This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hey guys, hope everyone here is having a low pain day and not too rough a time <3

I was wanting to ask you all about urination, as I am having some problems and have started a new medication and last time this all happened - it ended with a rather large tube in a rather uncomfortable place!
I understand this is a rather personal question and some people may feel shy or embarrassed to talk about such things, which is perfectly fine so do not feel obliged to respond if that is the case, I am new here
and I do not get embarrassed about anything so I sort of just ask my questions and assume everyone will be okay with them!
1. How often do you usually urinate in a day, has it increased to a noticeable or somewhat annoying amount?
2. When you urinate, do you have problems actually starting? Personally, I will need to go, I stand there and wait...and wait...and wait some more. I can feel that my bladder needs emptying, and as I am standing there I will often feel like I am about to begin, but then don't. And this can happen multiple times. Today I drank a few glasses of coke and when I went to urinate it took me almost 10min to finally go.
3. If you do have a delay in actually starting to void, what would you say your average wait time is? I have, for as long as I can remember, always had small issues with this (not like above) where it would take me several moments to actually go, and maybe that 'about to go' feeling but not happening here and there - but now it has increased a lot as I said above.
4. Have you ever used any medication that has the side effect of causing difficulty to urinate, whilst also having the problem normally and finding that it becomes noticeably worse? This is the current situation I believe I am in, I usually have some problems with delay and whatnot, but I started buprenorphine patches 9 days ago, and have just started having more serious urination issues - difficulty urinating is a possible side effect, but I cannot be sure if it is just me, or the drug.

After having to go through an emergency catheter last year when my bladder almost exploded due to medication causing my muscles to stop working - note that I have serious hypersensitivity and pain problems, so the procedure was so painful 4 people had to hold me down - I am very scared it may happen again, and I am going on a trip out of state in a few days. Because I want to avoid another 'tubing' I have created a log where I am tracking how much liquid I take in and when I urinate and how long it takes me to void.
I am setting a rule that I may only drink two standard glasses of liquid, and then I must wait until I have urinated and emptied my bladder before drinking 2 more.
This is so if I do have serious problems with urination and muscle problems, I will not have enough stored in my bladder to cause any harm or be a problem - and I can simply wait it out for however long my muscles want to play the silly game without fear of a ruptured bladder or anything horrible like that, as well as not being in the social situation where I need to go to the bathroom but can't when I am out with people.

Apart from my questions, I wanted to know if you thought my log book/rule strategy was a good idea to keep things under control and to stop any sort of situation where I have a bladder completely full and no way to empty it - along with any suggestions as to how I may improve my methodology.

I thank you in advance for sharing such personal information with me, and for the help!

Isaac wrote:Today I drank a few glasses of coke and when I went to urinate it took me almost 10min to finally go.

I'm sorry to hear about your urination problem, but on a side note, consider that a 12 oz can of Coke has 40 grams of sugar in it. You would be better off drinking water. Sugar is toxic. You might wish to watch some of the videos linked in the following topic. http://www.thisisms.com/forum/diet-f9/topic19622.html

I have to go every couple of hours but fortunately do not have the problem you have going. Everyone is different.

NHE wrote:

Isaac wrote:Today I drank a few glasses of coke and when I went to urinate it took me almost 10min to finally go.

I'm sorry to hear about your urination problem, but on a side note, consider that a 12 oz can of Coke has 40 grams of sugar in it. You would be better off drinking water. Sugar is toxic. You might wish to watch some of the videos linked in the following topic. http://www.thisisms.com/forum/diet-f9/topic19622.html

My sweet tooth is almost non existent, I do not really like lollies or surgery things - and I have a well balanced and healthy diet, enjoying a glass or two of Coke is hardly going to make anything worse, and I drink Zero Coke, so yea.
I did not start the thread to discuss diet however, as I am comfortable with how I am currently eating - but thank you for the link regardless.

When my bladder problems started a few years ago, I also had long wait times, but I can't really recall how long that was. Things that helped me was a bit of physical activity involving my legs: a walk, some time on the exercise bike or a short run all seemed to work, especially the last one. I remember multiple times where I went on a brief run in the middle of the night, just so I could void my bladder reasonably well and could get some sleep.

My bladder symptoms have changed a bit over the years, from not being able to go, to really having to go urgently but not being able to go well (with quite some pain). Last year I started self catheterizing, and for me this has been a great help. Since I couldn't void my bladder even reasonably well anymore, I had to go very very often, which severly limited my ability to go beyond a few miles. Suddenly, I can empty my bladder again with the catheters, giving me a much better action radius.

About a year before starting this self catheterizing, a nurse needed to do it for an exam, which was considerably more painful than doing it myself. When doing it myself, at first it felt awkward having something going the wrong way, but after a few days it was already pretty much routine work. Now I'm just happy that I can have an empty bladder again.

brm wrote:When my bladder problems started a few years ago, I also had long wait times, but I can't really recall how long that was. Things that helped me was a bit of physical activity involving my legs: a walk, some time on the exercise bike or a short run all seemed to work, especially the last one. I remember multiple times where I went on a brief run in the middle of the night, just so I could void my bladder reasonably well and could get some sleep.

My bladder symptoms have changed a bit over the years, from not being able to go, to really having to go urgently but not being able to go well (with quite some pain). Last year I started self catheterizing, and for me this has been a great help. Since I couldn't void my bladder even reasonably well anymore, I had to go very very often, which severely limited my ability to go beyond a few miles. Suddenly, I can empty my bladder again with the catheters, giving me a much better action radius.

About a year before starting this self catheterizing, a nurse needed to do it for an exam, which was considerably more painful than doing it myself. When doing it myself, at first it felt awkward having something going the wrong way, but after a few days it was already pretty much routine work. Now I'm just happy that I can have an empty bladder again.

See this isn't even an options for me I am afraid, with my ridiculous out of control hypersensitivity my nerves throughout my entire body (especially a sensitive area like the penis) give me pain just from the clothing touching my skin, or the wind blowing to hard or giving someone a hug. I would not physically be able to self catheterize because I would not physically be able to withstand the trauma and the pain.
I am hoping it never comes to that, and with the use of a log system and careful moderation of my fluid intake I can always maintain control so I am never in a situation where I have a full bladder and can't go. I am currently seeking an MS DX, so it is not official yet - however it looks pretty clear cut after the past 2 years of symptoms and I understand incontinence and bladder issues do become problems later on with degeneration.

I guess I will just have to do my best and be mindful of how I manage myself etc!

Thanks for sharing your info with me

A couple of suggestions. The first requires giving up a little of your 'masculinity'. Don't stand, sit. It is a more relaxed position and if your body is more relaxed, your bladder may be as well. It is easier to be patient when you are sitting than when you are standing. Secondly, don't try to start; instead try to stop. Yes I know you're not actually going yet but the human body is funny. If you try to 'stop' when you are not going and then you cease 'stopping' all of a sudden you are going. Sounds crazy but I find it does work frequently.
Also, because I don't trust peoples avatars, how old are you? (It matters)

Two years ago I came down with Mononucleosis. I mention this only because it made all of my other symptoms worse. Minor problems with urination that I've had for years became much worse. I was afraid that the flow would shut off completely so the doctor put me on a medication called Tamsulosin. I had an allergic reaction to that which caused severe nasal congestion. I was faced with a choice between breathing and peeing. Breathing seemed more important to me so I got off that medication and the doctor prescribed another one called Rapaflo. Rapaflo did get the flow moving again, but it had some side effects too.

Anyway after the mono went away all of those nasty symptoms went away too and I got off all the medications.

The bottom line is; there are medications that might help with your problems, although they may have side effects. Ask your doctor about it.

BTW for the record I'm 67 years old and I have primary progressive MS. I was Dxed 20 years ago.

oreo wrote:A couple of suggestions. The first requires giving up a little of your 'masculinity'. Don't stand, sit. It is a more relaxed position and if your body is more relaxed, your bladder may be as well. It is easier to be patient when you are sitting than when you are standing. Secondly, don't try to start; instead try to stop. Yes I know you're not actually going yet but the human body is funny. If you try to 'stop' when you are not going and then you cease 'stopping' all of a sudden you are going. Sounds crazy but I find it does work frequently.
Also, because I don't trust peoples avatars, how old are you? (It matters)

Hey,
Due to muscle weakness and leg problems, I almost always sit anyway - it doesn't bother me!
An also an interesting suggestion, thanks!

For the record I am 19

If you're only 19 then we can pretty safely rule out prostate issues - and that's a good thing!

oreo wrote:If you're only 19 then we can pretty safely rule out prostate issues - and that's a good thing!

Agreed, not something I will probably have to worry about for a good few years yet hehe

Hi,

I'm straying into unfamiliar territory here as I don't have that problem at all. I can empathise as at one point I was heading in that direction but not now.
Can you describe what your doctors say the problem is due to and what they think? Does it lead to second round effects?
Can you share with us exactly what medication or supplements you use?
Apart from this problem what are the major problems you have and can you see any commonality between this and other symptoms.

I'm better at what I can identify with than something that has not been a problem for me so I do apologise for barging in.

Regards,