Radiation causing constant urge to urinate and burning

Thank you for the med recommendation. Best wishes in your recovery from that

Yes I had this problem too and was offered flomax (tamsulosin) towards the end of RT.
I decided against it, it wasn't something that bothered me that much.

At 6 weeks post treatment followup, it was not improving and I was offered it again with an anti inflammatory (Celebrex = Celecoxib) for 10 days.

I said I would take it if it would help curatively. The doctor said that reducing the inflammation would allow it to heal (I was a bit sceptical).

The pain did disappear after about a week of medication but came back a week after stopping the celebrex, pain was less though. Since then slowly the pain has dimisished, it's almost not there now. It probably just took time to heal but I was a bit worried it might be chronic.
I will stop the tamulosin soon as well.

Good advice from @northoftheborder about food/drinks (although weirdly wine improved my symptoms!)

Talk to your doctor/nurse/technician after treatment. At my hospital it was nurses who did it and there was always a (junior) doctor on hand for this sort of thing.

Towards the end of IMRT x 28 I began to have issues. The care team always asked about "burning". It was so consistent that I suspected a conspiracy to make me tolerate the frequency, the urgency, the weak stream etc, etc, with: "At least I don't have the burning!" And then finally I got the burning.

For the first 3 weeks after ringing the bell the urinary issues got worse. Tamsulosin (Flowmax) in week two of treatment worked for the first few days and then didn't seem to help (although the last time I forget a dose was definitely worse). Next step was daily Ibuprofen - who knows if it helps. Next they put me on a 10 day course of the steroid dexamethasone - this definitely helped me... eat everything in the refrigerator and beyond. Lastly, two weeks after treatment they gave me phenazopyridine hydrochloride which turned my pee florescent yellow and stains anything it touches. I've been sitting down to pee more and more frequently and with the cool, all-staining urine, now I only stand to pee in urinals and once or twice daily at home as an optimistic test.

My radiation treatment went so well that I felt I should be 100% 'cured' the moment I rang that bell. I'm okay with reporting that everything else improved immediately but the peeing got worse and worse. Finally, 4 weeks after, I think there is light at the end of the tunnel. I've surely figured out that drinking alcohol does not help, makes it much worse, and my nice night out yesterday led to a much worse night at home. Cutting back on drinking can't be a bad thing but I'm certainly not going to avoid it completely.

Good luck and don't despair about these issues. Things sound much worse for the RP folks. Treat it as a challenge to overcome for several weeks and hope, like I'm still hoping, that the end of the tunnel is near.

Also, I told very few people about my PC. After the bell I told a few more but most of my family and friends do not know. However I found it easier to tell people I had a urinary issue due to my PC treatment (if they know) or some vague 'medical treatment' (if they don't). Makes it easy to joke about your many trips to the bathroom. I'll say things like: "I'm going to the bathroom, see you in 20 minutes!" Don't suffer in silence and embarrassment. Good luck!

Thank you. Great info! I had a tough day yesterday and last night with both urinary urgency and frequency. And loose stools. Now, today I feel almost normal again. Just had my treatment. Still loose stools so will back off the daily Miralax but thinking better to have loose stools and frequency (not quite diarrhea but close) than not having a BM prior to treatment.

I’m also on monthly Lupron injections so I have doubled my exercise and weight training and walking to try to not loose muscle mass. And push through the fatigue. I’m 75 so my weight training and stretching is not even close to what it used to be lol. Anyway today is a good day. One day at a time.

Good luck on getting past your peeing burning. I have read where this usually resolves in 2 to 4 months but can sometimes last nearly a year. And that some don’t have any issues then it comes on a year out. I guess we are all different and can just go with the flow (pun intended) and push through. Keep up the great attitude and mindset. I think that is really important. Don’t let PC win 👍

I needed 2mg of immodium daily for 3 weeks for the diarrhoea. Never taken it before but it worked really well. Went back to a nice consistency 💩.

I waited a bit long to take it and suffered a bit of irritation and a small fissure. I wouldn't hesitate next time.

Good to know. My wife takes immodium so will ask my doc to prescribe. Thanks