Periodically, for several months at a time, I have problems getting to the loo without starting to wee before I’m sitting on the seat (urgency). I have been to see a consultant and been offered botox but by the time the appointment came through I was fine. A week or two later the urgency started again. I went to my GP, got another appointment with the consultant on 24th June. Of course as soon as the appointment came through my bladder problems started going away. I don’t know whether to go ahead with my appointment or cancel it.
I had a bladder scan a few years ago and was retaining more than 100ml of urine so I was taught to self-cathaterise, which I did every morning and sometimes at other times in the day for a couple of years. I don’t have to do it any more - I used to have to do it because I needed to go to the loo every half an hour in the morning otherwise (frequency). Now I go several hours between visits. If I have botox I will have to self-cathaterise at least twice a day.
Has anyone else had these bladder problems (urgency and/or frequency) that stick around for a while and then go away again? Has anyone got any advice?
SInce I started having problems nearly 4 years ago, it has certainly been very variable, but never gone away. You dont mention whether you have tried medications; I havent had much success with them but others have. Betmiga is one of the newest that seems to be quite successful. Have you had urodynamics? - it might help to determine what is going on. I would be inclined to go ahead with the appointment and get the advice of the consultant; I am sure he/she will be familiar with this scenario.
I am on Regurin. I had urodynamic testing in a good patch a few years ago. They said there was nothing wrong with me and that I had good bladder capacity - I nearly filled their pot. I am seeing my GP tomorrow so I might ask him about Betmiga. It’s the intermittent nature of my problem that is so difficult to cope with. What if I have Botox and I would have been fine anyway? It would be better to find a drug that makes things better - when I’m going through a bad patch it feels as if the Regurin is doing nothing (but I never dare to stop it when things are better).
Havent heard of Regurin before. I think you are right though that with intermittent problems, medication sounds a better option assuming there is something more effective for you than Regurin. I guess it depends though on how long with Botox you might be inconvenienced by having to daily self catheterise as I think it is followed by a better period when ISC becomes uneccessary. I am expecting Botox soon myself and am hoping they might gauge it so I dont need to ISC at all as I can imagine dashing to work in my usual way and forgetting to take the catheters with me (then what do you do?) and also I dont really want to be carrying them around in my pocket doing my my teaching job. At least with medication one can take the added precaution of wearing pads.
I am now catheterised full time to the last eighteen months supra pubic previously urethral. I started intermittently self catheter because of retention I have a diverticulum on bladder so never fully drained and cause infections. When I had urethral catheter had loads of infections and demanded a supra pubic consultant has preference for urethral had row and chucked toys out of pram. Got supra pubic December 2012 had two infections in that time, with urethral catheter would have had about twenty. Consultant is prat .
I have resent ly been diagnosed with primary progressive ms, I have had problems with retention and urgency for several months now, not sure if I would be able to self catheterise, did you find it easy to do
My bladder likes to play games too, ok for a couple of months suddenly changes to urgency wet myself twice at work totally unprepared, then I have retention, drip,drip drip. Then feel like I have an infection 2 out of the 5 times I was right, seen and discharged by continence nurse all ok, scan with MS nurse says retaining re referrred to urology with possible need for self catheterising.
I found it relatively easy to self-cathereterise. I did it, on average, about once a day for something like two years. I have, about one in fifteen times, put the catheter up the wrong hole (sorry, there was no nice way to put that) and had to use another catheter. But generally an OK experience.
However, since I’ve been on 80mg a day of Simvastatin, my bladder problems have pretty much gone. I now go three hours between trips to the loo and everything in that gsrden is lovely. Yesterday I was making my way, slowly, to the loo when I caught my foot on the edge of the rug and fell over. I have done this a few times before and always wet myself, either a bit or a lot. Yesterday, I was still dry when I got to the loo after my husband had got me to my feet again. So, bladder control great: walking pants. Hoping the Simvastatin is working on one bit of me and will improve another bit soon.
Hi, first job…get rid of tht chuffin` rug! You dont need an obstacles lying round the house, to hamper yourself in getting to the loo, eh?
Simvastatin for bladder control? not heard of that. Vesicare and oxybutynin are ones I`ve tried and am currently taking the latter.
I`m waiting to see the uro again. Had the spc fitted in July 2013…I have had no utis, but have had a few bleeds and floods. I am asking about botox, as the tablets do calm it, but they give a very dry mouth and sometimes a sore throat too.
Bladder problems are getting me down. I have tried everything tablet wise but still have problems, I catheterise about 10 times a day with 3 of they during the night. I’ve tried the sheath at night with a drainage bag but all that does is wake me up loads of times as I have about 300ml retention in my bladder and I still have to get up and catheterise. I just hope I will get funding for Botox soon, 3 times it has been denied so far. I have had many wet nights, sometimes twice a night. So I have urgency, frequency and retention all in one, it’s a living nightmare. I sympathise with anyone having similar problems.
Simvastatin is NOT a bladder control drug. It is a drug that seems to slow down shrinkage of the brain in people with MS. It seems to have improved my bladder control problems but you need to ask your neuro or your GP if you want to go on it - your urologist will think it’s a strange request.