Sleep Issues After Radical Prostatectomy

I didn’t really have sleep issues after the prostatectomy. If you’re on ADT drugs, they can cause that to happen.

I didn't sleep well during the week of the catheter. I think I was just too anxious about tugging on the catheter during sleep, plus with the catheter I was just generally uncomfortable. It didn't help that normally I sleep on my stomach but with the catheter I was trying to sleep on my back. But I tried not to stress about it since I was retired and I could nap whenever I wanted during the day. After the catheter came out, I did much better sleeping, but with the exception that I had to get up much more frequently at night to urinate. That persisted for a while; certainly several months. I also think unconsciously I was worried about wetting the bed so I think that worry contributed to getting up so often during the night. One consequence of getting up so often was that if I got up later in my sleep cycle I'd then have trouble getting back to sleep. I did try to reduce my fluid consumption later in the evening to cut down on the need to get up so much, and that seemed to help a bit. That all gradually improved as time went on. At 13+ months (and 71 years old), I usually only get up once per night, although occasionally I'll get up twice. Best wishes.

My sleep has been horrible throughout this post-ADT experience. I seem to wake up several times each night, most often in 1.5 to 2 hour intervals. And it's typically not due to needing to urinate.

I suspect my sleeping difficulties are primarily due to ADT considerations, not from prostate surgery or radiation treatments.

Unfortunately, I have not found anything that has been beneficial in restoring or improving my sleep.

This problem does seem to get better over time. When I first started ADT, I definitely had the problem but after a few months, it seems to get a lot better.

Like most guys, I had trouble sleeping with the catheter but otherwise no worse than normal - which was never very good anyway so it's hardly a measure. The meds you take can certainly impact everyone differently - even something as seemingly benign as stool softener might mess with someone in ways it doesn't with others.

Survivor: Thank you for your input. I tried a number of things, including melatonin. Nothing worked except the prescription medication. I don't like to use that, but I could not go to work on 2-3 hours of sleep. Things are slowly improving. I don't use the medication every night.

Thanx, Jeff. I am not on ADT. The good news is that the sleep issues are not as bad as they were for a few weeks there. Take care, man. Thank you again.

Hey Kenk,

Thank you for your input, man. I am not scheduled for ADT. I am not sure why my sleep issues started. I found out in December 2024 that I have cancer, and I did not have sleep issues then. It's weird they started now. Things are improving, however. I finally had to resort to medication, as I could not go to work on 3 hours. I'm using them less now though. 🙂
Thanx again for your input. Take care, man. Best wishes.

Survivor,

Everything seemed to be "off" after the surgery. After trying a number of things, including melatonin, I finally had to resort to medication, as I could not go to work on a few hours of sleep. Things are improving now, fortunately. I'm not taking that every night now.

Thank you for your input. Best wishes.

Jeff,

Thanx for your input, man. I am not on ADT, and I could never figure out why the sleep issues started. I found out that I have cancer in December 2024, and I did not have trouble sleeping then. Things are better now.

Take care man and best wishes always.