Wife needs help

[Norman Reis]

Is there any help for Neurogenic bladder?  1985 my wife had brain damage from a car accident.  1990 she had shunt installed for normal pressure Hydrocephalus. She has had many UTI infections.  Does not have burning or other symptoms.  2004 started on Lipitor.  May 9,2007 sent to hospital with severe back and leg pain and weakness.  Lipitor stopped.  May 14, sent to nursing home.  Caught C-diff treated with Vancomycin.  Caught UTI infection treated with Cipro.  Became incontinant from May 9 on and remains so.   Weakness and pain are gone.  Saw Uro/gynocologist July 20.  Diagnosis: Neurogenic bladder.  No tests (neurological, x-ray, MRI, etc.) other than a physical were done.  Is there a connective cause between Lipitor and Neurogenic bladder?  Have you any recommendations?  An 85 year old husband needs help.

[Lennox Hoyte, M.D.]

I am not clear exactly what your wife's symptoms are. If this is urinary urgency and frequency/incontinence, or even urinary retention, she should probably undergo urodynamic testing to fully evaluate her bladder function. That test can be helpful in diagnosing the condition, and suggesting the possibility for cure of her problem. Neurogenic bladder suggests that the bladder muscle works, but the nerves which control it are sending confusing signals to the bladder. If this is indeed the case, there may be options for treating it. Your wife should see a trained urogynecologist or urologist, in order to have this addressed systematically.

Dr. Hoyte