Hi all,
My 79-year old dad started on and off with UTIs back in April 2019. They would kind of resolve but not fully and then would get worse. In November he started to not be able to void and experiencing bleeding from the bladder. They did a cystoscopy and found his bladder to look generally ok. They treated him for a UTI with various antibiotics, none that seemed to clear it all up. After about 4 ER visits + 1 hospital stay over December and early January, they've ruled out bladder cancer and UTIs (infection is now gone), but he still has to get up about 8 times a night to pee. The blood is gone for now, but it will probably come back. He has lost weight and is weaker as a result of all of this.
The urologist doesn't know what is wrong and told him he probably has interstitial cystitis (inflammation of the bladder?), which seems to be a thing in middle-aged women, not older men. I'm thinking we should ask for a second opinion but maybe this is a real thing. Anyone ever hear of it?
He is also just started taking Flomax to see if that might help, but the urologist didn't seem to think the prostate is the source of the problem.
Thanks for any advice!
I had my bladder punctured and my life has never been quite the same, however, if he really had IC it should have been seen during the scope. It is very visible and can only be diagnosed with a scope.
I would find another doctor.
My dad was having issues and the nephrologist put him on a drug commonly used for prostate cancer and he is now continent and doesn't have to go all the time. It was a true blessing and it is cheap.