Man’s bladder ‘gives up’ during hikes

Dear Dr. Roach: I am 77 years old and have a quite enlarged prostate. Often, an hour or so after I drink a cup of coffee, I’ll feel like I have to urinate. If I’m in the middle of doing something trivial and try to put it off, it will become more and more urgent to the point where I will start to leak. Once I start to leak, I have a very hard time stopping it. But here is the strange part: If I get to moving a lot, like hiking or riding a bike, the urge goes away, and I might last two or more hours without relieving myself.

When I wake up at night and feel like I must urinate, I usually pass only a half cup of urine.

If I’m doing a bike ride, I might go three hours before I feel like I need to urinate and then I will pass a cup or two of urine.

F.B.

Answer: I think you may have more than one problem. Certainly the enlarged prostate is a major part of the problem and needs to be treated. But I think you may also have an overactive bladder, and that the combination of these two is causing your symptoms.

The main concern I have is that if your bladder “gives up” on a hike or bike ride, the kidneys could be damaged by high pressure in the bladder.

I think you need to discuss treatment right away with your regular doctor or a urologist. A trial of medication to help reduce the prostate size could be life-changing for you.

Dear Dr. Roach: I heard that drinking LOTS of water the day before and the day of my booster shot would help me feel less ill. And it worked so well! But did I dilute the effect of the booster?

I felt ill even after the flu shot, the Johnson & Johnson shot gave me a 101 fever for a full day and the fatigue lasted three days. I was thrilled not to be so sick.

L.P.

Answer: I haven’t heard that drinking lots of water helps with side effects,. I can assure you that you could not possibly have had enough water to dilute the effect of the booster.

I have seen people drink so much water they have brought their blood sodium levels down to dangerously low levels. However, drinking some extra glasses of water before a booster shot is unlikely to cause any problems.