![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by noa on July 3, 2000, at 12:48:20
OK, this is not an easy one to talk about. But it is an annoying problem.
I started to notice increased sudden urgency at some point last year when I increased my dose of effexor. It could be coincidental, I don't know.
When I was on lithium, it felt out of control, because the lithium made me have to go extremely frequently, and I was still having the sudden urgency. Bad comination.
Well, it was better for a while after going off the lithium, but it has crept back. It is becoming problematic. It seems my bladder doesn't hold very much, doesn't wait until full to signal the need to go. And the urge comes on very suddenly, with little time to rush to the bathroom. Sometimes I don't make it.
Also, it seems I have leaks in addition to the urge incontinence.
I think this might be caused by the effexor, but I don't know. I am also taking serzone and ritalin.
Any ideas?
Posted by Cindy W on July 3, 2000, at 21:17:51
In reply to ADs and Urinary Incontinence--revisiting the issue, posted by noa on July 3, 2000, at 12:48:20
> OK, this is not an easy one to talk about. But it is an annoying problem.
>
> I started to notice increased sudden urgency at some point last year when I increased my dose of effexor. It could be coincidental, I don't know.
>
> When I was on lithium, it felt out of control, because the lithium made me have to go extremely frequently, and I was still having the sudden urgency. Bad comination.
>
> Well, it was better for a while after going off the lithium, but it has crept back. It is becoming problematic. It seems my bladder doesn't hold very much, doesn't wait until full to signal the need to go. And the urge comes on very suddenly, with little time to rush to the bathroom. Sometimes I don't make it.
>
> Also, it seems I have leaks in addition to the urge incontinence.
>
> I think this might be caused by the effexor, but I don't know. I am also taking serzone and ritalin.
>
> Any ideas?
Noa, I'm taking the same dose of Effexor-XR as you, I think, but only a small amount of Serzone (50 mg/night). With a larger dose of Serzone, I had the same problem. With Effexor-XR, I haven't noticed it. I did so many kegels I lost count! Of course, there are other benefits to doing these exercises. ;)
Posted by Andre Allard on July 3, 2000, at 21:48:32
In reply to ADs and Urinary Incontinence--revisiting the issue, posted by noa on July 3, 2000, at 12:48:20
When I was taking effexor, I had an urge to piss almost all the time even though my bladder was not even full. It eventually went away though or else I got used to it.
I also notice that my urinary muscles would take sometimes up to 30 seconds to relax. This side effect has never gone away. When I am using a terminal at work or in a public restroom it is embarrassing because I might stand there for a minute trying to piss. People around me are wondering what the hell I am doing standing at a urinary terminal not even using it.
Posted by Cindy W on July 4, 2000, at 11:21:01
In reply to Re: ADs and Urinary Incontinence--revisiting the issue, posted by Andre Allard on July 3, 2000, at 21:48:32
> When I was taking effexor, I had an urge to piss almost all the time even though my bladder was not even full. It eventually went away though or else I got used to it.
>
> I also notice that my urinary muscles would take sometimes up to 30 seconds to relax. This side effect has never gone away. When I am using a terminal at work or in a public restroom it is embarrassing because I might stand there for a minute trying to piss. People around me are wondering what the hell I am doing standing at a urinary terminal not even using it.Andre, i think i'd answer, 'just thinking'!
Posted by danf on July 4, 2000, at 11:24:46
In reply to Re: ADs and Urinary Incontinence--revisiting the issue, posted by Andre Allard on July 3, 2000, at 21:48:32
Noa,
this is probably a cholineric related med effect.
But it can also be caused by chronic low grade urinary tract /bladder infection in women.
An infection should be ruled out as a possible cause first.
Some women develop small bladder syndrome which has the same symptoms.
Chronic UTIs in men are uncommon.
There are some meds that may be of help, ditropan comes to mind. Am unsure about drug interactions tho.
Kagels as mentioned by Cindy also help. If one has a few extra tummy pounds & poor abdominal wall muscle tone, abd exercises help.
Posted by danf on July 4, 2000, at 11:34:26
In reply to Re: ADs and Urinary Incontinence--revisiting the issue, posted by Cindy W on July 4, 2000, at 11:21:01
This web page will give helpful instructions for takig a leak.
It is not for the easily offended.
http://bofh.ntk.net/BlokeLeak.html
Posted by noa on July 5, 2000, at 6:41:51
In reply to Re: ADs and Urinary Incontinence--andre, posted by danf on July 4, 2000, at 11:34:26
Thanks, everyone.
I spent some time at B&N yesterday, reading a book on incontinence, and took away some good info.
First step, as danf says: rule out an infection. Infection is actually a likely suspect, because when I went to donate blood yesterday, they rejected me because I had a temp of 100.3. Last time I gave blood, my temp was a bit high (99.9), but i rested a while, and it went down to 99.5, which is their max for donors. Of course, it also occurs to me that my temp might be elevated from my thyroid meds. I used to have a chronicly low temp (I used to throw away thermometers, thinking they were broken!), but with my thyroid hormone replacement, I wonder if my temp could be elevated. I will ask my endo. As for the infection, I am calling today for a gyno appointment, which is overdue anyway.
Second: I have lots of abdominal weight, put on in the past year or two, on top of the weight already there. I will work on that.
Third: I have started Kegel exercises.
Fourth: I learned from reading that you can train yourself to deal with strong urge to pee, and with incontinence. It is worth a try if it is not due to an infection.
Fifth: I guess it could be either the effexor or the serzone. I first noticed it with effexor before I took serzone, but it could be either or the combo of both. But I am not giving the meds up, at least until some spectacular alternative comes up.
Posted by noa on July 5, 2000, at 7:09:42
In reply to Re: ADs and Urinary Incontinence--revisiting the issue, posted by Andre Allard on July 3, 2000, at 21:48:32
Andre, I get this, too. It seems ironic, because sometimes I can't control my bladder, and I won't make it to the bathroom without an accident, but then when I get there, nothing comes out. I have to wait a while, try to "focus", or sometimes, I have to push.
Posted by MHK on July 6, 2000, at 18:28:40
In reply to ADs and Urinary Incontinence--revisiting the issue, posted by noa on July 3, 2000, at 12:48:20
> I think this might be caused by the effexor, but I don't know. I am also taking serzone and ritalin.
>
> Any ideas?
I just started taking Serzone less than a week ago and I have been having terrible urgency for the last day or two. I can't be 100% sure that it is a side effect because I also have my period and it may be due to the loss of retained water, but I suspect it's the Serzone.
Posted by noa on July 7, 2000, at 16:11:00
In reply to Incontinence / Serzone, posted by MHK on July 6, 2000, at 18:28:40
Thanks. I hope yours clears up. I just had some tests done yesterday to see if I have a UT infection. It may not be the meds afterall. It turns out I have a fever, found out when I tried to give blood to the Red Cross on Tuesday. They had also almost turned me down for the same reason (but not quite as high temp) in January. So this makes me wonder if I have been walking around with a low grade infection all these months.
My pdoc encouraged me to think in terms of threshold, rather than trying to sort out which factor is THE culprit. The meds, a possible infection, even my weight gain, all might be contributing to some degree and I might not be able to figure that out completely. But one or more of these factors could change a threshold for a certain symptom or adverse effect.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.