Problems urinating

Just recently i've been having problems urinating, sometimes I need to go to the toilet upto 4 times a night.I have an almost constant sensation of neediong to urinate. I often go to the toilet and feel that I have not fully emptied my bladder, then 30 minutes of so later I urinate a small amount. The doctor has prescribed Flomaxtra with little investigation, other than clarifying that I am clear from infection. Any advice about my symptoms, or indeeed experience of taking this medication would be helpful. I haven't taken the medication yet because I am concerned about possible side effects. (written by my lovely wife sarah).

Hi, I also have this problem. I was sent to see a nurse that that deals with these kind of things ( N Ireland ) and was prescribed - Fesoterodine Fumarate M/R 8mg Tablets and given pads to wear in my pants for the Leakage :-( The Tablets are to help with the feeling of urgency so you aren't constantly running to the toilet. I was also shown exercises to do to help with the leakage side of things. Other than that you just have to get on with things the best you can, and take whatever this condition throws at us :-)

Have you visited an urologist? Are you sure that not your prostata can claimed guilty?

It could be that you have problems with emptying your bladder. The urologist can tell you if this happens by a cystoscopy. If there would be too much resting urine after your urinations you would need a cathedration. This was what my urologist told to me three weeks ago during such an examination.

Also frequent urination could come from thyroid problems. I remember having read this but do not know the source. In my case i have such problems actually.

Seemingly from Ataxia could derive a heavy impulse for emptying the bladder.

And everything could occur at the same time!!

Kind regards, and best wishes for further identification. I ve got no experience with meds for such conditions.

Akita

Yes,neurologist told me this is a symptom but good idea to get checked out anyway.

It is important to keep drinking plenty of water to keep urine dilute and flush kidneys - you should find that with dilute urine, the urgency to pass water is less and your bladder gets stronger so you dont need to visit toilet so often.

Patsy

Similar story here, urinating every 5 mins sometimes, and can't 'hold on' for long. Tends to ease off after lunch time. Am on tablets but all they seem to do is make me madly thirsty. Told by clinic to drink plenty as it helps, fairly hard to do under the circumstances. Also cut down on the caffeine helps 'apparently' although it seems nothing helps at times....

Hi,I take Oxybutynin Hydrochloride (ditropan) It streathens the bladder. It helps me too hold on longer.

HI spencer the urinating probs u talking about i identify 100 per cent,in my case it started around 10 years ago so i went to my doctor who checked my prostate &said it was fine so he sent me to the hospital for a psa blood test to rule out prostate cancer but the test came back positive.then i was sent to the hospital for flo test that came back ok so then i was sent back to the hospital for a camera put into my bladder this time they found three tumors,they removed them a month later.i stil have bladder probs but if i go easy on the tea & drink cranberry juice &plenty of still water &not drink anything after 6pm i can mostly not need to use the toilet through the nite.so get yourself checked out at your doctors u can mention those tests i had don if you like.have a good day take care, frank'o

I find I have the frequency and urgency and extreme thirst, when I am under attack. I gave up caffeine and that helped.

You should get that psa test if u r a male. I wouldn’t take any pills. I would not limit my water intake. We r walking a fine line, trying to find balance in our lives. It is better to go more frequently than cut down on water. I know this from experience.

I had this problem many years ago and had to do a bladder retraining thing at a women's health place. They say it's common among ataxic people. Women's health people can do the bladder retraining for men as well as women.

Basically what she told me was that my muscles were tight all the time from trying to keep my balance and is why I had a slight bladder prolapse. Also having your muscles too tight is as much as a problem as having them too loose because you can't loosen them as well. So thus the leakage. Then she said I was freaking out because of that and using the bathroom too much, which then made me HAVE to use the bathroom too much. So I went for a few weeks for the retraining. Now I'm doing fine and have the bladder muscles of a 16 year old. ;) I recommend going to see a women's health person for ANYONE, even dudes. It's WELL worth it.

I am a female, but have problems with incontinence. I had to urinate constantly, day and night. I was told in my case it is NOT related to my ataxia, although I question that, as ataxia affects nerves which control muscles. I was told my age (59) and having two children is more the cause. With you being a man, obviously, the having children part wouldn't enter into the equation...,ha! I had surgery last year (TVT) and am doing much better now. Anyway, Patsy's right, drink LOTS of water during the day, and as others have said, limit caffeinated drinks and don't drink anything after 6 PM. Of course, make sure you empty your bladder before retiring for the night (I don't know why you retain some fluid?). I also have sleep apnea and before I started using a C-Pap machine, I would wake myself up several times each night gasping for breath. Then, I'd have to go to the bathroom. If you haven't seen a urologist, you may want to as they specialize in these kind of problems. Also, as others have said a PSA test (for prostate problems) is a good idea, if you haven't had one. Being a woman, that test wouldn't enter into my equation...,ha! My best to you..., ;o)

I had a TURP (Trans Urethral Resection of Prostate) done last week for BPH(Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia). I don’t know how much my SCA has to do with it.

:thinking: I don’t know if this is linked specifically to ataxia. But, Shy-Drager Syndrome mentions Cerebellar Ataxia.

Thank you for your response. Although Shy-Drager (AKA MSA) has some overlapping symptoms of SCA, the etiology of the two are very different. Dr. Shy from NIH and Dr. Drager from Baylor College, Houston, described it as a loss of sympathetic tone of the nervous system associated with MSA