Solumedrol question

[beachcomber13]

I had my first course of solumedrol Friday-Tuesday. Last night (Thursday night) I began needing to urinate every 30-60 minutes. Not like tons and tons. But also not my bladder fooling me.

And it continues today!

I can't get a hold of my @$&#%& neurologist. So of course my question is whether this happens with steroids. Anybody?

[beachcomber13]

Well, today things got more uncomfortable and long story short I do have a mild UTI. Mild is good! :) On antibiotics and something else, feeling better.

I can't believe you do the solumedrol thing every month. It helped me a bit with sensation but created problems that were worse than what it helped. Acne, joint pain, pee stuff, blurry vision... boo. I hope ACTH is better. My neuro seems to think it's the cat's meow.

[Doll555]

I have monthly infusions of the solumedrol and i always have the day of peeing. It is annoying but I usually feel better. I hope that is all that it is. I hope you feel better soon.

[beachcomber13]

Doll, you made me feel better last night... that it might just be that stupid steroid and not something more serious.

I knew that I was having P issues, had told my neuro on Wednesday that I hardly urinated at all for three days. I questioned whether it was in my bladder and not able to come out. I guess I was just retaining water. But gosh, this much? It's been a day and a half since it started coming out. Now I'm going to the bathroom every two hours or so. I was able to sleep, just got up several times. Ah, rest is so nice.

My joint pain has lessened today. And my vision is better. It started going blurry two days into the steroids. Both the neuro and ophthalmologist (whom I saw yesterday since I had been blurry for five days) said it couldn't be the steroids. But I think they are wrong!

I googled water retention and blurred vision... Yeah, apparently it happens all the time to pregnant women. How can this not occur to doctors?? Go for the simplest answer first. Sorry, the simplest answer after, "It's all in your head." They either think I'm making it up (or crazy) or that I have a chronic problem. I tend to think first about regular problems or medication effects before assuming it's the MS.

I have loose skin on my fingers now. Didn't even realize how much they had plumped up.

I do still have pain off and on in the right side of my back--I guess my kidney might be stressed out making all this urine. The right kidney is the one that had a stone before and tends to be a little wimpy.

[Doll555]

I have frequent urination with solumedrol too. It is usually a few days after my first infusion. Thankfully it is only one day of running to the bathroom. I feel like I retain water from the iv and it all decides to come out in one day!

[jujuminx]

This has never happened to me but the older I get and more I read, the more I believe that sometimes the body has on/off switches on certain parts.

A simlar "on" happened to me with my inner eye tear duct. Weeping like a baby one day, all better a few days later. I literally could feel it pumping the liquid out.

Hope it doesn't last long as bladder frequency can keep you house bound.

Julie

[beachcomber13]

Well, I drank lots of water, tried to flush things out... Still P ing frequently and kind of uncomfortable. Ended up calling the internist's office. They let me come in and pee in a cup. The results....

No bacteria! No infection. They said looks like it's a spastic bladder, will follow up on Tuesday. Try some kind of OTC medicine (which I couldn't find).

So I'm glad that I don't have an infection, but I'm still going every hour. I was really hoping that sleep would be in the cards tonight.

Well, being the thinker that I am, I'm wondering WHY my body suddenly decided it needs to go frequently. My bladder just spazzed out suddenly? Or that body chemistry stuff? Sometimes I wish I had a medical degree...

[beachcomber13]

Thanks for the feedback.

My doctor isn't checking anything. I wish I knew this stuff so I could request what I need.

I'm seeing a new internist on Tuesday. Hopefully I can trust him to take care of me.

Now there's blood in my urine, noticed it around noon. Hopefully it's just a run on the mill UTI. My neuro said to make an appointment with a urologist, that I probably have an irritable bladder, as many MS patients do.

[COBOB]

IVSM can mess with fluid balance.  Polyuria with methylprednisolone is known side effect and is more common with hypokalemia (low potassium.)  Your doctor should be checking your electrolytes.  

Bob

[sllowe]

Beachcomb,

I had to go alot when I was on prednisone. I drank alot too because I they dried me out, or maybe it was all that P ing that dried me out,  lol.

Either way it was, the chicken or the egg, but then my potassium was off too from losing so much fluid. So, I took a supplement to ward off cramps.

Until you get ahold of the doc, watch your fluid intake and jot it all down so you can give him specifics when you finally chat w/him.
-shell

[Sumanadevii]

No, it never happened to me,  I took them every three or four weeks for a year (1gram each day for three days).  However, we all react to meds differently so get ahold of your neuro or PCP,  

I am sorry for the mess it is making for you.  Keep us posted,