Seed implant update with questions.

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Question:

Your symptoms are VERY common and I hope your doctor warned you ahead of time. The common expectation is for some weeks (even months) of "burning and urgency" while urinating. The reason you urinate so often is that your bladder and prostate are somewhat swollen and inflamed (therefore the discomfort) and you can’t empty your bladder fully enough. Therefore you have to keep going (the urgency). This is called urine retention. (I know about it because I have it.) Keep an eye on it and keep your doctor informed. If you continue not to be able to empty your bladder your Dr. might recommend self-catheterizing. Hopefully you are taking an anti-inflammatory like Ibuprofen. No need for antibiotics unless there is also an infection. I myself have had nine months of severe urine retention, self-cathing, and unending severe pain. So consider yourself fortunate that your side-effects aren’t more severe. Richard – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi. I received the radiation seed implants 2 on January 8th 2006. Here is my current update with questions. 1.. Constant daily urination. 2.. There is discomfort when urinating. 3.. When having sex, I encounter severe pain during ejaculation. Questions: Has anyone who received seed implants and had similar symptoms? Since this has continued for 2 months now, how long (based on your experience) before the pain should begin to subside? Is there any medication or antibiotics that will help relieve the pain? Thanks. TC

Response:

Hi. I received the radiation seed implants 2 on January 8th 2006. Here is my current update with questions. 1.. Constant daily urination. 2.. There is discomfort when urinating. 3.. When having sex, I encounter severe pain during ejaculation. Questions: Has anyone who received seed implants and had similar symptoms? Since this has continued for 2 months now, how long (based on your experience) before the pain should begin to subside? Is there any medication or antibiotics that will help relieve the pain? Thanks. TC

Response:

Welcome, Tom. I didn’t have brachy, but wanted to say, "hi" and welcome you to the club. I did, however, after surgery, have pain while ejaculating. It was a seering pain that seemed to start at my colon. But, it passed with time. — Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins PSA .1 .1 .1 .27 .37 .75 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05, 5/05, 10/05, 2/06 PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 Non Illegitimi Carborundum

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi. I received the radiation seed implants 2 on January 8th 2006. Here is my current update with questions. 1.. Constant daily urination. 2.. There is discomfort when urinating. 3.. When having sex, I encounter severe pain during ejaculation. Questions: Has anyone who received seed implants and had similar symptoms? Since this has continued for 2 months now, how long (based on your experience) before the pain should begin to subside? Is there any medication or antibiotics that will help relieve the pain? Thanks. TC

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, This is my first time to the group. I had the seed implants (112, I-125) on 8/29/05 and have been doing pretty good over all. This past week have noticed what looks like a blood on my undershorts very light in color after I urinate. I was wondering if this is unusual or has anyone had this happen to them. Last week I had rectal exam and was wondering if this could have caused this? Thanks for being here. I have been following the group for about six months now. Rich H. PSA 4/5/05——4.3ng/nl PSA 11/21/05—1.43ng/nl PSA 2/17/06—-1.12ng/nl Hi. I received the radiation seed implants 2 on January 8th 2006. Here is my current update with questions. 1.. Constant daily urination. 2.. There is discomfort when urinating. 3.. When having sex, I encounter severe pain during ejaculation. Questions: Has anyone who received seed implants and had similar symptoms? Since this has continued for 2 months now, how long (based on your experience) before the pain should begin to subside? Is there any medication or antibiotics that will help relieve the pain? Thanks. TC yup, yup & YUP! I had brachytherrapy on Nov 21, 2005, Pt 103. Pain while urinating has decreased significantly. Frequent urination, fairly often with a high degree of urgency. Some leakage on getting to bathroom. pain during sex only couple times, then went away. ejaculation felt different, not as much fun as before, (this bothered me a lot) but lately, it has gotten much better, and just as much fun as before. Had my first PSA Early Feb, 3.1 going down, and so far so good. Good luck and best wishes. j.

Yeah, I had blood in my urine one day, quite a lot, called doctor, went in and gave urine sample, of course, no visible, to me, blood. Dr gave presc. for antibiotic, and sulfa drug (which changed urine to bright apricot color) for week. said possible a seed had shifted, whatever, I take plavix so any bleeding results in a lot of blood. j.

Response:

Hi, This is my first time to the group. I had the seed implants (112, I-125) on 8/29/05 and have been doing pretty good over all. This past week have noticed what looks like a blood on my undershorts very light in color after I urinate. I was wondering if this is unusual or has anyone had this happen to them. Last week I had rectal exam and was wondering if this could have caused this? Thanks for being here. I have been following the group for about six months now. Rich H. PSA 4/5/05——4.3ng/nl PSA 11/21/05—1.43ng/nl PSA 2/17/06—-1.12ng/nl – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi. I received the radiation seed implants 2 on January 8th 2006. Here is my current update with questions. 1.. Constant daily urination. 2.. There is discomfort when urinating. 3.. When having sex, I encounter severe pain during ejaculation. Questions: Has anyone who received seed implants and had similar symptoms? Since this has continued for 2 months now, how long (based on your experience) before the pain should begin to subside? Is there any medication or antibiotics that will help relieve the pain? Thanks. TC yup, yup & YUP! I had brachytherrapy on Nov 21, 2005, Pt 103. Pain while urinating has decreased significantly. Frequent urination, fairly often with a high degree of urgency. Some leakage on getting to bathroom. pain during sex only couple times, then went away. ejaculation felt different, not as much fun as before, (this bothered me a lot) but lately, it has gotten much better, and just as much fun as before. Had my first PSA Early Feb, 3.1 going down, and so far so good. Good luck and best wishes. j.

Response:

Tom, I had Pd-103 seeds in June 04, the retention, urgency and burning seemed to peak around 6-8 weeks then began to subside and gradually dissapear. If you had I-125 seeds it’s going to last a little longer due to the longer half life (Pd-103 – 17 days and I-125 -51 days. I can’t comment on the ejaculation as I had been on Lupron for 6 mos. prior and 6 mos. after seeding. Wish you the best. Tom

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Tom, Sound com;etely normal to me. Had all three symptoms. Things will eventually get back to normal. Got to remember that there is a tad bit of swelling there from the procedure and the radiation. Mike Hi. I received the radiation seed implants 2 on January 8th 2006. Here is my current update with questions. 1.. Constant daily urination. 2.. There is discomfort when urinating. 3.. When having sex, I encounter severe pain during ejaculation. Questions: Has anyone who received seed implants and had similar symptoms? Since this has continued for 2 months now, how long (based on your experience) before the pain should begin to subside? Is there any medication or antibiotics that will help relieve the pain? Thanks. TC

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi. I received the radiation seed implants 2 on January 8th 2006. Here is my current update with questions. 1.. Constant daily urination. 2.. There is discomfort when urinating. 3.. When having sex, I encounter severe pain during ejaculation. Questions: Has anyone who received seed implants and had similar symptoms? Since this has continued for 2 months now, how long (based on your experience) before the pain should begin to subside? Is there any medication or antibiotics that will help relieve the pain? Thanks. TC

yup, yup & YUP! I had brachytherrapy on Nov 21, 2005, Pt 103. Pain while urinating has decreased significantly. Frequent urination, fairly often with a high degree of urgency. Some leakage on getting to bathroom. pain during sex only couple times, then went away. ejaculation felt different, not as much fun as before, (this bothered me a lot) but lately, it has gotten much better, and just as much fun as before. Had my first PSA Early Feb, 3.1 going down, and so far so good. Good luck and best wishes. j.

Response:

Tom, Sound com;etely normal to me. Had all three symptoms. Things will eventually get back to normal. Got to remember that there is a tad bit of swelling there from the procedure and the radiation. Mike

Response:

I had HDR brachytherapy, where they plant each seed for just seconds at a time. However I did have two of your three symptoms. 1. Urination. It took me about 5 months to get off Flowmax and more or less back to normal. In the meantime, I kept a urinal by my bed and one in the car in case of emergencies. 3. Ejaculations. I had explosions of pain with ejaculation. I was never sure if it was caused by the radiation, or by garden variety prostatitis, perhaps exacerbated by the radiation. I had this after the radiation, then it went away after a couple of months (IIRC), then I got it again a year later for another few months, which is why I thought it might be prostatitis. I went to a general practitioner for the prostatitis and she insisted on my trying a course of antibiotics, although I was dubious. The antibiotics upset my stomach and did who knows what else to my system, but did nothing for the pain. Then I started taking saw palmetto. The problem gradually went away after a couple of months. Did the saw palmetto do it? Or did it just go away on its own? I have no way of knowing which. You might try saw palmetto and see if it helps. I’ve been taking it for about a year now with no recurrence of the pain. There is a widespread rumor that saw palmetto reduces PSA and so shouldn’t be taken by cancer patients because it might mask a cancer recurrence. I tried to research this on Pubmed and found three articles that measured PSA before and after saw palmetto was taken – usually with other supplements as well. They found no effect on PSA. So I think it probably does not reduce PSA to mask recurrence. But, standard disclaimer, I’m not a doctor. Medical advice from me may not be worth anything. Alan

Response:

Hi Tom, I had seed implants about 10 months ago and everything is nearly as it was before seeding. I assume you are taking Flomax which should decrease urinary hesitancy and urgency. The slight burning when urinating should soon go away. I never had severe pain during ejaculation. Initally I had unusual feeling orgasms but never really painful. After about 3 months they were teriffic again. One trick that worked for me is when I had the urge to urinate, I would tell myself that I really didn’t have to go. Then I would get busy to take my mind off my bladder. Things will keep improving with time. Good luck, Woody

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