Bladder fills up quickly

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Sarah12
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:15 am
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by Sarah12 on Sun Mar 25, 2012 7:50 pm

Bladder fills up quickly

Hi,
I find that my bladder fills really quickly.I would have a drink and would invariably have to wee within about 10-20 minutes.I don't drink very much fluid in a day,about two cups of herbal tea.I'm always careful about drinking and always need to know where the bathroom is.I had to have a pelvic ultrasound and could not drink half the water they sugested.They said my bladder was overfull when I went in.When I went to the bathroom afterwards and then they checked me again they said it was not fully empty.
I have had problems where I would leak a little if I coughed or sneezed but I lost a lot of weight over the last couple of years and that has improved.I always wear a liner just in case.
For the last couple of years I have often had episodes where my bladder feels very irritated and I have to wee very frequently.If I have this when I get up in the morning I have to get to the bathroom pretty nifty or I will just start to go and I have no control.
I asked my GP about this and she tested my urine and I had a slight infection.I ws put on antibiotics and the suituation improved.Two days after finishing it was happening again.I haven't had kids.Sorry bout the big blurb.Just don't feel quite right.Does this sound familiar?.

Bill Adder
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:46 am
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by Bill Adder on Sun Mar 25, 2012 9:41 pm

Re: Bladder fills up quickly

Hi Sarah12!
Just read your post, and it raises an interesting point. Getting your hydration levels right is a bit of a challenge, I never realised how many factors were involved until I started researching it.
The easiest indicator to go by is the colour of your urine. If you are properly hydrated, it should be mostly clear with a faint yellow tint.
If it goes the colour of orange squash (strongly diluted, as you would give to a young child) you are probably dehydrated. When it's this colour, it's more concentrated. This can irritate your urethra and bladder neck, which can cause spasms. Strangely, your urine starts to smell like sugar puffs. Odd but true. :shock: You are much more likely to have an accident at this point than if you drink more water (seems a bit counter-intuitive though!).
If your urine is a darker orange, or has a reddish hue, you may well have cystitis, an infection in the bladder. This can often be sorted out with a course of anti-biotics, but the longer you leave it, the longer it will take to shift. Would recommend seeing your doctor quickly to save yourself a lot of discomfort if you find yourself in this situation.

It is also handy to keep an eye on the bigger picture with regards your hydration level. How much fluid you have in a 24 or 48 hour period can be quite telling. A bladder diary can help a lot here (though they can be cumbersome to carry around and fill out. Maybe there's a phone app out by now...) as you can see how much more fluid you need when more active, or if the weather is warmer. If you are properly hydrated, then drink a diuretic such as tea, coffee or alcohol, your body will use it's fluid reserves to flush it out. You can find you are weeing more than you are drinking, and the temptation is to drink less. This will drop your hydration level, and your urine will change quite quickly to a darker colour.

Another possible factor could be the "Just in Case" idea. It can be tempting to use almost every loo you pass, with the idea that you shouldn't have an accident if you've just been. This is another idea that is counter intuitive. If your bladder is almost always empty, it will start to shrink, so it will fire the empty signal when it is not holding much fluid. This can sometimes be a problem for those with in-dwelling catheters.

I would suggest speaking to your doctor, as he/she will be able to give you better advice than I. Their training took years and thousands of pounds. Mine took some bored evenings trawling the net, to the sound of my cheesy taste in music. :lol:

I hope these ideas can help you, or at least give you a starting point for your search,

Bill.

Sarah12
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:15 am
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by Sarah12 on Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:24 pm

Re: Bladder fills up quickly

Hi Bill,
Thanks so much for your kind and informative reply.
I don't feel particularly thirsty and I do find that my urine is generally light in colour.I am a fiend for visiting the bathroom "just in case" so that's probably not helping.
I'm pretty uncomfortable at the moment again so will head back to the GP.
Must try and do a diary too.
Thanks again,S

northerner
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:03 pm
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by northerner on Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:24 pm

Re: Bladder fills up quickly

Hi Sarah12

Like Bill says the best starting point is to keep a bladder diary, this is your ammo for your GP.

If the antibiotics helped then I would ask if it's possible to keep you on a lower dose for a longer period of time and see if that helps. If there is little change while you're taking them or things go back to how they were then I would ask your GP to refer you to a Urologist (another good reason to keep a bladder diary!).
In my non medical, but having a neuropathic bladder for 15 years opinion, I think your intake of fluids is way too low. I was in the same situation when I had my spinal injury, I didn't drink because I thought that I would never get off the loo but too little fluid can lead to infection after infection and dehydration.
I can't say don't go to the loo "just in case", I did it myself and it's hard not too.

If nothing improves the best test you can have is called Urodynamics. This will show how your bladder is reacting as it's filling up and on the strength of those results an informed diagnosis can be made.

There is lots of help out there, please don't be fobbed off by anyone and please, drink more fluids. :)

Hope you get things sorted.

Lu ;)

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talkhealth
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Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 3:29 pm
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by talkhealth on Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:52 am

Re: Bladder fills up quickly

Hello Lu and welcome to our continence forums.

We look forward to talking with you over the coming weeks and months.
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alison12
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 1:03 pm
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by alison12 on Tue Mar 27, 2012 2:30 pm

Re: Bladder fills up quickly

Hello Sarah and welcome

Really interesting to read your post. I am certainly not a doctor but having spoken to a range of medical professions in this area over a number of years one of the first things they always ask is how much fluid are you drinking. I would suggest that they will say that your fluid count is not high enough which can certainly lead to being more susceptible to any urinary tract infections. Also the type of fluid you drink can also make a difference to how often you feel you need to go to the loo. Re visiting the loo ‘ just in case’... my mother always used to say before we went out – make sure you go to the loo etc etc – it used to drive me nuts. However I have now found I say that to my children too – not that they appreciate it as they are certainly old enough to decide for themselves! But I do think these things can be a hang over from childhood and although sensible advice easily taken to the next stage of too much. I know that it is possible to have bladder management training which can help with this. I think they also call this something like a lazy bladder – (however might have made that one up!), where we get into the habit of going to the loo before the bladder really needs to. Anyway there are certainly ways in which we can trick our brain and re train our bladder to behave better...Best of luck in your research.
alison12
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Sarah12
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:15 am
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by Sarah12 on Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:17 pm

Re: Bladder fills up quickly

Thanks so much for all your replies.Though I thought I might have another infection the GP said my urine tested negative today.Am being referred to a urologist to investigate further.Hope there will be some answers.Thanks again,S

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