Re: urine flow - why different at different times?

[izazen]

It seems to me that mostly when I "go" I feel like I'm going thru a tube or something - slow and seemingly constrained. I think this is because I am usually uptight and anxious in my lower abdominal area.

Yet sometimes the "peeing through a tube" thing is not there and it flows free and open like in the old days.

Often the latter is darker, more concentrated than the former which is usually pretty pale.

I wonder if I'm retaining urine in my bladder and the "backlog" only comes out occasionally. Is this possible or am I over thinking and analyzing things. (Probably...)

[sailawaygrl]

It has a lot to do with your pelvic floor muscles. The lighter is when you have had plenty to drink so your bladder is more full. Probably when you have less to drink it your bladder is less full and your muscles just don't work as well then.

[Mothergoose]

I have urinary retention and this happens to me, you can get tested for this, with an ultrasound.

then you know if this is a problem for you.

MG

[VickiB]

Over the years I've had hints of a sensation similar to what you describe. Then last week I had two days where it became pretty intense. Maybe my first experience with retention? Whatever it was, it was disquieting to put it mildly. It almost seemed to me to be more nerve related than physical, like the communication system between bladder & brain had shorted out. Hard to explain.

How do you not over-think & over analyze this stuff?

[sailawaygrl]

I agree with Vickie is does seem nerve related but the way it feels to me is that things aren't communicating with the muscles. I know this way tmi but before I had IC I could pee in no time. My husband called me a speed peeer! (I know tmi) Now sometimes I am fine, never like I used to be, other times, and especially lately I am sure I am not emptying all the way. I am having a lot of other problems that I believe are PFD related so for myself, it feels like muscle communication.

Guess it could be different, like everything else!!

[VickiB]

You know how it felt to me? -Like my bladder was dead. Sort of like when your hand "goes to sleep" and you might touch something or even pinch a finger but it doesn't hurt like it should. The sensation of feel is muted. My bladder felt like one big, hard, dead organ inside my body that lacked normal nerve sensation. I couldn't tell it to relax, open, contract,...whatever,.. and simply pee!! And yes, when I finally got some flow, it did feel like I was emptying through some lifeless mechanical and constrained tube!

Is that weird or what? Anybody else get that "dead organ" feeling? Two days later it went back to my normal IC bladder like nothing had ever happened.

I hope this isn't a new trick my bladder is adding to it's IC repertoire.

[VickiB]

My husband called me a speed peeer!

[LithEruiel]

I know what you mean izazen. I've always had slow flow most of the time (my whole life), but once in awhile it'll come out fast. I was diagnosed with PFD a year or so after I was diagnosed with IC when it really started acting up, but I've always had weak muscles in that area. I've been checked for urinary retention and it's been negative both times.