Posted , 12 users are following.
When i stop and go several times while urinating, will this damage my bladder muscles over time? How much time does this take? I have been holding off on getting a TURP procedure, in hopes that some better technology will come along (like Urolift) but now i'm not sure if waiting will work for me if it will lead to damage of my bladder. Thanks for any info that you may have.
0 likes, 16 replies
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chuck68670 dan25410
Posted
Dan,
I strongly recommend that You check into CIC or Self Cathing, and do NOT take too long to choose the Right option for You. Good Luck Brother.
Chuck
stome dan25410
Posted
Do you mean stop and go on purpose or you can't help it.My dad stops and goes all the time for years.
stome dan25410
Posted
Do you mean stop and go on purpose or you can't help it.My dad stops and goes all the time for years.
dan25410 stome
Posted
It's very much "on purpose" since i have to make somewhat of a concentrated intentional effort to urinate, especially after i have been laying down for a few hours. Fortunately, this is not usually the case when i active and moving about, and i can get decent flow, without the Stop and Go (or Start and Stop). For whatever reason, being active makes it easier to urinate, and conversely, sitting or lying down in one position (especially sleeping) tends to make the "flow" much worse.
When i asked my doctor this question, he said that it would take "several years" of these symptoms to cause the bladder to lose its ability to contract. I don't know how much time is "several years" and i don't know exactly when my clock for this has started . . .
stome dan25410
Posted
Do you mean stop and go on purpose or you can't help it.My dad stops and goes all the time for years.
Badbolr dan25410
Posted
from what I've read and experienced frequency isn't the issue, its 'straining'... when you strain you contract the bladder muscles. and like any muscle the more you contract it (exercise it) the more it grows.
unfortunately when it comes to the bladder 'growth' comes in the form of thickening the bladder wall on the INSIDE thereby reducing the volume of urine you can comfortably hold.
this creates the urge to go sooner... add to that all the strain can damage the sphincter muscles that control release of urine making it hard to start, stop, and not leak.
only a Cystotomy can see bladder damage. i was aware of this the last 20 years as i struggled to pee and my primary goal was to RELAX! i might have had to stand 5 minutes to fully empty but i learned and trained myself not to push until my body let the urine flow. I didnt push and push to get it started.
I'd say that worked since after 20+ years of poor urination history i show minimal thickening of my bladder wall.
So my advice is to learn to relax everything and be patient until your body lets it flow. no matter how many times you have to go.
you just have to plan accordingly 😕
good luck!
dan25410 Badbolr
Posted
Thank you for your advice, and information confirming what i had suspected: to not try to force it, but to just relax and let it flow when it's ready. Actually, i don't think that it's even possible for me to "force" it in any case, and i think that relaxing is the best way to get things going.
Did you end up getting a procedure after dealing with the LUTS for 20+ years?
nick67069 Badbolr
Posted
I second your comments! I also have learned to relax and it helps. If you do Kegel exercises properly you will know what muscles are involved. When trying to relax, you focus to relax those same muscles.
Badbolr dan25410
Posted
yes, I had Rezum 2 weeks ago. you can search my name in the forum for my posts on that.
tom86211 dan25410
Posted
Dan,
You don't say how difficult it is for you to pee now. Take the IPSS test online and find out what your score is. There are many different procedures that may help you, and the members here are aware of just about everything that is available. No one can say for sure, but the longer you wait the more likely it is that you may cause issues with your bladder, or develop chronic insomnia from nocturia. You suggested that Urolift is better than TURP. Lots of comments here from men who have had Urolift and some have had good results and some had terrible results. Most here who have had the newer forms of TURP (bipolar and plasma button) have had excellent results (including me). This forum is a good place to learn about what is possible, but hoping that some miracle procedure is going to come along in the near future is not, in my opinion, a good idea.
Tom
steven05114 dan25410
Posted
Dan,
.
You may not be "wearing out" you bladder but you may be damaging it and a damaged bladder will take a long time to recover, that is if it recovers. One of the more interesting articles that I read was:
.
The Detrusor Muscle: An Innocent Victim of Bladder Outlet Obstruction
Vincenzo Mirone*, Ciro Imbimbo, Longo, Ferdinando Fusco
Urologic Clinic, University Federico II of Naples, Naples, Italy
European Urology 51 (2007) 57–66
.
In January 2018, I had 2 liters of pee taken out of me. It took 4 months for my bladder to feel anything. I had a Rezum at the end of November 2018 which cleared the obstruction. Almost a year later, my PVR's are with the normal range but my bladder is still recovering.
.
Take the IPSS and if your BPH is in the severe range, seriously consider a procedure to remove the blockage from you BPH. The other option is to damage your bladder which may or may not recover...
.
Steve
steven05114
Posted
PS: Dan, a cystoscopy and urodynamics test will identify if you have bladder damage but these are usually done when you are considering a BPH procedure.
dan25410 steven05114
Posted
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the info and advice -- much appreciated. I did have a cystoscopy done in 2015, but the urologist wasn't explaining what he was looking for as well as i am finding out here in this forum! He didn't mention any of these things that he was looking for, and the only thing that i knew of at that time was that Chlamydia could leave some scar tissue, and i thought that he was looking to see if there was any stricture in the urethra. Now i need to check on that report to see what was said about the condition of the bladder. 2014 was the beginning of my on-going visits to the urologists, blood tests for PSA, prostate MRI and biopsy, and ultrasound to see how much urine is remaining in the bladder after peeing ( around 90 ml).
steven05114 dan25410
Posted
Dan,
.
If your urologist can't explain things to you, then find another urologist. Unfortunately, there are many doctors with poor communication skills.
.
Steve
doug13657 dan25410
Posted
They say urine retention is hard on your bladder. I had the Holeup procedure done three years ago this month and have been very happy with the results! Us guys do not ever like the sound of surgery and especially on our man parts, but I can say my only regret is waiting so long to have it done!