Bladder Blather

Okay, WHAT is the deal with MS and bladder issues?!  I have worn a track between my office and work washroom and I swear, the hardwood in my home is developing a groove in a straight line to the bathroom...  I thought diapers were for the very old and the very young but, judging from the huge selection of incontinence products at the drugstore, I was wrong.

I am in a remission so, this symptom comes and goes for me right now but, I know that a lot of you deal with this all of the time.  How do you handle it?  I have my liquid intake down to a science based on variables such as workdays or not, distance from a washroom, time spent in a car/office/meeting...taking out the garbage...sleeping.  ha ha  I tell you, this is not easy while I'm trying to also do the "water cure" thingy as well!
http://soiguessihavemsnow.blogspot.com/2011/07/drop-in-bucket.html

Although this is a common symptom for MS patients (80%+), it's really annoying! I have heard from a ton of non-MSers out there that are also plagued by bladder issues.  Most people have incontinence during their later years, post-menopause, with prostate problems, after childbirth, with certain diseases (Interstitial Cystitis) or after surgeries like hysterectomy etc.

MS patients suffer from common incontinence, but we also have a variety of other bladder issues going on.  Urinary frequency is when you feel the need to urinate way more often than usual.  When you feel like you MUST use the washroom immediately or wet yourself, you have Urinary Urgency. Nocturia is the fun experience of having to use the washroom frequently at night - this also ties in to those dreams of water, water, water until your body wakes you to make a mad dash.  Not restful!  Urinary retention is the inability to fully empty your bladder and hesitancy is when you can not begin to urinate "on command".

So, yeah.  See what I mean?  Your little bladder should not take up this massive amount of thought, planning and worry when there are like, a million other things to think about.  These problems are caused when nerve signals to the bladder are blocked or delayed because of lesions in the brain and spinal cord.

What can we do about it?  Well, you can choose to self-catheterize if things get really bad or, behaviour modification also seems to do the trick.  This includes fluid regulation (not reducing fluid but timing of intake), reducing caffeine, orange juice and alcohol.  It's really important to keep up your fluid intake because, if you don't, you risk getting a bladder infection and, as we know, infections can lead to relapses.

Several people choose to go the medication route too.  There are so many medications out there to help or control all of the bladder issues listed above.  My favourite name so far, by far, is "Flomax" - to increase the flow of urine.  If I ever have to go on disability leave again, I'm thinking of creating names for drugs like this to amuse me and pass the time - although I don't know if it's possible to beat Flomax!  Seriously.

I used to be squeamish talking about bodily functions and things of this nature but, you know what, I figure that if it`s happening to so many people out there, you won`t mind so much.  Maybe we can get help with it and perhaps someone knows something that we don`t yet.  As always, if you have any suggestions for myself and the other urinally-challenged, send them in... I think only children who are potty-training and MSers concentrate on this stuff so much and I`d like to just leave it to the kids from now on!...