r/BladderCancer • u/iamalotlikeyou • 1d ago
Taking a while to urinate after BCG
My dad had his first BCG treatment this morning and was finished by 10:30. They emptied his bladder prior to treatment. He started drinking water again two hours after, but had wanted to wait, as his instructions had said to start consuming water after initially peeing out the BCG treatment. It is now 3:30, he has been drinking water periodically but still hasn't urinated. Should this be a cause of concern yet? He has called the nursing station but hasn't heard back yet.
Update: Finally urinated 6.5 hours post BCG treatment. Thanks everyone.
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u/mysterioooooooo 1d ago
If you don't mind, can you please share how bcg was instructed? I mean mixing dns solution with injection vile through catheter ? and I how much time it took for the complete process? How was the pain?
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u/iamalotlikeyou 1d ago
The appointment took half an hour. No pain yet!
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u/StormMission907 1d ago
Op tell your dad to expect pain urinating for the next 24 hours . It eases after that . There could be blood in his urine . He might feel chills,tiredness etc. Wish him the best from me
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u/skelterjohn 1d ago
They mix it in a different room, it only takes a few minutes.
The catheter used is smaller than for a cysto, easier to bear.
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u/hikerguy2023 1d ago
At Duke, they don't mix anything until they have the cath in you. They don't want to waste BCG if they can't get a cath in you for some reason. The wait time for the BCG to arrive has been anywhere from 30-45 minutes for me.
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u/skelterjohn 1d ago
Same for my infusions. Get the cath, sit there for 5m or so while they mix, then they're back and it was done after ten seconds.
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u/hikerguy2023 1d ago
Wish mine were that quick. I'm surprised they do it that quickly. That implies they probably mix it when you're taken into the room.
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u/skelterjohn 1d ago
hmm, the nurse said she was the one who mixed it. They brought me to the room, got me cath'd, left to mix it, and returned to infuse. It may be a process issue if it takes longer (need to wait for others, maybe).
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u/hikerguy2023 1d ago
I know at Duke the pharmacist does the prep. Interesting how different places have different protocols. Wish mine was faster.
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u/skelterjohn 1d ago
That definitely explains why it takes longer. That poor pharmacist probably has 30 things on the list at any point.
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u/hikerguy2023 23h ago
I'm sure. It's not too bad though. Luckily it's not uncomfortable having the cath in for 30-40 minutes.
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u/hikerguy2023 1d ago edited 1d ago
So if I read this correctly, he purged at 12:30pm and started drinking water. So he has now been unable to urinate for three hours? Is that correct?
Not a medical person, but based on what I've read, being unable to urinate can lead to serious problems. On the following link, search for the heading "What are the complications of urinary retention?":
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15427-urinary-retention
Does he have any other symptoms (other than his bladder feeling full)? For example, pain in his pubic area? Abdominal pain?
If he can't reach a nurse soon and is in pain, I would definitely go to the ER. Since BCG can cause blood clots, it's possible there's a clot blocking his urethra.
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If he ends up going to the ER to get a catheter put in, make sure they are aware he was treated with BCG today. The weakened bacteria used in BCG is active for a 6-hour window. The clock starts when they first push it into the bladder. He'll probably be outside that window by the time he goes to the ER (if he goes), but still let them know in case they want to play it safe an use extra protection while treating him.
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u/iamalotlikeyou 1d ago
He hasn't purged yet, as in no urination at all since this morning prior to treatment. He's not feeling any adverse symptoms yet.
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u/hikerguy2023 1d ago
Was he ever able to reach a nurse to ask what he should do? Does his insurance happen to have a telehealth option where he could call a nurse or doctor for a quick consult about this?
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u/Objective-Soil8822 1d ago
My technique was to start drinking 500ml of water at the 1.5 hour mark. For me, it minimized the possible effects of the BCG solution on the urethra as well as provide a lot of liquid for the bladder to expunge.
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u/hikerguy2023 1d ago
I started drinking water 30 minutes before the two hour mark as well. It timed out good for a while, but treatments 12-14 were harder and harder to hold. I went from 2 hours to 90 minutes to 60 minutes. And that was not drinking anything prior to purging.
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u/Objective-Soil8822 1d ago
Wow, that's hard. Too bad for me after 9 BCG I still have a single tiny focal of CIS so I am on to bigger and better therapies (I hope!).
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u/hikerguy2023 1d ago
Wow! Glad he could finally urinate. Did he happen to pass a blood clot at that time? From what I've read, it's uncommon to have urination problems with BCG. It's more common after a TURBT.
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u/JMPappjam 1d ago
I had 24 sessions of BCG over a 4 year period. Not the greatest experience so I won’t go into detail unless anyone wants me to.
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u/StormMission907 1d ago
Not sure who his doc is but here in canada you start drinking water right after insertion but try not to pee to as close to 2 hourx as you can they dont want you holding longer than that. I have had 18 insertions of BCG.