CBT for frequent urination

[Canada67080]

Hi Everyone,
I posted last week about my current obsession/awareness about urination and how constant needing to go it has become. Things died down for a few days but it's back to being awful as I hardly slept last night.

My question is how would CBT work on this problem? I know I need to break the cycle and fear the symptom less...but not sure the best away about doing that.

[Leslie735]

I went through this 3 years ago, still do at times. Mine was more of the urge to go not frequent. I would go use the restroom and come out feeling the urge right in my urethra/lower bladder, of needing to go again. Sometimes it was pretty mild and other time sit was very hard to ignore. It was on and off for 8 months. In those 8 months I saw my GP and a urogynecologist. Both ruled out anything sinister. Finally, I started to work on mind body connection work, journaling, deep breathing and just over all learning to fear it less. Within a couple weeks I was not having it anymore. I still get it when I'm having fear and anxiety though but its not what it use to be. For example, I've had anxiety pretty bad the last several days and yesterday it popped up after not having it for close to a year. Last year, we went on a vacation and we were about 2 hours from home. Within a few minutes of us arriving I felt the urge pop up. It was so strong I thought I was coming down with a UTI. I even phoned my doctor to call me in antibiotics. I picked them up but never took them. The day we left to go home, it was gone.

[cattia]

I've also been through this, a number of years ago. It got to the point where I had urgency all the time and I would literally need to go within ten minutes of my last visit, which seeing as I am a teacher and can't always just walk out of class, was pretty tricky! I also got very anxious in situations where I knew that I would not easily be able to go. the way I got through this, was to time myself so that I would allow myself to go every twenty minutes. Because I knew that I could not go more often than that no matter how badly I wanted to, it helped me not to focus on it as much. I then upped the time to half an hour, and then to 45 mins and so on. It actually didn't take me long using that method to break the cycle. It helped me not to have to think about it, because I had the bathroom breaks planned at regular intervals.

[Carys]

This is where I'm at now too...and its driving me nuts! I came on the forum to search specifically for this odd frequent urination thing (not been on here for many years!).
I did have a uti last week, antibiotics given and all other symptoms gone APART from thinking I need to go constantly (I don't get up in the night once asleep, which is quite telling!). I had the uti for two weeks and admittedly I was thinking about it constantly, and the need to 'go', but now I cant seem to stop feeling a constant urge. For a few hours this morning it went, but now back with avengance. I do have considerable anxiety at the moment, uti aside, as have another health issue to contend with.
How on earth does anxiety cause this problem? Will it eventually end if I simply try distraction?

[MyNameIsTerry]

The fight or flight response either stops or starts both urination & defacation. It's a preparatio thing.

Constant anxiety can mean a ot of weeing. But then, so does just being nervous in a non anxiety sufferer. So, it makes sense we can be affected by it.

I can remember going 4 times a night inbetween broken sleep. It was also a habit of "making sure", just like how you "make sure" before you go out.

[Carys]

Yes, that bit does make sense, I've experienced it before before exams. But the constancy of this 'urge' is really unsettling....I guess distraction is the only route..

[Canada67080]

Thanks for the replies. Yeah the severity varies from day to day or hour to hour. Nights have been a little better but during the day the focus is constantly on it and thus I am going all the time/ have urge to go all the time. Driving me insane.

I've been trying to "retrain" my bladder and setting specific times to go and for the most part have been able to do that..but it's still no way to live!