@lemtrada-uk 

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lemtrada-uk

Lost ability to urinate

Need some advice please guys. Has anyone else lost their ability to urinate following an excessive hospital stay due to a physical trauma. Recently I broke my femur so was hospitalised. Whilst in hospital, I was urinating via a long term catheter. My bladder had gone into retention caused by the trauma, and a catheter was inserted. I figured it would be easier to keep the catheter throughout my hospitalisation. Now that I’m home, I am no longer able to wee on the toilet. So I am self catheterising. I am told that this is to be expected as my brain has been receiving mixed messages. Has anyone else experienced a similar phenomenon? How long can I except this to continue for? I sometimes take medication (tamsulosin/contiflo) to help urinate- does this medication simply reduce the bladder lining or does it help where the brain is no longer sending the message to the Bladder to urinate? Thanks
@Stumbler

@lemtrada-uk , according to https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/tamsulosin/ , Tamsulosin is for incontinence problem caused by a swollen prostate. That's a new one on me, but I'm not medical. There are other, more specific, meds available for over-active bladder caused by MS. Keep trying to go naturally, relaxing the muscles as best you can. The natural process may return, normally a drip at a time. Intermittent Self Catheterisation (ISC) should still be used from time to time to provide relief and avoid accidents.

@lemtrada-uk

Thanks for your response. I have been informed that there aren’t many specific medications for an under active bladder. The only real solution is to self catheterise. There are medications available for an over active bladder, but if one can’t urinate due to ms, then the best option is to use a catheter. @stumbler do you have any tips on how best to relax the muscles? Are there any foods that I should eat or activities which I can do, to help the brain to send messages to the bladder to empty? Thanks