nocturnal urinary frequency

My 75 year old father has prostate cancer, for which he has received radiotherapy and surgery. His condition has been fairly stable for many years, however, he now wakes up between 5-20 times per night to urinate, and this is severely affecting his quality of life. Any suggestions?

[HFHS M.D.-BE]

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Dear Therese,
There are different causes for urinary frequency and night time frequency( nocturia).  With the brief history that you have provided, it is not surprising that your father has this problem.
In his particular situation, he may have a bladder that is scarred and has small volume due to radiation.  As a result the bladder may not be able to accommodate the volume of urine that he makes. This in turn makes him want to void frequently to keep his bladder empty.
Another reason could be that he has a continued benign (non-cancerous) growth and enlargement of his prostate, which normally happens in all men as they age, or scarring at the bladder neck leading to the blockage of his urinary stream.  This would prevent him from fully emptying his bladder, which in turn leads to urinary frequency.  Further, his prostate cancer may be regrowing and forming an obstructive mass, much like the benign enlargement would do as described above, leading to the same problem of urinary frequency.  Additionally, as people age their control center in the brain change and tend to act differently.  One manifestation would be to cause an increasing degree of sensitivity to the amount of urine in the bladder, thus causing the sense of urinary urgency and resultant frequency.
Regardless, however, he should definitely be seen by his urologist as soon as possible, for a full evaluation.

This information is provided for general medical educational purposes only.  Please consult your physician for diagnostic and treatment options pertaining to your specific medical condition.  More individualized care is available at the H

[therese]

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[glendon48]

A related discussion, nocturia was started.