decongestants (dayquil, sudafed, etc)

[cppsyoungsufferer]

Can someone shed some light on why I am so affected by taking a decongestant? If chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome is not really a prostate disorder/infection, why do I experience such pain and trouble urinating whenever I take a decongestant for a cold? When I take it, I can literally feel my prostate pain magnified, my lower back pain/ab pain is magnified, and I have to go to the bathroom a lot more, which becomes very painful. I have been told several times my prostate is normal size for my age (26).

[treynor33]

I've been using the 12-hour Afrin Spray without any difficulties. I was afraid it may cause me some troubles. I only use a spray or two at night to help me sleep. You can't use it for more than about 3-4 days but it usually will get you through the worst days of a cold.

I also use an alpha blocker which might be counteracting the effects of it.

[scotsman]

You suffer an increase in pain when taking antihistamines/decongestants due to the anticholinergic effect on prostatic and bladder smooth muscle.

Have a look through the Antihistamines forum for more info.

Richard.

[cppsyoungsufferer]

So what you are saying is the decongestant is affecting the muscle, not the prostate itself? I guess this would coincide with the fact that my problem is really a dysfunction of my muscles, not the actual prostate itself?

[scotsman]

So what you are saying is the decongestant is affecting the muscle, not the prostate itself? I guess this would coincide with the fact that my problem is really a dysfunction of my muscles, not the actual prostate itself?

Yep.

[Dj Smitty]

i always hated the cold pills anyway. Maybe it's best to just lay off them and suffer through the few days of the cold?

[conradin]

So what you are saying is the decongestant is affecting the muscle, not the prostate itself? I guess this would coincide with the fact that my problem is really a dysfunction of my muscles, not the actual prostate itself?

Food for thought.

[CppsDad]

This is interesting. I never really knew this information before. I take Afrin occasionally, as well as various cold pills when needed. I'm going to pay attention to my symptoms when using them. Of course, many of us have reported symptom increase when we have fevers and we are sick, so I'll just have to account for those factors too. Offhand, I never noticed a direct correlation between the medicines and my pain, but I'll keep an eye out!

Mike

[LightningTree]

Also keep in mind that decongestants radically alter blood flow through vasoconstriction, and then sometimes rebound vasodilation.

If your prostate is irritated, blood vessel constriction might not be a happy thing for your muscles. Especially if they are not getting enough blood in the first place.

But then if you have a rebound blood vessel dilation this could make things a lot worse due to the resulting inflation of tissues (like a migraine.)

[GS]

sudafed causes tightening of the urethral sphincter muscle. In fact, if you read the fine print it says not to use if you have difficulty urinating due to enlargement of the prostate. I used to use it all the time for allergies but not anymore. We actually use it for dogs with incontinence in veterinary medicine. Keeps them from leaking urine in peoples houses. Just an interesting aside.

[cppsyoungsufferer]

Thanks to all for your feedback. My cold is finally subsiding, and I feel a lot better NOT taking the decongestants. I guess this is just more proof that my problem is related to the muscles in my pelvic floor...

If I have dysfunction in my urethral sphincter muscle, is there anyway to fix/alleviate this? Can Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol / PT address this?

[webslave]

I found this rather interesting quote on some webpage

Cut the caffeine. "Caffeine in any form--coffee, tea, chocolate or soft drinks--tends to tighten the bladder neck and make it more difficult to pass urine," says urologist Durwood Neal, Jr., M.D., associate professor of surgery, urology, microbiology and internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. "Some of the prostate is made up of smooth muscle, and anything that causes that muscle to constrict will make urination more difficult. Caffeine does this quite a bit."

Don't serve yourself. Alcohol also tightens the bladder neck to hamper urination. And since it's a diuretic, it increases the amount of urine that builds up inside the bladder, adds Dr. Neal. "Drinking alcohol also makes the bladder operate a lot less efficiently. And the more you drink, the more problems you'll likely have."

Give a cold shoulder to cold medicines. Antihistamines and decongestants can cause even more harm to some men. In fact, taking large doses of cold medications occasionally leads to urinary retention--a potentially life-threatening condition in which you completely stop urinating. "Decongestants cause the muscle at the bladder neck to constrict, restricting the flow of urine," says Peter Nieh, M.D., a urologist at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. "And antihistamines simply paralyze the bladder."

If you have allergies as well as prostate problems, Dr. Nieh suggests you speak to your doctor about prescribing asternizole (Hismanal) or terfenadine (Seldane), two medications that have no antihistamines. If you must buy over-the-counter medication, take half of the suggested dose. If no problem ensues, move to the full recommended dosage.

Be wary of spicy foods. Spicy and acidic foods bother some men with enlarged prostates, says Dr. Neal. "If you notice more problems after eating salsa, chili or other spicy or acidic foods, then you're among those men--and you should avoid that cuisine."

Manage your stress. Perhaps the most underrated trigger is unmanaged stress. "Stress plays a major role in prostate-related discomfort, because the bladder neck and prostate are both very rich with nerves that respond to adrenal hormones," says Dr. Neal. "When you're under stress, there are more of those hormones floating around--causing more difficulty in urinating."

Stress also triggers the release of adrenaline in your body, prompting a fight-or-flight response. "Just as it's impossible to get an erection during the fight-or-flight response, it can make urination difficult, too," Dr. Neal adds.

Get more amour. One way urologists help ease urination problems is to massage the prostate. For men with mild to moderate voiding difficulties, an alternative may simply be to have more sex. "Many men notice that the more they ejaculate, the easier it is to urinate," says Dr. Rous. That's because ejaculation helps empty the prostate of secretions that may hamper urination.

Empty your bladder before you go to bed. "Many men get the urge to urinate in the middle of the night, and it can be a real problem," says Dr. Neal. "But if you limit your intake of beverages after 6:00 P.M. and make sure you urinate before going to sleep, you can eliminate much of this problem."

Flee south in the winter. If at all possible, spend winters somewhere in the Sunbelt. "In the urology trade, we usually say that summer is the season to pass kidney stones and winter is the time for urinary problems. I'm not exactly sure why, but people have more trouble urinating and are most likely to go into urinary retention during cold weather. Perhaps this is due to an increase in upper respiratory infections, which many men treat with over-the-counter antihistamines and decongestants. These further aggravate BPH," says Harold Fuselier, M.D., chairman of urology at Ochsner Medical Institutions in New Orleans. "Since an enlarged prostate already makes urinating more difficult, you'll do much better in a warm climate during cold weather."

[Paso]

I agree, it all speaks for muscles, nerves etc. Good find, but also sad find if you know what I mean...

[Sleeper Service]

Not as such since most of this advice is geared towards BPH - which is a growth issue - and obstructive prostatitis rather than Type IIIb CPPS.

Although there have been studies which show cold weather aggravates symptoms in some men.

[calguy]

Antihistamine and decongestants seem to be helping me. I have frequency(about every2hrs) and it seems to take the edge off just enough for me to feel normal. I guess it is working like Vesicare or something similar would do. I am going to talk to doc to see if I could cause myself any long term damage by using antihistamine to control frequency. Any thoughts on whether or not I could hurt myself more would be appreciated! Found all this out last week after I got sick and took Thera Flu, urinary symptoms and some pain disappeared.