After a cystoscopy, you generally cannot drive for 24 hours (if sedated), engage in strenuous activities like heavy lifting or intense exercise, and should avoid caffeine, alcohol, and spicy foods for a couple of days to prevent bladder irritation, while also ensuring you drink plenty of fluids and rest as needed. Always follow your doctor's specific instructions, as restrictions vary with sedation or if a stent was placed.
You may feel the need to urinate more often, and your urine may be pink. These symptoms should get better in 1 or 2 days. You will probably be able to go back to work or most of your usual activities in 1 or 2 days.
Slight discomfort (burning with urination) can sometimes occur. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) 325 mg, one to two tablets every 6 hours, or ibuprofen (e.g. Advil) 200 mg, one to two tablets every 6 hours should relieve the pain.
There's a small chance of getting a urinary tract infection after a cystoscopy. A UTI is an infection of your urinary tract, which can include your bladder, kidneys, and the various tubes that connect them. You'll usually need to take antibiotics to treat a UTI.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, spicy and acidic food, as this may irritate the lining of your bladder, in the next 24-48hours. There may be some small traces of blood in your urine. Do not worry this should have stopped within 24 hours, please continue to drink plenty of fluids to flush your bladder through.
Because of the raw urinary tract surfaces, alcohol, spicy foods, and drinks with caffeine may cause some irritation or frequency of urination and should be used in moderation. To keep your urine flowing freely and to avoid constipation, drink plenty of fluids during the day (8-10 glasses.) Water is best.
Make a spritzer by mixing your wine with sparkling water.
Love wine but want to make it a bit more tolerable for your bladder? Take only half a glass and mix it with sparkling water. You'll not only lower your alcohol and sugar intake, but you'll also help yourself stay hydrated.
Getting your cystoscopy results
You may need a follow-up appointment to talk about your results and next steps. If a sample of cells was removed for testing (biopsy), it usually takes 1 to 2 weeks to get the results. If your results show you have cancer, you'll be referred to a specialist cancer care team.
Most patients have no trouble or problems after their flexible cystoscopy. You may have a mild burning pain on passing urine for a day or two. Drinking extra water can help with this. If a sample of tissue has been taken, you may have some slight bleeding but this is quite common.
Moderate risk. You may have a cystoscopy at 3, 9 and 18 months after treatment. After that you may have a cystoscopy once every year for up to 5 years after treatment. Then you might not need to see your doctor again.
Infection or swelling
Infection and swelling (inflammation) can also affect how pee flows through your urethra. Some examples of urinary retention due to infection or inflammation are: Prostatitis: Infection or inflammation in your prostate causes it to swell and press up against your urethra, blocking the flow of pee.
A febrile urinary tract infection developed within 30 days of cystoscopy in 59 patients (1.9%), including in 3.7% of infected and 1.4% of uninfected patients (p = 0.01). All cases resolved within 12 to 24 hours with oral antibiotics. No patient was hospitalized for bacterial sepsis.
Urethritis is usually treated with antibiotics. It may take a week or two for your symptoms to disappear completely. Any current sexual partners may also need treatment. Avoid having sex (including oral sex) until you and any sexual partners have finished treatment and the symptoms have gone.
Cystoscopy is a surgical procedure. This is done to see the inside of the bladder and urethra using a thin, lighted tube.
Results: The most painful part of the procedure was as the cystoscope passed through the membranous urethra with a median pain score of 2.82. The initial lidocaine administration gives a median pain score of 0.84. The other parts of the cystoscopy produced median scores of between 0.14 and 0.33.
What to do after your cystoscopy. Drink at least 8 (8-ounce) cups of fluids, such as water, every day for the next few days. The liquids will help flush your bladder. This is important to help lower the amount of bleeding you may have.
The mean pain score on a scale of 1—no to 4—severe pain was 1.7 after immediate cystoscopy compared with 1.6 after delayed cystoscopy (p ⫽ 0.9). The mean linear analog self-assessment score on a scale of 1—no to 10—most pain was 2.1 after immediate cystoscopy versus 1.8 after delayed cystoscopy (p ⫽ 0.7).
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common complications of a cystoscopy.
Replacing cystoscopy with urine testing provides an excellent middle ground between current practice with cystoscopy every 3–6 mo and cystoscopy once a year, as patients' bladders will still be checked for recurrence while avoiding invasive cystoscopy procedures.
After the cystoscopy, your urethra may be sore at first, and it may burn when you urinate for the first few days after the procedure. You may feel the need to urinate more often, and your urine may be pink. These symptoms should get better in 1 or 2 days.
Cystoscopy can help find problems with the urinary tract. This may include early signs of cancer, infection, narrowing, blockage, or bleeding. For this test, a long, flexible, lighted tube (cystoscope) is put into the urethra and moved up into the bladder.
Walking and light exercise is important in preventing Deep Vein Thrombosis. You should expect to return to work in 1 week or less. You should reduce your activity levels for the first 1 to 2 weeks while healing. Use stairs gently for the first week.
Fluids that are good for the bladder
Water is the best option for the bladder and for general health. Diluted cordial / squash drinks. Diluted fruit juice. Many fruit and herbal teas.
The 1-2-3 drinking rule is a guideline for moderation: 1 drink per hour, no more than 2 drinks per occasion, and at least 3 alcohol-free days each week, helping to pace consumption and stay within safer limits. It emphasizes pacing alcohol intake with water and food, knowing standard drink sizes (12oz beer, 5oz wine, 1.5oz spirits), and avoiding daily drinking to reduce health risks, though some health guidance suggests even lower limits.
The liver can develop new cells, but prolonged alcohol misuse (drinking too much) over many years can reduce its ability to regenerate. This can result in serious and permanent damage to your liver.