stuart39
01-09-12, 16:50
This info might help a few chaps here out......wanting to go the loo all day is a killer on social activity and always having to know where the next loo is is also a pain in the backside.
For years now I have been having issues with regards to peeing. Always wanting to go, when i do go only peeing small volumes (circa 250ml at a time), constant discomfort/irritation in lower abdomen ( I mean its there 24/7 and you only forget about it when distracted with a task - it can keep you rolling around in bed at night on bad nights) that becomes painful the longer you leave it to void, going every half hour sometimes/every 2 or 3 hours at other times, worse pain/discomfort when driving or sitting position, constant urges to go and never feeling quite like youve emptied after voiding - kind of that feeling all day really. always on edge, never quite relaxed.
Well in all the years I have been seeing my Urologists (6 years now) discussion has only ever been in relation to an "overactive" bladder and so treatments have centred around this such as botox injections (in the bladder wall), water distension of the baldder to increase the volume it can hold, urethral distensions to widen up the water pipe and alpha blocker drugs to restrict the signals being passed by the muscles to the brain - all to no avail.
A few days ago I hit on another idea as to what it could be-in fact I think its the complete opposition to an overactive bladder. I think it is an UNDERACTIVE bladder and reading up on this on the net (isnt the net great for this sort of stuff?) all the symptoms I have are there;-
incomplete voiding - yes
poor flow rate - yes
stop and start flows? - yes
some incontinence dribbling - yes sometimes
discomfort in the pelvic region - always
constantly feeling the urge to go - yes
low volumes when I do go. - yes
straining to void - yes
residual volumes after going - catheterisation reveals residuals of between 150ml and 250ml. 100ml is deemed about normal but anything above 250ml is deemed abnormal and thats right where I fit in.
I am seeing my own GP next week to discuss the information I have found and will be asking him for one of the prescribed drugs for underactive bladder to try out. I will report the results here shortly.
It was very interesting to discover the similarity between the conditions of under and over-active bladder and perhaps this is where many people fall foul of a red herring if receiving treatment for overactive rather than underactive.
It certainly makes sense - if the bladder wall muscle is not strong enough to contract when it is full then of course the flow rate will be poor/slow and it will not be strong enough to forcefully empty completely meaning residual urine is always present (not healthy and ideal conditions for UTI infections to develop) and so you feel the need to go again in a short period of time. Reducing the sensitivity of the bladder through drugs or botox will not make a jot of difference to a bladder muscle that is weak and not able to contract fully.
If you have similar symptoms and have been struggling to find a solution for some time then perhaps talk this over with your GP/Urologist.
According to my research two possible drug treatments to increase muscle contraction in the bladder are Bethanechol and Distigmine but whatever you do dont go buying them cheap on ebay because you never know what the hell you are buying on there in terms of drugs/medicines so please speak to your GP and get the correct prescriptions.
If you go down this route and find your symptoms have improved then do post back here.
Good luck. I will post again next week. If you have similar issues then feel free to discuss.
For years now I have been having issues with regards to peeing. Always wanting to go, when i do go only peeing small volumes (circa 250ml at a time), constant discomfort/irritation in lower abdomen ( I mean its there 24/7 and you only forget about it when distracted with a task - it can keep you rolling around in bed at night on bad nights) that becomes painful the longer you leave it to void, going every half hour sometimes/every 2 or 3 hours at other times, worse pain/discomfort when driving or sitting position, constant urges to go and never feeling quite like youve emptied after voiding - kind of that feeling all day really. always on edge, never quite relaxed.
Well in all the years I have been seeing my Urologists (6 years now) discussion has only ever been in relation to an "overactive" bladder and so treatments have centred around this such as botox injections (in the bladder wall), water distension of the baldder to increase the volume it can hold, urethral distensions to widen up the water pipe and alpha blocker drugs to restrict the signals being passed by the muscles to the brain - all to no avail.
A few days ago I hit on another idea as to what it could be-in fact I think its the complete opposition to an overactive bladder. I think it is an UNDERACTIVE bladder and reading up on this on the net (isnt the net great for this sort of stuff?) all the symptoms I have are there;-
incomplete voiding - yes
poor flow rate - yes
stop and start flows? - yes
some incontinence dribbling - yes sometimes
discomfort in the pelvic region - always
constantly feeling the urge to go - yes
low volumes when I do go. - yes
straining to void - yes
residual volumes after going - catheterisation reveals residuals of between 150ml and 250ml. 100ml is deemed about normal but anything above 250ml is deemed abnormal and thats right where I fit in.
I am seeing my own GP next week to discuss the information I have found and will be asking him for one of the prescribed drugs for underactive bladder to try out. I will report the results here shortly.
It was very interesting to discover the similarity between the conditions of under and over-active bladder and perhaps this is where many people fall foul of a red herring if receiving treatment for overactive rather than underactive.
It certainly makes sense - if the bladder wall muscle is not strong enough to contract when it is full then of course the flow rate will be poor/slow and it will not be strong enough to forcefully empty completely meaning residual urine is always present (not healthy and ideal conditions for UTI infections to develop) and so you feel the need to go again in a short period of time. Reducing the sensitivity of the bladder through drugs or botox will not make a jot of difference to a bladder muscle that is weak and not able to contract fully.
If you have similar symptoms and have been struggling to find a solution for some time then perhaps talk this over with your GP/Urologist.
According to my research two possible drug treatments to increase muscle contraction in the bladder are Bethanechol and Distigmine but whatever you do dont go buying them cheap on ebay because you never know what the hell you are buying on there in terms of drugs/medicines so please speak to your GP and get the correct prescriptions.
If you go down this route and find your symptoms have improved then do post back here.
Good luck. I will post again next week. If you have similar issues then feel free to discuss.