I've had pressure on my bladder for 14 months, help?!

thanks for the kind words 😊

hope your better now 

jay xx

I appreciate how you must be feeling.   I have now been given flavoxate but the chemist won't have it in until next week.    If you have had any success please post and I can certainly let you know how I get on once I get my prescription and try the tablets for a few days.   

Flavoxate is described as:-

Flavoxate is used to treat overactive bladder (a condition in which the bladder muscles contract uncontrollably and cause frequent urination, urgent need to urinate, and inability to control urination) relieve painful, frequent, or nighttime urination and urgency that may occur with infections of the prostate, bladder, or kidneys. Flavoxate is in a class of medications called antimuscarinics. It works by relaxing the bladder muscles. However, flavoxate is not an antibiotic; it does not cure infections.

Try not to worry,  I find it makes things worse and it is quite reassuring that so many of us have such similar symptoms.

This will be a long story but here it goes, I am 28 years old, been with one partner for 8 years, very healthy, eat well, rarely drink alcohol, no past illnesess, one previous UTI when I was 18/19.

My nightmare started at the end of Feb, I had a UTI, was prescribed Trimethoprin but it didn't do the trick so moved on to nitrofurantoin, that sorted me out but two days later the symptoms were back. So I went to the doctors and they did a dip test again and it showed my infection was gone, sent it off to be cultured, still clean. They did a swab in my vagina, checked for STI/STD, thrush and BV and nothing found.

I had horrible pressure in my bladder for 3 weeks, felt like I always had to go for a wee, when I went to the toilet only a small amount of urine was there. I cut back on all foods that can irritate the bladder and thankfully the pressure lifted however I still had the urge to urinate more than usual and felt very uncomfortable.

I experimented by having acidic food and alcohol again, nothing seemed to change, still needed to go to the toilet every hour but no real 'pain' or discomfort except for a little bit of burning after I urinate, I couldn't tell if it was inside the uretha or just at the opening though. I applied thrush cream and that would stop the burning for a bit.

I then had my copper coil removed just incase it was that and the lady doing it said I had a severe case of BV and thrush after looking at a sample from my vagina in their lab, which is funny since my GP didn't find that. I took a 3 tablet course for the thrush and a 5 day course of metronidazole (flagyl) and I was feeling better, going to the toilet around 7 times a day, feeling around 95% better. A few days after I finished my treatment the same feelings came back, having to go to the toilet every half an hour/hour, tender in my lower tummy and a sense of urgency when I needed to go to the toilet (although I can hold it for a while with no problems). I had a test to see the thrush and BV it had returned but nothing found.

I've tried not using toilet paper and just washing myself every time I go to the toilet, after a few weeks that didn't seem to help at all.

I now feel a flutter or butterflys in my uretha some times and I wonder if this is bladder spasms and if that could be something from an over active bladder?

This is absolutly controlling my life right now, Im scared to eat anything incase it makes me feel worse, I only eat very plain food and tons of veggies and water, I cant go out and socialise, I cant work because all I can think about is my bladder, I cant have sex with my husband because it is painful and I break down in tears many times a day.

I have only been married around a year and we wanted to start a family in a few months, but that just seems impossible with my problems right now.

I hope that one day I feel better and I will look back on this as a tough period in my life that I got through.

My Doctor  thinks I have an overactive bladder.  I think I am involuntarily squeezing my bladder muscle tight probably  through stress cos I was scared of the pain when going to the toilet. I could also have interstitial cystits but i'm too scared of  having a cystoscopy.  I was perfectly healthy until Feb 2016, could eat anything I wanted and go to the toilet normally and then suddenly everything  changed.   I thought I had taken cystitis but my tests are clear and antibiotics didn't help.   I also had a dental abscess at the same time which made my face swell as it couldn't escape and the antibiotics didn't work on it.  I'm not sure if the two things are connected.    

Unfortunately the flavoxate has only slightly helped.  It has stopped the "being jabbed by a needle in the urethra feeling" I went to hospital for an ultrasound (you have no idea how many times I nearly cancelled it!) and now i'm stressed out waiting on the results.   The Doctor says there are still a few more things we can try but at the moment he wants me to carry on with the flavoxate for 3 months.  Sometimes my urine is only a trickle but when I take alkalising food the flow gets better.  Trying to eat alkaline is so hard.   I can't survive on leaves!

I really feel for you.   Of course you want to start a family with your husband.  I was wanting to start a new relationship but there is no way I could have sex.

I wrote my symptoms in bullet points and told them to the Doctor so I didn't miss anything out.   I think, like me, you are going to have to go back to your Doctor and try something else.  Surely if we were both ok a few months ago we can get back to normal health?

I am thinking of you.   Please keep me infoed.

Thank you for your reply, sorry I haven't been in touch sooner, I've been trying to stay offline and concentrate on getting better. I am happy to say I am feeling much better since my last post, not 100% better but very nearly there. I think in a month - 6 weeks I should be 100% better.

Here's what I have tried, this won't work for everyone as everyone's bodies are different and the reason their bladder has had this reaction is personal.

1. Diet - I eliminated all acidic food and foods listed on the IC diet, even things like garlic and onions. I stopped this a few weeks ago as it was making me very low and I was loosing weight fast, as I am already a slim person I couldn't afford to lose anymore weight. I didn't notice any difference when I reintroduced the 'bad' food.

2. Supplements - I took turmeric, bovine colostrum, iron, high quality probiotics, vitamin d, slippery elm and marshmallow root. I can't comment if these did or didn't work. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't.

3. Acupuncture - a friend of mine is quite a big believer in this so I thought I'd give it a try. I did some research and I found a lady that has lots of experience with bladder inflammation and started having 2 sessions a week with her. I feel this has helped me the most and I think this has helped my body heal. The only things my acupuncturist thinks I should not eat/drink is alcohol, salty and spicy food. In case anyone is interested in acupuncture the lady I use is Julie at The Chinese Health Clinic in Gillingham, Kent. If you can't go there I recommend you do some research for one near you, there's some terrible acupuncturists out there and they can do more harm than good.

I've gone from a tingling and burning in my bladder at all times to having hours where I feel totally myself again and I even had my first whole day where I felt 100% better yesterday. I am realistic and I don't expect to not have any little blips over the next few weeks whilst my body continues to heal, but I won't panic and think I'm going back to the way I was again.

Also, sex is back to normal again, no pain at all, back to the way it should be

Emotionally I am much better now too, I haven't cried in weeks whereas I used to cry every day multiple times. I have to say the Internet is good and bad, it's good because you can learn so much about what others have gone through and what might help you heal or find out what could be causing your issue. But the bad side is most people post about their symptoms when they are at their lowest and dont repost when they feel better. In my opinion this is quite mean as most of the forums out there show hundreds of people desperate for help and it makes you think that you will never feel better and this is your life now. One thing I would say is avoid the popular IC website in America, I have found most of the people on there to be really negative and like there's no hope that you will ever be better. It has been important for me to remember that most of the people on there are very ill and they have multiple things wrong with them, not just an irritated bladder.

I think what has got me to this state is I used to have a very stressful job which I quit in March. I was warned by my family that they thought I was going to have breakdown but I ignored them and I think what I am dealing with now is because I pushed myself too hard.

What I plan on doing now is continuing with my acupuncture treatments, avoiding stressful situations, lots of rest, sleep and good food. I am also going on holiday with my parents next week, that will hopefully help me too.

Once I get back to 100% better I am going to avoid UTIs like the plague!! I do not want another episode like this!

I think the reason you are having trouble with your bladder Vicky is because of the toxins in your body from your tooth problem. I encourage you to try acupuncture, it's all about balancing your body and getting poisons out of your body. It might not be a bad idea to take that tooth out as well, since its caused so much trouble.

I'll make sure I stay in touch repost with any more advise and updates on my symptoms

I am so pleased you are getting better.   It gives hope to everyone.  I know it has not been an easy road and you are not quite there yet but it is so good to hear you are improving.    

Your reply came at the perfect time for me.  I am just this minute back from seeing a Hospital Consultant.    Funnily enough her diagnosis of me is very similar to yours!!!!   She thinks the stress and infections of bladder/tooth have caused my problems.   I also have a large fibroid which could be causing the pressure on my bladder but the recommendation is to leave that alone unless it starts causing real trouble and it should start shrinking due to my age.     I'm told my pelvic region is stressed out and tight (I totally agree) and to try relaxation exercises.    I am VERY interested in your recommendation of acupuncture but at the moment I have been made unemployed and looking for a new job (reason i'm so stressed) so money wise I can't afford it.   I live hundreds of miles away from you but I have already found an acupuncturist online who is ex nhs, council registered and has a degree in western and chinese medicine practising very near my home.  I think she would be worth investigating when I am in a position to do so. Until then I am going to carry on taking the supplements you recommend (I already do marshmallow and probiotic and I truly believe they have helped me) but it must be emphasised that it looks as if in my case my condition is caused by stress and infection/run down so as not to give false hope to people who may have more serious reasons.

I am definitely not in the clear yet.  I am going to try everything I can to get myself better but I know that if they don't work then I  have been given the option of a cystoscopy.   We all know i'm terrified of this so I asked what benefit it would have.    She said it would show anything "nasty" but having seen my ultrasound and listened to my symptoms she thinks it would be clear but couldn't promise and the decision was mine.   I am leaving it at the moment but I can go to my Doctor at any time and be put on list which is about 2/3 weeks.  The appointment system here has been really qood in my case. They even phoned me on Thursday to say they have a cancellation for today and did I want it.    Of course I said yes.     

Please do keep me infoed on your progress and I will do the same.   I have no idea which way my story will end.   I may get fully better (doubtful) I may have to live with some of the symptoms  (probably) or I might have to be investigated further only time will tell.    I have found this website, and the people on it, to be particularly helpful to me and it is the only forum I have looked at.

Take care xx

Hi, just wondering if this went away?? I have the same symptom and I'm so uncomfortable all the time