Incontinence

TobyVT

Finished CyberKnife Surgery for Prostate Cancer in January and bladder control seems to be getting worse. Have to go repeatedly and there is often leakage. Am taking .4mg of Tamsulosine (Flomax) which helps with actually going. But it's the lack of control that is bothering me. Received no helpful advice from radiologist who oversaw the treatment. He just wants to test my PSA every 4 months. Any suggestions other than buying stock in Depends?

VascodaGama

Treatment of overactive bladder

Toby,

I wonder why you have been recommended Flomax. This drug is used to improve urination, in other words, it avoids retention. You should look for the opposite effect, something that manages to avoid the urge to urinate, a drug that treats overactive bladder such as Betmiga (Mirabegron). 
Radiotherapy causes local inflammation that can lead to the dangerous of retention. That makes Flomax as part of the RT treatment protocol for deliberately provoking urination.

Try discussing the matter with your urologist.

Best,

VG

Clevelandguy

More time?

Hi,

1+ on what Vasco said.  Sounds like the CyberKnife Surgery either irritated or damaged your bladder or urethra.  Hopefully your urologist can run some tests or do some scans to find out what's going on.  Does not sound like you should be on Flomax, that just makes it easier to pee.

 

Dave 3+4

GeneRose1

A Very Common Screw-Up

Like Toby, I was prescribed Flomax for my severe urinary incontinence issues. This resulted in nightly trips to the bathroom - every hour  - and a decline in my overall health and mental sharpness. Finally, while discussing this with my Urologist's Nurse, I stated that the Flomax wasn't working and she inserted a note in my treatment plan to switch me to Detrol LA (Generic is Tolterodine Tart ER) 4mg. That offered a slight improvement but the effectiveness diminished over time. Finally, I lost some weight and also made a hard & fast rule to never eat or drink anything after 7 pm. THAT has provided a great deal of improvement. Instead of 6 or more times every night, it's down to 2 - 3 times. My goal is to eventually get an artificial sphincter, such as the AMS-800, that will really knock down the problem. For now though, it's 4 - 6 Depends Undergarments a day for me.

rjex

Flomax vs Trospium

I was having the same problem and my understanding is that Flomax (Tamo-something) helps to clear your bladder while Trospium (and I may have them backwards) reduces frequency.  They don't want to reduce frequency with the latter unless you have adequate flow to clear the bladder when you do.  I started on Flomax and was starting a lot of nighttime trips and then went on Trospium which seemed to work but less so after a couple of months.  There is a stronger version but also with bigger side effect (balance seems a little compromised).  I was taking 1 flomax in the am, then 2 in the am, and just started 1/am and 1/pm.  I suspect it's something that's needs balancing.