lazy bladder - interrupted urination

Good morning all.

I've (finally) realized my frequent urination isn't caused by irritation to the bladder. It's caused by having a weak "lazy" bladder contraction.

If I sit for a while, or sleep, the bladder is very slow to start flow. Then when the urge comes, bladder only yields about 1/4 cup, with a weak flow.

But then if I walk around for a minute or so, the bladder empties. A half cup or more flows relatively strongly. If I actually stay vertical all day, there's no flow problem at all. But it's tough to stay vertical and awake 24/7 (yeah, no kidding).

Has anyone dealt with this? How'd you improve the situation?

I've read that Kegel exercises are used to increase control, in case of incontinence. Doesn't seem that Kegels would be useful to strengthen the bladder contractions at all.

By the way, on a totally different tack, here's a link to an old car I've been restoring. Can't wait to get back at it.

Thanks.
Tom in CT

Sorry I wasn't clear. When I get the urge to urinate while I"m sitting or during the night, I first get only 1/4 cup; then a couple minutes later after doing some walking around, I get the "rest" (3/4 cup).

During the evening or night, it's always the same small/large cycle. This small/large cycle continues as long as I'm resting or sleeping. During the day while I'm active, there's no small/large - only full emptying.

If I don't rest or sleep, I get a good flow and output; the lazy bladder only gets lazy when I'm resting.

Total output for the 24 hour day is pretty much equal to what I've taken in during the day.

Edit: haven't been able to go more than 4 hours w/o urinating since my seed implant. Usually the max is 3 hours. During the night it's 1.5 hours.

Tom

Tom,
I believe it was Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, who said: "A man can't be too rich or take too much pee data." Now there might be some room for criticism regarding a certain individual who actually measures down to 0.0003 ounce resolution. That could possibly be considered a bit extreme by the less scientifically minded. Do not worry about taking data.

As you might know, I have a sling and now spend a significant part of my day (15-18 minutes) experiencing the "joy" of bladder release. My flow is sloooow when it first starts but I have found a way to increase it. I have discovered if I do a half kegel and then relax, the flow increases. I do it when the flow begins to slow down. During the 2 minutes the pee is actually flowing, I might half-kegel 3 or 4 times. That knocks a good 45 seconds off the total bathroom visit time. I finish up with a "perineum push" that forces out about 1/4 oz of residual.

I also pee in the shower while shaving and brushing my teeth. It is a good opportunity for practice - and you don't have to worry about aim.
(Heloise hint: Don't tell your wife. )

Jeff (I pee. Therefore I am.)

Nice car. You might consider driving it 350 miles to a GFMPH meeting .

I think anti-spasm medication would be the worse thing you could do with your problem. I am the guy that spent a total of 1 1/2 years on a total of 21 catheters, due to strictues. I would have dozens of spasms per day. I was constantly on ditropan, the most common med for anti-spasms,and what it does was relax the bladder and literally make it lazy so that it wouldn't contract and cause spasms. Since I was with catheter most of the time, it didnt matter, as urinating came and went on its own via the catheter. My uro said, that if I were to go off the cath, then I would have to stop taking the ditropan, so that my bladder would re-awaken and function correctly. So I feel strongly that is not sound advice.

David in SC

Tom,
I call it a half kegel because it is not a full kegel. If I kegel as hard as I can (a full kegel), my already slow flow will slow to a drip -1 to 2 drops per second. When I release the kegel and then start a kegel very slowly, my flow will increase. It peaks when I am about half way between no kepel and full kegel. Try it in the shower. I have had 4 months and plenty of time to experiment. I can't explain why it works, I just know I have lots of accurate data that shows it does work.
Maybe this is only true for guys with plumbing by American Medical Systems.
Jeff

Note to Worried-Guy Jeff:

It's helping! Never ever thought of Kegels for my "lazy bladder" situation. But last night I did a few minutes of K squeezes. Then during the night when I'd get up to pee, I'd do some K's just as I started. It actually increased and lengthened the flow.

Will keep it up (so to speak ...).

Thank you sir!
Tom