Bladder always full

Posted , 5 users are following.

Hi my bladder is always full even after I urinate. I've had a couple of cystoscopies and the urologist says I have moderate BPH. He did not think a Turp would solve my issue, as he feels the issue is more bladder related. Although he did not offer any suggestions for the cause or a fix. I was referred to a 2nd urologist as he does the green light laser surgery, but he said there is only a 20% chance of success and they want to use a general anesthetic, but I have breathing issues. Not to mention the wait list is over a year. 

My immediate need is to get my bladder emptied. I've heard of people doing self catherization on a regular basis. I bought some catheters and tried this myself, but I seem to have hit a wall when I tried to insert the catheter. I assume this was the bladder sphincter, but it was causing significant pain, so I stopped. The catheter had some blood on it when I removed it, but I have been diagnosed with blood in the urine before and it usually clears up.

I will ask the new urologist for help with this, but I suspect it will take months to get an appointment and they likely won't want to help me with this. I guess my other option is to go to the ER, but since this would be a low priority, I can expect to wait more than 12 hours. My mother recently had to wait 14 hours for a stroke.

Any suggestions appreciated.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Posted

    Hello,

    I also have been experiencing my bladder not wholly emptying after I have passed urine and had a number of outpatient appointments with my hospital's urology department before the surgeon did decide to carry out a TURP in August. Unfortunately this procedure has not given me any relief as I am still experiencing the same problems I had before the TURP was done.

    I also tried self-catheterisation at home but it kept giving me infections so in the end it was decided to stop doing this procedure.

    Things have got to the stage now where I have had to contact my GP about me having different bladder and passing urine problems, including an infection for which I have just finished another course of antibiotics. She recommended that I hand in a urine sample to my doctor's surgery as well as contacting the urology department to see if I could get any earlier appointment than the one January next year. The urology receptionist informed that they had no earlier slots available and I should ask my GP to write a letter to the hospital to see if this enabled me to get an earlier appointment. This I have done and now all I can do is wait and see.

    I hope you get some control over your symptoms as I know how unpleasant and sometimes embarrassing these can be.

    Regards, Ian

    • Posted

      Sounds like we're in the same unpleasant boat. My GP is helpful, but refers pretty much everything. My last physical, I never even got my clothes off. I'm not sure how it's a physical without getting your abdomen poked, butt probed and your hernias checked. I had to get an MRI to get my abdominal issues checked, this took five months for the appointment and a month for the report. In the end I had to chase the report.

    • Posted

      I agree that our cases sound similar. My GP is very good and I can't complain about the care she has given me. Earlier this month she referred me to hospital when I went to see her with bad stomach pains, she did not hesitate and gave me a letter of referral to take to A&E, I was in hospital for a week with a bowel obstruction.

      I understand your frustration at not being physically examined, could you ask for a second opinion? It sure sounds you are having a rough deal. Ian

    • Posted

      She's actually the best GP I've had in a while. The last one would refuse to do blood work, she said she would decide what tests were done. So we agreed to disagree.

      The wait times for specialists and MRIs are horrible here for everyone. I booked an MRI in the US, but their machine broke and I got cancelled. I should have re-booked, it still would have saved me about 3 months.

    • Posted

      I am glad you have finally got a good GP, it  certainly sounds like the previous one was a bit of a nightmare and she should of taken note of your wishes, I agree the waiting times can be really long and  I am amazed that your MRI scan got cancelled because it broke, did they only have the one, I find that amazing. With the benefit of hindsight we could always change things, it is not that easy is it.
  • Posted

    So when you meet resistance you need to cough and push the catheter in. See if that works.

    What did he think was wrong with your bladder?

    Do you have Diabetes or any form of polyneuropathy?

    What breathing problems do you have?

    • Posted

      I have Ankylosing Spondylitis, but the urologist did not think this was the issue. The urologist did not really have an explanation. He talked about doing a test of the bladder muscles, but it never got scheduled.

      I'm getting a 3rd cystoscopy done by urologist #2 in December, so I'll see what he says.

      I'll try the coughing thing when I get brave enough again. I thought trying to pee while pushing might do the trick too, but I wasn't too sure of this.

  • Posted

    Bill, cic, is the best.  What if you keep trying?  There were others on this forum that were having a hard time with cic but eventually they were able to insert the catheter.
    • Posted

      Thanks, Yes I will try again.

      My doctor currently has me on amoxicillin clavulanate to treat some abdominal distention/breathing issues that they can't figure out. I recently had a prostate ultrasound and the doctor just touched my abdomen and said you have serious colon issues. Weird thing is that I just had an MRI done and it did not mention this or my bladder, so I'm seriously considering having it redone, as the clinic went bankrupt where I had it done.

      Anyway, my point is I'm waiting to see what the antibiotics do for me before I let the doctor take her next pot shot. cheesygrin Bladder might be slightly better, but without a US can't tell.

      She wants me to try FODMAP diet next; how can a person live without Garlic? At least Beer is not on the list. smile

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