Painful urination: How long does it last after radiation (RT)?

Posted by bobv48 @bobv48, Jan 24, 2025

I had 5 days of radiation therapy for prostate cancer in mid-August. I still have burning after urination now 5 months later. I am on Flomax as well as using AZO twice a day. Is this normal? How long before the painful urination happens no longer?

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rtmcknight | @rtmcknight | 3 days ago

I had 28 sessions that ended in September 2024 and peak burning/urgency/frequency was in February 2025. As I recently mentioned in another thread, Oxybutynin saved my sanity. I traveled to Ireland in late January and it was no fun at all. Then my radiologist prescribed Oxy the night before a trip to Vegas and it literally fixed everything overnight.

I was warned by my urologist, however, to get off it as soon as possible to avoid long term side effects (idiocy, in his words) and I stopped a month or two later and had no further issue. I still take Tamsulosin (Flowmax) and two attempts to stop (last year and last month) both failed but I'm okay with that for now.

Good luck!

oldgreenpaint | @oldgreenpaint | 3 days ago

I will advise anyone starting radiation treatment, no matter which kind you choose, to log your daily symptoms and drugs used to control them. That way, if things are still hurting way down the road you can talk intelligently with the oncologist or urologist about ways to help you. I did so and can look at the excel sheet charts I made and recognize that I was radiated with 5 sbrt over two weeks. Urinary discomfort Symptoms peaked at two weeks after last treatment, ( at peak I was taking 2 Advils every eight hours, 2 Tylenol every eight hours staggered 4 hours off the advil, Flowmax once a day after last meal, and AZO.). and took another 3 months to get back to mostly normal. Never had any bowel problems to speak of. I logged medications and doses. Logged when I slowly weaned myself from drugs as well. You may wish to log food and drink, as acetic beverages and spicy foods can also cause THE BURN. Normally cranberry juice is beneficial for an UTI but aggravates an unhappy prostate and bladder after radiation.