Hi all,
I was doing some research on medhelp and came across several posts concerning my topic from this forum so I thought I would ask my question here. I have not been diagnosed with MS, but the term has been thrown around a little. Here is my question and I thank anyone who has the time to give me any insight-
For the past 18 months, since having my son, I have struggled with asymptomatic UTI's. I have not had ANY symptoms of these UTI's at all, and only found out about them after going to the doctor or hospital for something else. I have, at times, been told they were "raging" and the doctors couldn't believe I didn't have symptoms. I have had at least 7-10 in the last year. Before having my son, I had a few very painful UTI's with the urinary problems and everything, so I know what they are *supposed* to feel like.
Any any rate, I recently went to the Urologist and they discovered I am not completely emptying my bladder. My post void residual was 118 mL, with 50 or less being "normal", though the clinical signifigance of 50-100 is debateable. The PA that I saw was not that concerned, said it could be a one time thing, or it could be caused by my recurring UTI's (though I did not have one when I went to the office that day). I didn't struggle or even really pay attention to if I was fully emptying my bladder. I had to give a urine sample right before that and was hovering over the toilet and using those muscles to start and stop my flow so there is a chance I just didn't empty well enough because I was doing the urine sample. Had they told me they were checking my post void residual, I would have been much more careful in making sure to get as much out as I could.
She put me on a 60 day course of antibiotics and wants to check me again in 2 months. After talking to my psychiatrist, he thinks my retention could be because of an antidepressant (Prozac) that I am (was) on because I took one in the past and it gave me acute and severe urinary retention in which I could not empty my bladder at all. I had to be cath'd 3 days in a row after starting to take the medicine but within a day or two of stopping it things were back to normal. I didn't have that same feeling on this medicine, in fact I felt the urge to pee and felt like I was emptying, but I guess I wasn't completely. I have stopped taking the Prozac and hope this will alleviate my issues.
It makes sense to me that the reason I keep getting these UTI's is because my bladder is not emptying, which hopefully is just due to the antidepressants, which I did not start taking until after my son was born, and around the time this problem started. If I am still having issues, they want to test me for neurological issues and MS was a big one that they were throwing around. I'm wondering if MS would cause me not to have any UTI symptoms. I know for a fact that I did not have a single UTI during my pregnancy (was tested at least once a week), so this is something that started shortly after giving birth, though my bladder position is fine and did not prolapse after childbirth. Also, does anyone know at what point does your post void residual risk damaging your kidneys? Mine is not that much above normal and my PA was not that concerned, but I have a (probably irrational) fear that my kidneys are being damaged and there is a medicine that I need to start taking for another issue (PCOS) that can only be taken if you have healthy kidneys so I am very hesitant to start taking it until I get my retention issue figured out.
I am hoping that my level of retention is not serious enough yet to warrant concern for my kidneys, since I am emptying my bladder frequently and only leaving around 120 mL or so in there (normal bladder capacity is around 400 mL so I don't believe my bladder is filled with urine most of the time, especially since I usually go at the first tinge of having to go).
So, to make a very long question short...
1. Does anyone know at what point urinary retention causes concern? My PA said that she would not start being too worried unless I am retaining 200-300 mL's every time, but I can't help but being concerned.
2. Does MS tend to cause asymptomatic UTI's?
3. I had a clean CT scan about 13 months ago, how likely is it that I could still have MS but it was not seen at that time?
Thanks so much for anyone who takes the time to answer those questions!!