail by clicking on the envelope that is in the left corner of my post, under my handle "A Yooper."

Frequency, urgency and feeling of not completely voiding as well as constipation are all common short term SEs. For palladium they could last 4 to 6 weeks and for Iodine 125 about 8 to 12 weeks.
Take Metamucil for constipation, FlowMax for urinary issues and if you have any pain or it feels swollen, high dose Ibuprofen, 800 mg, not to exceed 8 days. You should feel much better at the 2 week mark and most symptoms will be gone in 4 to 8 weeks.

Had palladium seeds put in last March: still take Rapaflo to help flow, no constipation, a slight feel of being burned inside on occasion (take Ibuprofen for it), sexual side effects are less fluid and a few painful orgasms (they've subsided). I've always slept through the night without issue.

Hi Bandit and welcome to HW. Yeah, your experience sounds pretty routine. Your doc certainly should have started you on Flomax or similar but perhaps the dosage needs to be regulated. You will probably want to take it for at least 2-3 months until the swelling subsides and things are more back to normal. Call your urologist and/or RO if this continues.

Jim

Thanks everyone for your information. It does help to know this is pretty standard. I am on Flowmax so I guess it's just getting through. It's only 2 weeks so hopefully will start to improve. Good luck to everyone.