Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Urology (Expert Forum)
Bladder Retention
Questions in the Urology forum are answered by Dr. Stephen Liroff, affiliated with the Henry Ford Hospital. Topics covered include benign prostate disease, penis curvature, cystisis, kidney stones, pediatric urology, prostate, sexual dysfunction, urinary tract infections (UTI), and urological cancers.
Bladder Retention
by Cynthia, Sep 16, 1999 12:00AM
I am a 30-yr old female who has recently been diagnosed with bladder retention. My current urologist doesnt know how it started or why it will not clear up. I've been going through this for 1 month now and I am very frustrated and depressed. I was in the hospital a month ago diagnosed with bowel obstruction. The doctors also stated that I have a great deal of scare tissue and endometreosis(not correct spelling of word). I would like to know could the ladder cause me to not urinate. I do urinate some but it doesnt fully empty. What should I do? Is their a specialist in Los Angeles that I could see who could correct this problem. I'm currently catherizing myself. I was on "flomax" for 7 days and it didnt seem to help. I will be seeing a neurologist per my urologist request. What will that do? Also, I suffer from constipation. Can that be related to my problem?
Please help me. I really need answers and dont know where to turn.
Cynthia
Please help me. I really need answers and dont know where to turn.
Cynthia
Doctor's Answer
by hfhs M.D.-AK, Sep 20, 1999 12:00AM
Dear Cynthia,
I think it is very important that you see a neurologist, he or she can determine if there is a neurologic condition that might be the cause of your retention. Your urologist has statred you on clean intermittent catheterization(CIC), which I agree with. The flowmax in theory will relax the bladder neck, but in women, it is less effective. CIC however will keep your bladder form infection, retention, and possible upper urinary tract problems related to retention.
You did say that you had a bowel obstruction, but you didn’t state if you had surgery or narcotic medications. Sometimes the inervention of the bladder can be disrupted, particularly if there are a lot of adhesions during surgery, and medications can cause bladder dysfunction. I’m not aware of edometriosis by itself causing retention, but it can cause bladder lesions or hematuria.
You may need a urodynamic test in the future to assess the strength of your bladder by your urologist. In the mean time, a neurologic work-up should be started, this work-up may help explain the constipation. On the other hand, the constipation may be the cause of your retention and improvement in your bowel habits, may help your urinary retention.
Over all, I think you are getting good info from your urologist. He or she could reccommend another doctor if they feel it is necesary.
The information provided in this forum is presented for general educational purposes only. Specific questions you have pertaining to your health should always be directed to your personal physician.
Sincerely,
HFHS M.D.-AK
*keyword:urinary retention
I think it is very important that you see a neurologist, he or she can determine if there is a neurologic condition that might be the cause of your retention. Your urologist has statred you on clean intermittent catheterization(CIC), which I agree with. The flowmax in theory will relax the bladder neck, but in women, it is less effective. CIC however will keep your bladder form infection, retention, and possible upper urinary tract problems related to retention.
You did say that you had a bowel obstruction, but you didn’t state if you had surgery or narcotic medications. Sometimes the inervention of the bladder can be disrupted, particularly if there are a lot of adhesions during surgery, and medications can cause bladder dysfunction. I’m not aware of edometriosis by itself causing retention, but it can cause bladder lesions or hematuria.
You may need a urodynamic test in the future to assess the strength of your bladder by your urologist. In the mean time, a neurologic work-up should be started, this work-up may help explain the constipation. On the other hand, the constipation may be the cause of your retention and improvement in your bowel habits, may help your urinary retention.
Over all, I think you are getting good info from your urologist. He or she could reccommend another doctor if they feel it is necesary.
The information provided in this forum is presented for general educational purposes only. Specific questions you have pertaining to your health should always be directed to your personal physician.
Sincerely,
HFHS M.D.-AK
*keyword:urinary retention
