Bladder & Gas Problem!

[Shawn]

Hi

I can feel the need to empty my bladder which happens almost every two hours day & night. However, i need to press very hard to void and this works but, i also "fart" or "pass gas" at the same time. This is very embarrassing for me but i'm more concerned about the possibility of something being wrong in terms of my health. Please advise.

Kind Regards

Shawn

[SCI-Nurse]

Voiding every two hours is too often. It makes me worry that you are not emptying your bladder very well with straining. You might want to consider trying intermittent catheterization. An approach like this would make it possible for you to go longer betwen peeing and to sleep better at night. You might want to check with you doctor or your urologist about this.

RAB

[Shawn]

I spoke to my Urologist about this a while back and we tried intermittent catherization but, i still had to go so frequently so, i stopped it and continued voiding myself. I also had urodynamics done and the results revealed that i've got a high pressure bladder.

[bob clark]

Hi Shawn,

Hopefully Nurse RAB will comment on your high bladder pressure. That's something that can have serious negative effects on your kidneys so you should talk to your urologist about it. Hopefully s/he will have some Spinal Cord Injury experience too.

If you're gonna pass gas I guess it's best to do it in private while you're trying to pee!

[Shawn]

Yes, i do it in private. I actually feel like fainting when i strain/push too hard.

[SCI-Nurse]

Some possible treatments for a high pressure bladder include taking a medicine like oxybutynin (Ditropan) or tolteridine (Detrol) to stop the bladder from squeezing down so hard. Another is to use an indwelling catheter (I'm presuming you are male) either through your penis (a foley catheter) or through your abdomen (a suprapubic catheter). People may warn you against using an indwelling catheter but in my opinion, the risk to your health of a high pressure bladder are much higher and the risks of using an indwelling catheter. Another possibility is a surgery called an "augmentation cystoplasty." or bladder augmentation. In this procedure the surgeon takes a piece of bowel (either form the small or large intestine) and pleats it into the bladder. This makes it so that the bladder cannot squeeze down, cures the high pressure problem and would let you retain a bit more urine so that you wouldn't have to pee so often. You would need to do intermittent catheterization with this. Straining would not work any more. If you search the forums for "augmentation" you will find some threads discussing people's experience with this surgery.

RAB

[alan]

Do those meds (Ditropan, Detrol) stop all voiding?

[metronycguy]

Voiding every two hours is too often.
RAB uh oh,

[spidergirl]

This might sound like a dumb question.. I would like to quote the person that said "There are no dumb questions" but I forgot who it was.

Is "passing gas" an incomplete sensation? I havent "passed gas" since my injury. (6 weeks ago) but while I was being transferred to the tub yesterday I did.....:thinking:

[bob clark]

Is that your picture in your profile Spidergirl?

You're too pretty to pass gas! :)

[spidergirl]

Yes it is Mr. Clark....Thank-you for the comment.

However still looking for answer if its out there. :)

[bob clark]

Hi Spidergirl,

Welcome to CC and I'm sorry to hear that you recently became SCI'd. :mad: It'll take ya awhile to get adjusted so hang in there.

It will also take your GI (gastro-intestinal) tract time to get used to your SCI. Everything kinda slows up. What took 24 hours to go through your system before may now take 2-5 or even more days. I don't know if this is due to the SCI itself or just because we're not getting up and down and bouncing around and not moving our bodies and abdomens as much. Especially if you're on any type of opioids for pain.

I have far less gas now that I'm paralyzed. Whether it's because I eat less or because of the SCI slowing up my GI tract I don't know.

It will probably take you months (maybe years) to figure out how your GI tract is going to behave. Try to get on an regimented eating schedule so it will be easier to predict when you need to go and what foods may be creating gas in your intestines.

And you may need to get on stool softeners too if your stool gets hard and you start to bleed or whatever. I'm finding this difficult to talk about to a pretty woman! I'll stop here and maybe the Nurse or doctor or others can comment more fully.

Best of luck.