How much do you drink and how many trips to the loo do you need a day?

[JustFabulous]

I don't think I drink a huge amount but I do feel I am forever in the loo. Plus I wake 5-6 for the loo every morning. Sometimes I feel like I am desperate for a wee but then have a small one other times I feel like I have lost the ability to know if I need the loo or not .

I had surgery in November but don't think it is anything to do with that.

[SneakyNuts]

I only drink 2 cups of coffee in a day, but end up going to the loo maybe 8 times in a day? I don't wake up in the night really.

DP on the other hand drinks lots of tea through the day but only needs the loo 2-3 times a day!

[JustFabulous]

So everyone is different. I was wondering if it was a problem has a newish thing.

Short message, need a wee .

[1996timeforchange]

I'm just about to go to the doctors to find out if i have a overactive bladder, i've had to keep check over 3 days how often ( log the times) and measure how much i wee, i never go more than 3/ 4 hours through the night even without needing a wee... sooo annoying i'd love to go to bed and wake up 8 hours later..

[relaxingathome]

You should drink between 1.5l and 2l of fluid and go to the toilet 6-7 times a day and no more than once at night.

[JustFabulous]

I am surprised it is as much as that. I hate the feeling of being desperate and then there only being a small amount. I am guilty of not going when I need too which probably isn't good.

[relaxingathome]

That sounds like an overactive bladder, try cutting out caffine and upping your fluid intake.

[JustFabulous]

I don't drink caffeine but do drink lots of water.

[relaxingathome]

Pelvic floor exercises are your friend.
I would suggest you get a referral to a womens health physiotherapist.
They will run though symptoms and give you lots of specific advice.

[harbingerofdoom]

What was your surgery,was it in that area?

[ConfusedPixie]

I drink very little and go very often. But, drinking less actually aggravates your bladder and makes you wee more, as the urine is more potent.

[JustFabulous]

My pelvic floor is fine, no leaking on coughing, sneezing, etc.

Surgery was nothing to do with my bladder.

I was thinking more along the lines as it being signs of diabetes?

[relaxingathome]

Just because you dont leak due to stress, your pelvic floor may still need exercising to allow you to hold more in your bladder for longer

[harbingerofdoom]

Do know that gynae surgery can mess things up so that's ruled out.

Not idea but I thought diabetics started drinking loads. Easy to just get your urine checked-just a dip stick.

[digerd]

I was prescribed tablets - Oxybutinin- as the messages to and from the brain/bladder had got confused. You should get the message when the bladder is full and only then. It worked for me, but had the side effect of a dry mouth and not sweating normally.

[EllieArroway]

Is this a new thing for you, JustFab?

I have always, always been a very frequent wee-er (dunno how to spell that!). I don't usually have to get up in the night, but I probably go maybe 10-12 times a day, and often it is just a dribble. An evening in the pub where I'm drinking continuously sees me needing to go every 15mins. Very tedious!

This is a lot, but it's normal for me. If you've always been the same, then don't worry. But if it's a change then I would see the GP.

Oh - and I think with diabetes the frequent urination is the effect of feeling very, very thirsty so drinking a lot. If you're not feeling thirsty all the time, then I wouldn't have thought it would be because of that (but I'm not an expert).

[JustFabulous]

Yes, I realise I was wrong about the diabetes thing. Easily me. It is fairly recent, as in the last few months rather than years. I am trying to drink more as it is better for me and helps with the weight loss. I try not to get to the desperately thirsty stage.

[gussiegrips]

As relaxing said - 8x a day, 1x at night is normal. More than that is not.

Your bladder's got a muscular wall. As it fills with pee, the muscle stretches. That stretch tells your bladder it's full, your bladder tells your brain, so get the feeling of "I've got to go" You should get enough warning that your bladder is full to allow about half an hour before you get "I've really got to go, right NOW"

Usually what happens is, we have an accident/fear having an accident - so, we go "just incase"

That means the muscle inside the bladder wall is not stretched to capacity. So, the system adapts to sending you the message "gotta go" before your bladder is, in fact, full. So, you go more often, and pass less volume. And, you waken up at night. And, you learn that you need to go a lot, so you go more, just incase.

Bladder irritability has been known to make people housebound...

this is a bladder diary fill it out for three days.

You'll see what the pattern is. Take it to your GP, (with a urine sample, to rule out a UTI) get a referral to a women's health physio and they'll sort you out.

It's a muscle same as any other, responds really well to a bit of a stretch.

I'm a women's health physio, a little obsessive with pelvic floor exercises and women being limited by their bladders.

1:3 of us wet ourselves. over 55s it's half. Bloody ridiculous that there's not more information and help about it. I'm on a mission to change that, one fanny at a time

Go and see your GP, you really don't need to put up with it.

[gussiegrips]

Oh, and, if bladder retrainign doesn't work, there's loads of really good drug treatments.

And, you can get botox in your fanjo to help too.

There's a mental image to enjoy - a wrinkle free fanny.

[mamij]

I used to go too often too and each time wasn't a "full" wee. Not great when out or at work!

With both pregnancies I had urine retention and saw urologist. I mentioned that I go to the toilet very often - usually half an hour after drinking something, which they say isn't normal. You're supposed to go about 2-3 hours after drinking and pass roughly 500ml each time.

Basically what gussie says about bladder telling brain when to go etc.

Urologists recommended "bladder training", which means every time I need to go, I should wait 5 mins. After a few days, I should wait 10 mins, then 15 mins etc, to help reset the bladder to hold more urine.

[Ilovefluffysheep]

I have this. Go 10-15 times a day. I am diagnosed with overactive bladder syndrome. It's a nightmare.

Have had medication, changes to diet, cytoscopy x 3, medication inserted via catheter, Botox, and a sacral nerve stimulator whic is coming out next week as it hasn't worked.

My only remaining option is major surgery, which is a massive decision.

It's not been easy to get these treatments, I've had to get my gp to refer me to a urologist in another area as my pct don't fund Botox or sns.

Get to a dr and asked to be referred to a urologist. You need proper examination to find out the cause. Mine was diagnosed after urodynamic tests.

[gussiegrips]

I'm sorry that so many of you have experienced this.

Most cases will respond to bladder training and pelvic floor exercises. The few that don't will need investigating as there are as many causes as there are MNrs.

I'm encouraged to see that you have pushed for further investigations and treatment, folks. Most women just put up with it, I've met women who are, by any definition, disabled because of their bladder problems. I don't say that lightly - if you can't go longer than 20 mins without having a pee then holding down a job, a relationship or participating in your life is Not Easy.

I take it you are all doing your pelvic floor exercises? Have a look on my profile, there's a link to my website which has information and lists the exercises. I tweet to remind you to #doyerblardyexercises, stick an @ in front of my name.

What I'd really like is for MN to adopt continence as a campaign. A third of MNrs are reading stuff on here and pissing themselves as they laugh. 70% of cases can be improved by doing exercises and changing habits.

GPs would bite your hand off for a drug with that sort of success rate.

But, complicated cases can be, well, complicated. Hope you all get sorted soon, have a shiny for seeking help.

[Ilovefluffysheep]

gussiegrips you're right, it is a disability. I'm on restricted duties at work because of it. Every decision in life I make is based around where the nearest toilet is!

I consider myself "lucky" because I don't have an issue with continence, and also I generally don't wake up at night with it, which is weird given how much I go in the day. Having either of those 2 things on top of the frequency must be awful - I really don't know how I would cope.

I know its not a major illness like cancer, or a physical disability like being an amputee or being parlaysed. However, for those of us that suffer it, it can be totally life limiting.

[gussiegrips]

You know that a third of women with bladder issues have clinical depression? And, that's the ones who admit to it.

No wonder. Continence and bladder problems affect everything, and yep, it's not an illness which causes pain or limits your mobility - but, nor is there much sympathy for this condition because it is taboo.

If you have a disease friends and family ask how you are - they don't tend to feel comfortable asking "how's the shitting yourself going today?" or "did you wet the bed last night?"

Assuming you felt able to share what you are going through with them in the first place, that is.

1:3 women have bladder issues. I repeat this because it's so common, and yet, we don't TALK ABOUT IT.

Sigh.

[Screaminabdabs]

Gussie, as well as specific pelvic floor exercises, do things like Pilates and yoga etc help? (I imagine they must...)

Also, if you've got IBS you go to the loo really often - and while you're there you do a wee as well. This can make it hard to limit bladder emptying. Sometimes it feels to me like that whole area is mush, and irritable mush at that. However when I do get to the gym, exercise does definitely seem to help.

[gussiegrips]

Hi Screami

Yep, pilates and yoga can be great - especially "mula banda" which is imagining lifting a lift in your vag up three floors and back down. It's tricky, and a stretch of the imagination (who is in the tiny lift? Where are they going?)

You've got to be careful though, some moves and poses can overload your pelvic floor, there's evidece that suggests that pilates etc can worsen prolapses etc if done incorrectly - ie. ifyou try to do holds which your core is not strong enough to sustain you'll increase your intra-abdominal pressure, whcih can cause your fanny to fall out.

So, yes, but tell your instructor that you have symptoms.

IBS is a tricky one. It is not easy to open your bowels and not go for a wee - there's a whole lot of conditioning gone into gettign you potty trained so, once your're there you'll pee.

Keeping a good diet and complying with your medication so your IBS symptoms are as well controlled as possible is the way to manage it.

And, yes, exercise really helps the bowels - keep drinking though, don't get dehydrated and constipated!

It's really a matter of getting Good Habits - drink lots, eat well, #doyerblardyexercises, seek medical help and comply with what they tell you.

Easier said than done, I know! It's worth prioritising though, see upthread for a hint of the misery that bladders and bowels can wreak.

scuze typos. There seems to be jam on my laptop. Sigh.