Radiation Cystitis

John was told very clearly before he started that he must not drink any caffeine, alcohol or fizzy drinks for the entire time he was having the RT. The RT team also advised lots of cranberry juice (pure, not ‘from concentrate’ stuff) so if you didn’t get that advice beforehand at least you have it now. Fingers crossed your cystitis is better very quickly.

I sympathize with you Phil but hang in there - I recently finished 4 weeks radiotherapy and I too got cystitis 1 week into treatment - yes it is painful but I found the worst part was the fear that my wee was going to completely stop - particularly at night when the flow became a series of drops. Because of the urgency you get to pee I kept thinking that I was going to have to rush to hospital with my urine passage completely closed and my bladder bursting ! Although I worried about this, thankfully my flow never completely stopped.
Added to that the constant getting up in the night was really tiring.
Also that thing of having a full bladder for your treatment becomes a real test because once you get that urge to go while you are waiting it is sooo difficult to hold it in. A number of times I had to literally jump off the table as the machine finished and run to the loo !
All I can say to help you is that I made it through my 4 weeks OK by taking ibuprophen, drinking lots of water, peeing through the pain and putting up with 6-7 visits a night to the loo. At the end of my radiotherapy they gave me Tamsulosin capsules to take for the cystitis which was a godsend. Its not used for anyone who suffers with blood pressure problems but I found it amazing in relieving the symptoms - I took it for a week and by then my cystitis had more or less gone so I didnt need it anymore.

The term radiation cystitis seems to cover anything from a slight stinging to total dysfunction of the bladder. I had some issues during the treatment and the urgency got quite bad. The staff did say I could use a urine bottle in the treatment room if I needed to, fortunately it never got to that. I was also tested for urine infections a few times during treatment. 4 months post treatment was when my problems really started, passing large amounts of blood clots and debris.

Hope all goes well with your consultant today.

Thanks Chris

I am experiencing exactly the same but only after 32/37. This weekend has been quite painful with burning sensation but after the slow first one 5 minutes later I seem to be good flow and no pain. Been restricting intake before bed time but this I might just go back to having a drink so that flow is better? Taking 2 x 500mg paracetamol before bed but that hasn't helped. Seeing my Oncologist tomorrow for final treatment review (although last one isn't till Easter Monday - they get Good Friday off apparently). Think I will ask Doctor for Tamsulosin capsules?

Thanks for the quick response, positive comments and sharing your experience of the ways to treat the issues I am facing at the moment. Will try Cranberry Juice and see how I go :-) Ised to drink Pomegranate Juice before I was diagnosed as its supposed to be good for the Prostate? Cranberry Juice is cheaper...

Doctor checked my urine and no infection, which was good to know, then prescribed me Tamsulosin and it’s a miracle drug... no burning sensation any more and bladder is emptying without any issues at all. Wish I had asked for it last week rather than the pain of the weekend. Also drinking cranberry juice as I like it and it’s a good way to prevent cystitis.

2 more of my 37 treatments to go and all finished, although still on 3 years of hormone injections every 3 months so 2.5 years of that to look forward to.

Edited by member 17 Apr 2019 at 16:53  | Reason: Not specified