Could you please discribe how your bladder problems started!

[wally8]

So far I have been very lucky in this area, but I am scared things may be changing. You know the feeling you have when you sit down to go, you relax that muscle that starts the flow of urine. Well I have been having that feeling more and more just out of the blue. It feels like I am about to wet myself, I quickly clench that muscle and the feeling goes away.
Can anyone relate to this? Is this a sign things are going to pot in this area (pardon the pun).

Thanks
Kathy

[Thinkimjob]

Mmmm. Began many years ago with the urge to go every ten minutes, which wasn't a UTI and thankfully not interstitial cystitis. That lasted a day or three. Obviously a flare.

It comes back occasionally but I generally kill the urge with Tofranil, which is an anti-depressant also used to stop persistent childhood bed- wetting.

Now I've developed the inability to "hold it". There really are not enough nerves firing to make those muscles work. Yes, pelvic floor stuff works but not that well.

It doesn't happen unless I really, really should have gone earlier when I first got the urge. Once it starts, I really can't stop it.

Or when I make the error of trying to carry things, get the cat out and unlock doors when my bladder was the priority.

Or when I can't get my pants or stockings down fast enough. No more belts and buttons for me.

On one occasion, Niagara Falls had nothing on my own private waterfall.

This happened one morning when I answered the phone straight out of bed, basically nude, fortunately at home, instead of going to the loo.

Utterly astonishing. Who'd've though one little bladder could hold that much?

Underpants are your friend, trust me. Good luck. Squeeze that lemon!

[teecee123]

BLADDER ISSUES

I BEGAN HAVING BOWEL AND BLADDER ISSUES FROM THE BEGINNING OF ONSET PPMS I HAD ISSUES NEEDING TO URINATE OFTEN OND FREDQ FEEL URGE FOR BOWEL MOVEMENT (BM) BUT NO RESULS THEN UPGRATED TO NOT BEING ABLE TO GET TO BR QUICK ENOUGH HAD BEEN PUT ON IN AND OUT CATHS AFTER UROLOGY WORK UP AND HAS SUBSIDED AT THIS TIME FOR NO KNOWN RESON, BM, WHILE STILL WORKING REMEMBER GOING TO VARIOUS GAS STATIONS TO USE FACILITIS, ACTUALLY CRAPPED MY PANTS COULDNT GET TO REST ROOM IN TIME BUT OIVER THE YEARS HAVE WENT BACK END FORTH WITH ISSUES BUT REMEMBER THE EMBARASSING ISSUES LIKE YESTERDAY THERE IS NO "NORM" DEALING WITH MS JUST ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO TALK TO YOUR DOCS, NOTHING IS SACRED! CANT HELP FIX PROBLEM IF THEY ARE UNAWARE SOMETIMES HELPS WITH DIAGNOSIS BEST WISHES

[JerryD]

I think these problems are made worse by eating too much red meat and dairy. I heard that meat protein hangs onto the walls of your bladder and causes problems. I eliminated dairy from my diet and I have limited myself to small portions of meat protein. I also add D-mannose powder to my juice in the morning, as needed. I think it keeps the bladder clear of the bacteria that cause UTI's. Good luck

[kebsa]

i have RRMS and bladder problems were some of my earliest issues too- it was initally a case of not having the urge to until my bladder was pretty full and then i would be rather desperate- initially i could avoind the problem just by going to the bathroom regualrly. but gradully it got so that i could not go until my baldder was absolutely full- then i would get the urge to go-i am wheelchair dependant as i am an amputee - and i would be able to get to the bathroom but then the moment i tried to stand to transfer i would lose the lot!
i had urodymanic studies done and that showed that i was not goetting any sensation until my ballder was well over a litre full! i was diagnosed as having neurogenic bladder.

i was told that the only real options for me were either to self catheterise 4 times a day or have a permanent catheter and ue to my mobility issues a permanent catheter was the best option- now i have a supra pubic catheter and while its not perfect, its better than the constant risk of incontinence. now days i have baldder problems too but i am also far less mobile. i have been worried about the bowel issues as i have little control and once i feel the need , i must get there immediately!!! sadly i had had some accidents but after working with a continence advisor i have been able to work out a plan where the need to use my bowels is more predicatable- its probaly the worst symptom of my ms but the bowel program has made it managable at present but the 2 issues do not automatically follow so having urinary issues does not mean that the other issues are to follow

[lstrl]

I noticed a little over a year ago, I was at work one day when, all of a sudden, I had to pee every half hour. Holding the urge like I always have before was out of the question as well. My body just wouldn't let me do that anymore. Thankfully, my job duties at the time allowed me to go every time I got that urge. After a little while, I got to the point where the urge wouldn't pop up quite so soon. It has fluctuated throughout the past year, so sometimes I'll have to go every hour, but other times it doesn't come around until 4 hours later (although usually around 2 hours). It's been common for me to wake up 1-2 times during the night (4 times at its worst), but a lot of times I can make it all night now without waking up to pee. Unfortunately, the urgency won't go away.

At the time my problems started, I was waiting to see a new neurologist, so I didn't see anyone about it until a few months after my bladder issues started. She told me to see my PCP to check for a uti, and if it came back clear, she would prescribe me something. I never did go back though, so to this date, I've never taken anything for it.