Are there pills to help your bladder empty out?

[mr_coffee]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if there was a pill out there that helps you empty out your bladder or keep your bladder muscle form spasiming so when you have to go it will come all the way out?

I wear a leg bag usually all the time and dont' cath. Now I want to get rid of the leg bag but there are 2 options, number one being getting on pills that will keep me from peeing so I will have to cath or pills that will help me empty all the way out.

I would rahter find pills that help me empty all the way out. I talked to a walking quad and he said he was using Flowmax and once he got on that he didn't have to cath anymore.

I can tell when I have to pee and when it happens I would say a pretty good amount of it comes out but not enough. For instance, some will still leak out after and another issue is once I start walking more will random come out. So its not emptying all the way and thats the issue.

If I found pills that really did work I suppose I could go back to cathing, but I drink a TON of water and even after taking pills that keep you from going it never helps. I really don't want to use botox injections but someonene on this forum said taht works.

Thanks

[duge]

Cory, I have been on Vesicare for about 4 yrs now. It does not keep me from peeing but it has stopped my bladder spasm's. I used to wear a full depends diaper but switched a couple years ago and just wear a man's pad. Looks like a Kotex but......my wife work's at a drugstore and some older people even use baby diapers in thier undies to keep them from leaking. I can tell when I got to go so I usually find a place, for me the pad has been enough. Once in a great while it will leak and get my shorts wet, but usually not clear thru to my pants.

[POPO367]

I have been on Oxybutin for a year and I usually take 15mg every night and I am good to go. I know you can also take it throughout the day to control your bladder, the only thing that sucks about it is that it makes your mouth dry. I also use the men's pads and they have saved me on several occasions, they can hold quite of bid of urine. If I am going to go out drinking then I take an 5mg of Oxybutin to hold me over.

[JerseyGirl]

I've been taking 10 mg of the Oxybutin/Ditropan XL for the last 20 years. The XL came out a few years ago, so I switched over to that. I usually monitor how often I go to the bathroom. So even if I don't feel like going, I still go to the bathroom - just incase. If I get the urge, and I'm not close to a bathroom, then that's a problem. If I go out for a few drinks with friends, then I take an extra pill, and that usually does the trick. I don't wear any kind of pads or anything like that. I just keep an eye on the clock!

[mr_coffee]

So it seems like my option is to go back to cathing which I suppose is better than a leg bag. I was on Ditropan before and that was the pill that wasn't working for me. Whats the XL stand for? Maybe I'll try that. Is there anything more powerful than Ditropan because I think I actually was on like 15mg of ditropan and honestly it did not help me hold anything in, I'd cath for like 250. Also when I get the urge to pee it makes it extra hard to walk, which makes it take even longer to get to the bathroom, so I really need somthing that once I get the urge to pee, it doesnt go. When I was first injured I once cathed for like 1500 which they said was absurd and they weren't sure how it filled up so fast but I didn't leak once, I wish I had that again! Of course I wouldn't let it fill up to 1500 because I realize thats dangerous to the kidney's, but If I could hold at least 500ml per pee i'd be happy.

[JerseyGirl]

The XL stands for "Extended Release"....I believe. And my doc had to up my dose too. I take 1, 10mg pill 3xs per day. I've tried the Detrol LA, and that didn't work at all. I also keep my eye on the clock, and not push my limit too long. I'll go to the bathroom every couple hours, sometimes more (depends on how much coffe I drink). I also give a little push to make sure I get all the pee out. Last time I went to my urologist, he said it looked like I was getting everything out. I hope this info helps you out. Nights are the worst though (once I finally fall asleep), and I've been thinking of the Botox injections, but haven't checked into that yet. From what I understand, it's supposed to help with leakage. But apparently the "urge" to pee isn't strong enough to wake me up. So after 6pm, I really watch what I drink.

[JerseyGirl]

Oh, and I know what you mean about making it hard to walk when you get the urge to pee. My foot cramps up something horrible, and it takes me twice as long to get to the bathroom. Those are the times that I really pray that I can run!

[quadfather]

If I understand your question correctly you are asking about meds that will help you empty your bladder, not keep you from leaking (which is what ditropan does)

There are several drugs that help with emptying the bladder. Their effectiveness is dependent on several factors including what your particular urinary dysfunction is (DSD, obstruction, etc.), which your urologist can tell you. In addition to the Flomax you mentioned other drugs intended to achieve better bladder emptying include: Hytrin, Minipress and Cardura.

SCI patients have had mixed results with the meds listed above. Some they work well for, while others not at all.

Good luck.

[SCI-Nurse]

Hi,

To add to what quadfather mentioned above, you may be confusing these two classes of drugs and what they are used for.

If you have been diagnosed with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), enlarged prostate, you may have symptoms of dribbling, you may wake up several times during the night, have problems with urinating too often, or frequently feel an urgent need to go.
Most men with male urinary symptoms due to BPH are treated with prescription medications. The most commonly prescribed medications, known as alpha-blockers, work by relaxing the muscles in the prostate that surround the urethra. This relieves pressure on the urethra, allowing urine to flow more freely. Common alpha-blockers are Flomax, Minipress, etc.

If you have a neurogenic baldder, anticholinergic medications (ditropan, detrol) can relieve the symptoms of bladder instability associated with voiding in patients with uninhibited neurogenic or reflex neurogenic bladder (i.e., urgency, frequency, urinary leakage, urge incontinence, dysuria).These medications can increase the holding capacity of the bladder, allowing you to increase the time between caths. One should never keep more than 400cc in your bladder.

I suggest you discuss with your doctor what type of bladder diagnosis you have and an appropirate treatment can be prescribed.

I would also recommend you review the sticky post of "Bladder Management for adults with SCI" at the beginning of this care forum. It reviews these in more detail.

AAD

[mr_coffee]

AAD and everyone,

Thanks for the response. I knew the difference between the two, It just seems like I could go both ways, like the other walking quad I talked too. He was in my situation, where he had a neurogenic bladder but he took flowmax to help him release more, he didn't cath at all. He just had the issue where when he felt like he had to go, he would go and it would stop. Just like me, it will go and it will stop and then leak out. He took flowmax to solve this problem.

I've been told I have a neurogenic bladder, I assumed we all did if you have a spinal cord injury. But I guess thats not the case, so if I took flow max it probably wouldn't do anyting? I need to go the other way and take pills that do the opposite and keep my bladder to hold more and just cath rather than taking pills that might let me empty all the way out without cathing?

[Millard]

Hi Corey,

For 37 years I was a walking quad using only forearm crutches. I would only wear dark trousers because after (reflex) voiding, there would be a small amount of urine. I did have a supra public catheter for about five years but my Urologist removed it. When I traveled or went out socially, I would use a condom cath and a bag. I was retaining 300 ml's. This resulted in battling UTI's my entire life. I tried FloMax and it helped a small amount but not with the residual. I had horrible results with Detrol LA in that I lost bladder sensation.

After falling and breaking several bones over a three year period, my Orthopaedic surgeon finallly convinced me to use a chair. I had lost a lot of bone density which resulted in bones which easily broke.

I wished I had started CIC many years ago and also wish I had used a chair more often. I know you will fight to walk with crutches...I went the same route.

I hope some of this information will help you and others.

Good luck,

[SCI-Nurse]

I would encourage you to speak with your clinician and the best medication approach would be recommended. But,yes, it does sound to me like taking flomax is not the best approach from the information you relayed.

AAD

[Sue Pendleton]

During my 2nd round of inpatient rehab, based on new uro findings, I was given a combo of a child's dose of liquid oxybutynin chloride and hytrin to manage bladder spasms and relax the sphincter mucles. It worked fairly well. Transferring and getting clothes down or up did not.

[Riaan]

I can also feel when my bladder is full ,depends on what i drink that causes me 2 leak.Drinking beer,coffee causes me to leak if i dont cathrise after atleast 1 and a half hour.What i have learned about myself is when i push myself to hold my p longer and i do leak i would leak for about 3 days non stop,my nurse puts in a legbag for me when i go out at night but after i remove it id leak for atleast a week. I use ditristol tablets to manage my bladder.Personily if i was you i would rather start catharising again,you dont need to drink so much water to prefent infection and just so much less worries. Id say catherise every 2 hours depends on fluid intake just for your bladder to start holding more p again.Its the first time i hear about the mens pads will have a look at it but i usely take 3 or 4 sheets of paper towel that u use to dry your hands and put that in my pants.it can soak up alot.hope it works for you

[mr_coffee]

Thanks guys!

I'm goign to ask the doc about getting me on 15mg of ditropan again and seeing if it will work!