Bladder retraining for urgency and frequency

[cmclien]

I am surprised there is not a place under mild IC about this topic. I am having incredible success with this though I admit it is slow going. My doctor gave me instructions on how to do this and I just read about it in the Interstitial Survival guide which gives basically the same info. It isn't successful generally for those with pain but if your main symptoms are urgency and frequency it is worth a try. Going frequently over time actually causes your bladder to shrink thus creating a viscious cycle of going more and more. This is easier to do if you are taking an anticholinergenic at the same time like ditropan, detrol, vesicare, oxytrol patch etc. Doing this creates the ability to hold more urine and for your bladder to not send signals that it is full as early.

My success - I started 3 weeks ago and forced myself to go 2 hours though the idea is to start with an interval you can actually have success at even if that is 1 hour for you. Usually at 1 hour I feel the urge to go but was holding it until 2 hours. This was tough for me especially the first week. You write down each time you go and keep track of what you drink. Don't drink less as sometimes that makes the frequency worse. Drink a normal amount for you.

Each week you add about 15 minutes onto the last week. I am at 2 1/2 hours now but what I am finding is there are times during the day, especially after dinner that I can go 3 and one night even 4 hours without the urge! I can honestly say it has been probably 20 years since this all started since I have been able to do that. Last night I went the entire night from 11 to 7 without waking up and going. I usually only go once at night.

So it is slow going and annoying to write it down but I am quite excited that it is actually working. I am aiming for 3 hours, well my UG is having me aim for 3 hours.

Going out- Even if I am going to run errands I am not going before I leave and just know I'll use the bathroom wherever I am at when the specified time interval occurs. Trains your bladder to go when you want to go and not earlier.

[teacher2be]

I might be doing it........

Unintenionally. When I sub, I sometimes have to hold it for an hour or so when I have the urge to go. I think this may have stretched my bladder and I think it could have increased the capacity after years of IC problems. Sometimes the urge to go goes away and sometimes it does not. When my mind is busy, I seem to be able to ignore the urge more. Some days the urgency is more intense than others. I have felt like I needed to go and was able to hold it for 2 hours. Other times, the urge was too intense and I had to find someone to watch my class, so I could go use the restroom. I have heard of bladder retraining somewhere before. I think it was at an IC support group.

[cmclien]

Yes, you might!
I definitely am finding that the urge is being delayed much longer now, in fact once in awhile this week I wouldn't get the urge but it would be 2 1/2 hours so I would go!

[ICNDonna]

In some instances bladder training does work. I'm glad you're having success with it.


Donna

[h808]

i think i should try this because i do have pain, but my main symptom is frequency/urgency. glad to see people trying with positive results. i like the leaving the house without going idea although it sounds scary.

my uro hasn't even made mention of this technique.

[ChrisNes]

Hey, The doctor I went to in Bloomington Minneapolis Minnesota said I have PFD, a-long with all of my other pain...so the list goes on he wants me to do PFT with a PT . He had no problem giving me pain meds of Tramadahl s.p. 50mgs for 60 days. and then he tells me to have a trial interstim put in for IC, IBS, CPP, PFD, and CBackPain curv in spine. He tells me they are all linked through the spine and this Interstim will help, I have 3 months to decide. I have an appointment with the pain center here on the 8th and my first PT for PFD on the 11th. I also have bursitis in R-hip and knee, FMS, endometrosis, have had 2 posterier repairs, a burch, sling, and bladder tack, CFS and depression, TAH ...etc...
I hope I have some good news when I am finished with the pain cl...I have not heard any good things about this pain clinic in ND

[Brightside]

Hi cmclien!

YES, I have been doing the exact same thing and have been trying to retrain my bladder and naturally stretch it out by holding it in when I get the urge to go. I have been doing this for a month or two now and I am having positive results. When my IC started, I had to go literally every 10-15 minutes. Then as the pain began to settle down with diet, it was every hour. Then, I got on Elavil and I have been trying to hold it in and retrain my bladder. Now I can go several hours a lot of the time before I go. I do get pain in the bladder when I hold it but I am noticing that the time is increasing before I feel the pain of needing to go. Also, I notice that sometimes the feeling/pain of needing to go will subside if I hold it long enough and sometimes it doesn't and I just have to go.

I usually go to the bathroom about once a night now but since I have increased my dose of Elavil I have really seen improvements in my frequency during the day and at night. I actually slept from 9:15 to 5:30 last night STRAIGHT THROUGH and did not get up at all to go to the bathroom!!! This is unheard of for me!!!

So, for me, this bladder retraining thing is really helping. And, like everything that I am doing to help myself, I figured it out on my own by doing research, putting two and two together, and experimenting. My uro did not suggest it to me, but when I told him what I was doing, he was amazed!!! He has been absolutely amazed at my progress and what I am doing!!!

You are definitely on to something here, cmclien!

[Kami]

It was recommended to me to try and retrain my bladder after I mentioned I used to use the restroom whenever I left my office (which is almost hourly.)

Not surprisingly, I am a nervous kind of gal, so I am constantly worrying about the restroom situation no matter where I am. A lot of my frequency problems are from my brain and not an actual need. Through gradual increasing of time, I managed to go to the bathroom during work hours at least 2 to 3 times a day!

Naturally, during girlie time and great times of stress (allergies, mental stress) I have more frequency but not too bad and I believe I am going to the bathroom an average amount of time of 4-7 times a day. Sometimes it's a little more than that, sometimes less. Of course, it also depends on how much water I drank that day too.

I still go the bathroom a lot more when I'm on a road trip though. I guess I will never be relaxed enough about that. At the very least I can hold it until I get to my destination of Atlanta, which is about two hours away from where I live. Before, I had to stop half way to the destination.

Good luck in the retraining of your bladders!