Experiences with alcohol use after regaining urinary continence

One of the biggest problems with alcohol and prostate cancer is that the alcohol feeds the prostate cancer and tends to make it worse.

I had to go on blood thinners about 4 years ago because Zytiga screwed up my blood pressure and caused me multiple Afib events.

One thing about blood thinners is that you can’t drink more than one ounce of alcohol a day, screws up the ability of the blood thinner to work. I used to have a large margarita every afternoon, after work, and a beer or wine during dinner. Nowadays, I may have a beer or wine once a week. I attend a dinner party once a month with a bunch of other people all of them drink cocktails before dinner and wine with. I have ice water before dinner and maybe a glass of wine with it. You can change drinking habits.

I don’t know if you’ve seen the recent report that came out a couple of days ago about how much drinking people are doing. It is way down. Many wineries in California were sold off in last year. Wineries had to actually dump wine grapes last year because nobody would buy them, even at really low prices.

From 1997 to 2023, at least 60% of Americans reported drinking alcohol. The figure fell to 62% in 2023 and to 58% in 2024, before reaching 54% today. For the first time in Gallup’s trend, a majority of Americans, 53%, say drinking in moderation, or “one or two drinks a day,” is bad for one’s health.

I don't have the answer to your question, but maybe sharing my experience will help you. I had NS RARP 13+ months ago at the age of 70. Although I was immediately continent after the catheter came out, I had to figure out the "new normal". That took me a while; think months, not days. For example, I did have some minor urine releases when I started lifting weights again a couple months after the catheter came out. Generally speaking, early on I lacked confidence in my ability to hold in urine so I tended to "tactically" urinate frequently when we'd go out rather than waiting until I had a strong urge. Also, I mostly stuck to water early on while I was figuring things out. That greatly improved over time until today when I consider myself pretty much back to pre-surgery normal. For me, the things that would irritate my bladder pre-surgery are pretty much the same things that irritate it post-surgery. For example, I drink a lot of coffee in the mornings and that doesn't bother me at all. Alcohol doesn't bother me, but also I'm a light drinker so maybe that doesn't mean much. Strangely enough, when we go hiking I find the powder my wife mixes in the water seems to irritate my bladder and increase the frequency of my urination (but not enough for me to ask her to stop using it). Sometimes soda will irritate my bladder as well as increase the frequency of urination. I think for me sticking to mostly water right after surgery and easing back into my normal routine gave me time to figure out the new normal, including what (if anything) bothered my bladder. But then I'm not a medical professional nor an expert in all this, so take my comments with a grain of salt. Best wishes.

I had RP almost two years ago. Regaining continence took longer than a lot of posts (about 7 months). Exercise was a big part of that, especially once I returned to using my rower. I am not a big drinker, but do regularly enjoy a glass of wine with my wife. I do not think it delayed my recovery (my surgeon had an expectation of 12 months or more for recovery).

well...

My experience, albeit an outlier.

After surgery and my catheter came out, zero incontinence.

In the counseling before I started SRT, I was advised to avoid coffee, alcohol...

Did I listen, yes. Did I follow the advice, no.

I typically have 1-3 cups of coffe a day, one in the warmer months like now is the normal, in the winter, 2-3.

Drinks, well, I've read similar articles to what @jeffmarc says...

Still, I believe all things in moderation, diet, exercise....

So, most nights, I have a drink or two, ok, three, but that's the rarity, I enjoy a Manhattan, Old Fashioned, or some other drink I mix. I enjoy Happy Hours with friends, once a month when my wife plays Bunko, my daughter and go out for drinks and appetizers and shoot the,,,

Gone are the days of my youth and hangovers, friends driving me home, waking up and wondering how I got home, having a beer with lunch...

So, like I said, it's a choice, mine, in part, one's health comes into play, then there are social factors. I don't need a drink to be happy, I can be happy riding my bike, skiing, hiking in the mountains. However, I do enjoy a well crafted drink.

Just saying...

Kevin

I am 10 months post RARP and while I did not have incontinence issues, I definitely had pretty bad bladder urgency for the first few months. I would urinate and walk out only to have to turnaround and go try again usually yielding only a trickle and this might be repeated a couple times. This would also happen multiple times a night as well. I eventually figured out it was made worse by certain things such as caffeinated drinks and certain alcoholic drinks and or fruit juices. Funny but , a glass of wine was no issue but a margarita was asking for back to back trips to the urinal.
This has mostly passed and I am good about limiting alcohol and ensuring that I drink plenty of water throughout the day. The answer to your question is that I suspect if you do have any issues they will pass with time as you heal and learn what your new limits are. The bladder is subjected to some significant trauma during RARP and will take a bit of time to settle down.

Hey Kevin,

May I ask how old you are? Having zero incontinence and returning to normal continence after catheter removal is phenomenal...truly an outlier, exceptional outcome. I have heard, as would make sense, that the younger you are when you have your RP, the quicker you recover and/or the less impactful any or all possible side effects are. It is kind of like women who have their babies between 20-30 years old...they lose their weight and recover their sleek, youthful, attractive figures much quicker than women in the 30-40 range who have their babies. Most seldom completely recover their figures. Not the perfect analogy, but "youth" is the common factor: the younger you are, the easier and faster you recover. Thanks

I had RP almost two years ago. I had ZERO incontinence issues I’ve made a number of physical and nutritional changes to hopefully, stave off another bout with cancer and keep my body strong. One recommendation was to avoid ALL alcohol. I do not miss an occasional drink of wine at all! Good luck to you.🤞

Hello. I had an interesting experience yesterday regarding this. I'm 5+ weeks out from my RP. Catheter was removed after 1 week and I've been pretty much continent...only small leaks now and then if that if I drink too much water. I even stopped wearing a pad a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday, I was up early, had 1 cup of coffee and went to the gym. I walk, lift light dumb bells, and do kegels..those daily. I would say I had a good base of fitness before surgery and I'm bouncing back OK.

I then attended an event where I was on my feet for roughly 4 hours with a break for lunch. I used the rest-room when needed and drank a bottle of water with my noon meal. No issues.

Afterwards, I attended a birthday party where I had my 1st drink (an old fashioned) in over 8 weeks. I was startled that I experienced incontinent issues while there...even while sitting. Good thing I wore dark pants. I didn't have a pad on but did have one in the car for emergency in case I needed it and frankly I almost ran out and put it on.

Question is...did the alcohol kick this in? Was it the standing in combo with the walking and light workout? Was it lack of sleep? All of the above?

I was diagnosed on 23 Jan 14, less than a month away from my 58th birthday

My surgery was on 10 March 2014, so, just under a month after my 58th birthday.
SRT in March 2016 so age 60.
Triplet therapy starting in January 2017 so age 61 to start
Doublet therapy in April 2024 so 68....

I have always lived an active lifestyle - ride my bike, swim, lift weights, do indoor cardio, ski, hike....

My general approach is all things in moderation, diet, exercise...I keep my weight under control though both treatments on ADT resulted in 15–20-pound weight gains despite maintaining my usual activity and diet, I worked those back off.

I try but don't always succeed, well, very little, try and manage my stressors.

My medical team and I have discussed the role diet, exercise, sleep, managing stress, just living your life....play in mitigating the side effects and recovery. I and they, think it's a factor.

Kevin

I am 69+ now, hit 70 on 16 Feb 26.

I certainly don't know what caused your issue, but that sounds like a lot of activity for only 5+ weeks after RP. I'm 13+ months after RP and I remember the first several months as having several surprises regarding occasional instances of minor setbacks. I remember reading something to the effect that when the internal swelling starts to go down during recovery (at 6-8 weeks) some guys will experience an increase in incontinence without the "swelling assist" in maintaining continence. I know I experienced that at about 2 months post RP. Long story short, although I was essentially continent after surgery it has been a journey of figuring out the new normal. Definitely not a straight line progression. One last thought; doesn't an Old Fashion have a variety of things in it besides the alcohol? Maybe all of them (including the alcohol) contributed, coupled with a bit of pelvic fatigue from such a long day. Best wishes.