Anxiety and bladder control issues?

You said:

"Hi friends I am new here. New to taking anxiety meds. I am currently on Lexapro 10mg. I have dealt with anxiety for a long time and it finally got so bad I needed help. That said during times of anxiety I have had bladder control issues. Has anyone else dealt with something like this? Did medication help?"

Typing in that situation in the net search engine I found numerous topics about that including Calmclinic.com which said:

"Loss of bladder control is easily one of the best examples of a distress condition that can be caused by anxiety and fear. The good news is that it's fairly rare. The bad news is that when it does occur it may be something you fear for the rest of your life if you don't get help.

"Many people struggle with feeling as though they need to urinate when they have anxiety. Luckily, even when this occurs, it is still controllable. It's a standard part of anxiety and anxiety attacks.

"But when anxiety reaches its absolute peak, some people experience a loss of bladder control, also known as "incontinence." It's one of the most distressing and embarrassing anxiety symptoms, and if it ever happens to you, it becomes something you fear for possibly the rest of your life."

As a senior citizen, I have this bathroom condition of incontinence from my ailment of diabetes which requires about 5 trips to the bathroom at night. I also have anxiety as part of my bipolar condition. But by taking Mirtazapine antidepressant and the stabilizer Lithium my anxiety is helped as is my mania and depression.

How is the Lexapro, which net says treats both depression and anxiety, working? How long have you been taking it? I think you're in a good situation.

I'm in my about 4th day of taking a blood sugar pill which is supposed to lower my blood sugar numbers. The first 4 such pills didn't work and I was about to give up hope. This one seems to be working and I'm very pleased.

As far as your situation, I'm wondering if you were raised in a positive house-hold? In addition to the pillls, I've found that a positive attitude can also be a big help. That doesn't seem possible but I've found that it is and I want to pass that along to you to save you about 30 years of turmoil as I went through.

How do you feel about getting through this and problems in general?

You said:

"I know that a pill is not a cure all, but hoping that it helps me feel ok. I am noticing some improvement with the depression and anxiety. However I am still experiencing ups and downs."

In my post, I had said, "In addition to the pills, I've found that a positive attitude can also be a big help."

I did not mean to suggest that the pills were not important. I think they are. For Bipolar, I take Mirtazapine anti-depressant for the depression part of Bipolar, and Lithium as a stabilizer to keep the anti-depressant from throwing me into mania. So I'm not downplaying pills.

I'm saying medicine can be a good start, here in 2022, whereas in the early 1900s they didn't have these medicines. We're very fortunate that we live in the era of modern medicine.

But what I am saying is that in addition to the pills, they don't have a pill for negativism. That could come I would think from being raised negative. What we were perhaps told as a 5 year old (you're worthless) is not necessarily true, but we didn't know that as a 5 year old however we carry that belief the rest of our lives.

I was 50 years old before I learned in a newspaper column that what I was told as a child about being negative wasn't true. The horrors I experienced during those 50 years was torturous. The column said, before you go into a problem, believe that you can solve it because it doubles your chances of solving it, because it opens up your unconscious to look for solutions.

By not believing we are going to solve the problem, we are tilting our negative unconscious to not solve the problem, to make us happy. By thinking before we go into the problem that we can solve it, we are opening up our unconscious to solve the problem.

Since I don't know what's in my unconscious, positive or negative, I say 3 times before going into the problem, "Think positive, think positive, think positive." Only then do I start thinking about solving the problem.

The problem is minute compared to my attitude. My unconscious is very strong if I will just unleash it.

So, I'm saying, the pills cannot make you positive if you are negative. However, simply being positive cannot lift you out of depression or anxiety or mania. It takes medicine for that, in my view.

You also said,

"However I am still experiencing ups and downs. I know that is to be expected at first. As far as the bladder issue, I have accepted needed to wear a bit of protection when going out. Even just doing that has calmed my mind."

The National Association for Continence website says:

"Incontinence, the involuntary loss of urine or fecal matter, is not a condition that anyone should have to “just live with.” It’s not something you need to accept as you get older, or an inevitable consequence of childbirth or surgery. Incontinence is a treatable medical condition, whether you have occasional light wetness, heavier bladder leakage, bedwetting or bowel issues. No matter what type or degree of incontinence you might be experiencing, help is available. This is the place you should be."

The website suggests seeing your General Practitioner stating:

"So take charge of the conversation with your doctor. Don’t wait until the last minute to bring up the subject. Come prepared. Have as much information gathered as you can. Share your bladder diary or bowel diary with your physician or nurse. It should contain such important information as:"

• Record toilet habits over a 2 day period
• A list of everything you ate and drank
• Any nighttime trips to the bathroom? How many?
• Note the strength of urine flow
• Any accidents? What happened to cause them?

Yes, Medved is right. Kegel exercises work wonders.

Hugs, Karen,...