New to this mostly

[itjustleaks]

So to intro a bit I have had urgency, to the point that my wife would get mad because she thought I was holding it to the last seconds. I finally after years of dealing with always making sure a bathroom was close and then assuming I just sweated alot down there and alot of getting up at night enough just to ruin the idea of sleep decided to go to the Doc, after getting the VA's blessing. My general practitioner did a few short questions and was like prostatitis and enlarged prostate with no physical exam.
So antibiotics and a flowmax which flowmax to me is the devil's drug. I definitely did not get better if anything I got worse so fast forward I got a referral to my urologist this is 2 months after my initial Dr visit and I hated flowmax so much I had to quit it. lucky for me the urologist is the same one that did my hernia repair and is a great guy. Knowing they would need a sample I did everything I could to make sure I could give him one. Got him the sample and go in to the examination room and he wheeled in a mini ultrasound machine I was really shocked I had just peed I should be completely empty right. No I have 257 ml still hanging around so he wants to put me back on flowmax luckily I convince him to try another med. So in 2 weeks I have a test urodynamic or something like that. Has any one gone through something similar? What have been your out comes.

[batman381327]

almost the same, but I have been diagnosed with neurological bladder. Like you I am lucky I have the VA to go to for my care. I tried the various meds and the side effects where to much to stand and had to go off of them as the side affects out weighed the benefits. As I found out more about those meds and the possible long term side affects I'm glad I went off of them.

Welcome to the group as there is a lot of knowledge here.

[itjustleaks]

Reading about my situation I am guessing that neurological could easily be a cause of my situation due to a back injury I sustained during my time in the Army, however we are still in a diagnostic stage. One of my biggest worries is having to have a catheter. I have had to wear a diaper for a bit due to leaks but I dont like the idea of a catheter.

[Patrick]

Add my welcome to batman's.

You should anticipate more exams, while your urologist sorts this out. Your account of a back injury makes me suspicious that you could have a neurological cause for your bladder difficulties. If you begin to experience detrusor spasms (bladder cramps) tell your urologist immediately, because they can be excruciating, and can threaten your kidneys.

Again, welcome; good luck, and keep us informed.

[itjustleaks]

Thank you patrick I will look that up and pay attention to that. I am sure everyone has gone through something similar but I cannot believe how much anxiety this causes. Its mostly the fear of the unknown can they cure me, am I stuck like this forever and like I said my worst fear I listed above.

[lecktroman]

The fear of the unknown!
Totally the same boat I’m in and not working well with me!
Keep your head up man!

[5bugles]

Welcome to the group! There is great info, wisdom, and support here!

I, too, was retaining over 400 cc after what I thought was a full void, eventually having surgery to allow the bladder to empty more completely. This helped for a few months (though took away any control I had left). I was diagnosed with neurogenic bladder, but it wasn't until last summer after an MRI that we found the root cause was likely spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis.

Good luck as you navigate the minefield of testing and diagnostics. Like you, I view Flowmax as the devil's drug, and have not had any luck with others, either, so I rely on diapers to manage my issues. Whatever course your journey takes you, this is a great place to share your progress and to learn how to have an active life while dealing with IC issues.

[Patrick]

5bugles,

Your surgery to help you empty your bladder reads as though it might have been a sphincterotomy. I hope yours is as successful as mine. It ended years of agony.