Sensitive bladder - stop the madness!

[New_Natural_Mom]

Throughout my life I have had periods where I had to pee all.the.time! Like 30-40 times a day. If there was 1 drop of urine in my bladder I would feel like I had to pee. Previously I went on ditropan, or other Rx to help. I would stay on it for awhile then come off when it got better. This would train my bladder. I recently had a yeast infrction & that seems to have brought it all back.

Is there any natural treatment for this? I am nursing, so it would have to be compatible.

thx, nak

[JessicaS]

Have you gotten checked for a UTI when that happens or do they just give you meds?

There are conditions that have similar symptoms to an UTI but are not actual UTIs. If you are having repeated episodes of this then I would suggest getting that checked out.

[New_Natural_Mom]

Originally Posted by abimommy

Have you gotten checked for a UTI when that happens or do they just give you meds?

There are conditions that have similar symptoms to an UTI but are not actual UTIs. If you are having repeated episodes of this then I would suggest getting that checked out.

It's been years since I've been on meds for this. It isn't an UTI - no pain or anything, just the need to empty my bladder for even 1 drop.

And I am not diabetic.

[JaneS]

Research interstitial cystitis.

I had it, and it's hell! For me, it was food chemical intolerance, which The IC Network talks about avoiding spicy foods, tomato, citrus, coffee etc. but doesn't understand the food chemical intolerance connection.

I would do a trial of the FAILSAFE diet, very strict, for a couple weeks to a month to see if provides relief.

www.plantpoisonsandrottenstuff.com
www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info
www.salicylatesensitivity.com

Also epsom salts baths, 2 cups or more almost everyday provides sulfate which helps detoxes these chemicals. See "Salicylate/Amine/Histamine Sensitive Tribe" for more supp info.

[New_Natural_Mom]

I don't think that is me. No pelvic pain. No painful urination. I think I have overactive bladder.

[JaneS]

Yes I do think the causes of OAB can be similar... I had bouts of it with no pain too.

I have read a great deal about it with respect to salicylate sensitivity as well.

The Feingold Association also connects OAB and salicylate intolerance. Although Feingold deals with children anyone can have problems breaking down these specific chemicals if their detox pathways are not working correctly.

Also some info from others experiencing it in the Salicylate Sensitivity forum.

There has also been a lot of discussion about oxalates and OAB. The FAILSAFE diet foods also eliminate this food chemical.

I also think with the common dairy rich and magnesium poor diet... the issue is calcium overload exacerbating magnesium deficiency in detoxing these chemicals. The Low Oxalate Diet talks about this. Magnesium is one of the most important supplements to try first.

eta: magnesium is one of the minerals responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions in the body, if you are low, the enzymes will not work. Red Blood Cell testing is more accurate than standard blood testing, as the blood will leach from cells to keep mineral homostasis at all cost.

[JessicaS]

I have interstitial cystitus.

Interstitial is a blanket diagnoses that has no definitive cause. People usually have to try a LOT of different things to find what works for them.

You should probably discuss this with your gyno and maybe a gyno-urologist.

I do have the precise problem you are describing. Antihistamines usually work best for me but other people get relief from pelvic floor therapy or all sorts of things.

I have an allergy to dairy and have issues with preservatives.

[JaneS]

Yes preservatives (and FD&C artifical colors) have the highest sources of salicylates. Both The Feingold Diet and FAILSAFE talks about this with FAILSAFE going further:

ARTIFICIAL COLOURS (in sweets, drinks, takeaways, cereals and many processed foods) 102 tartrazine, 104 quinoline yellow, 110 sunset yellow, 122 azorubine, 123 amaranth, 124 ponceau red, 127 erythrosine, 129 allura red, 132 indigotine,133 brilliant blue, 142 green S, 143 fast green FCF, 151 brilliant black, 155 chocolate brown

NATURAL COLOUR 160b annatto (in yoghurts, icecreams, popcorn etc, 160a is a safe alternative)

PRESERVATIVES

200-203 sorbates (in margarine, dips, cakes, fruit products)

210-213 benzoates (in juices, soft drinks, cordials, syrups, medications)

220-228 sulphites (in dried fruit, fruit drinks, sausages, and many others)

280-283 propionates (in bread and bakery products)

249-252 nitrates, nitrites (in processed meats like ham)

SYNTHETIC ANTIOXIDANTS (in margarines, vegetable oils, fried foods, snacks, biscuits etc)

310-312 Gallates

319-320 TBHQ, BHA, BHT (306-309 are safe alternatives)

FLAVOUR ENHANCERS (in tasty foods)

621 MSG

627, 631, 635 disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, ribonucleotides

My son became a hitting, screaming insomiac (who wet his pants) the few times he had artificial colors. He was only incontinent when he had high salicylates. I have had urine leakage myself, again, only when eating high sals. I have seen another child go pee 20 times per day and needing to go 5x per night, when eating high sals. I have also reacted severely to wintergreen and almond flavoring, both extremely high in salicylates.

You can do your own aspirin test ... if you react to taking a normal dose, you are salicylate intolerant.

Also RE: dairy, if one is not allergic, a salicylate sensitive person can be reacting to the vitamin A palmitate which is preserved with BHT (but that preservative is not on the label). Feingold recs whole milk and non-chemical vitamin-fortified dairy only. ETA: only lowfat milks are fortified with chemical vitamin A b/c the natural vitamin A that is essential for mineral absorption is stripped out with the fat. (A topic for another thread!)

These chemicals are now everywhere in our modern food supply, it's hard to avoid them if you eat processed or restaurant foods. Even most non organic vegetable oils are artifically preserved with these high sal compounds. This journey has been very interesting for me to find out all the different physical manifestations of salicylate intolerance in both adults and children. And certainly made me see the ADHD epidemic way differently!

[JessicaS]

I have been considering Feingold for some time. I need to look into it further.

[Oubliette8]

Are you stressed, anxious, or nervous? I go through periods like this. At first i kept running to the doctor to test for UTI, which mostly came back clean. Then saw a urologist, who found nothing wrong. At which point the problem went away for awhile. Recently its come back, and I've realized that it mostly happens when I'm nervous or anxious. At those times, I can pee, and as soon as I stand up, I need to go again. I haven't found a solution, besides trying to ignore it and knowing it will go away as soon as whatever is stressing me out is over.

[lapis]

I have the same thing... the peeing, then STILL feeling like I need to go either immediately or a few minutes later. I've been tested for Interstitial cystitis and UTI's and everything is clear. I think IC is worth getting tested for because for some there is no pain involved... but, like Oubliette8 I also find that when I'm anxious or nervous, is when its the worst. Before going to bed I have to pee 2-4 times before I can relax my bladder enough to let everything out.... during the day I usually just go once an hour or two unless I'm anxious about doing something/going somewhere. I do not have any leakage however but I do also have vulvodynia (vaginal pain) so in general my pelvic floor muscles are a little wacky....so basically I agree w/ abimommy that its a lot of trial and error and figuring out what makes things worse/better for you.

Good luck!

[JessicaS]

It wouldn't hurt to try and avoid acidic foods and see if that helps. Acidic foods do include soda, coffee and such

[KMK_Mama]

I have IC too. I was diagnosed 17 years ago (when I was 16). I only get the pelvic pain occasionally and I don't have any pain upon urination, but I go pee all. the. time. I haven't slept through the night in 17 years. It sucks. You should get tested..and hopefully you can rule it out.

I found out 2 years ago that I am allergic to milk and now that I am dairy free it's gotten quite a bit better.

[nanciswell]

I beleive I have IC.. Severe pain in my bladder area that does not go away with peeing.. What ever epsom salts .. it is the sulfate that helps.. relieves it in minutes..

Trouble for me is now that I am eating a higher oxalate diet the epsom salts are now bothering me..Epsom salts are high in oxalates according to someones post on this forum.. SO my advice only take what you need .. dont go overboard with supplements , same food all the time if possible..

I only have celery and parsley that do not make me ill. SO I started having alot of celery and parsley jiuce.> This is when the epsom salts began to bother me.. I was not taking as much magnesium as well so that may be affecting it.

I have started taking a magnesium oil made from sea salt and I can tolerate that so far..

nanci