Urinary problems may occur following some types of surgery to the bladder, prostate, bowel or womb. These problems may be caused by a number of different factors. The problems may be temporary and can improve over weeks or months. If you have urinary problems after surgery, it may help to do exercises called pelvic floor or Kegel exercises. These help to retrain the muscles involved in bladder control. A continence nurse can tell you about these.
After surgery or radiotherapy to the prostate, some men have urinary problems due to an overactive bladder. Your doctor can prescribe drugs to help correct this. Most men find that their symptoms improve with time. Rarely however, if symptoms don’t improve over several months, some men may be offered surgery to improve bladder control.
You may need to pass urine more often than usual and may have some pain when you do. These symptoms can be caused by a bladder infection or may become worse if one develops. Let your doctor or nurse know if you develop any pain when passing urine or if your urine is cloudy, smelly or looks as though there may be any blood in it. A urine sample can be tested, and any infection can be treated with antibiotics. It can help to drink enough water to keep your urine a clear or pale-yellow colour. It may also help to avoid drinking too much alcohol or drinks that contain caffeine, such as coffee, tea and cola
Continence problems can occur if you find it difficult to get out of a chair or bed so can’t get to a toilet quickly. Try to have your bed as close to a toilet as possible, or have a commode, bedpan or urine bottle close by. If you are restricted to bed, continence can be more difficult to manage. In most cases wearing continence pads can make this more manageable. Occasionally, if you have trouble emptying your bladder, a thin flexible plastic tube (catheter) can be inserted into your bladder which will continuously drain urine away. This can relieve discomfort that may occur if you are not able to empty your bladder. Catheter bags need to be chnaged regularly. Your district nurse will support you in managing this. During the day, if you’re up and about, a catheter bag can be attached to your leg and hidden under clothes. Otherwise, bags and tubes can easily be covered by bedclothes or blankets.
