need remedy for dd 1 overactive bladder

[gigismom]

dd1 (almost 11) has had this symptom intemittently over the past few years. she has frequent urges to urinate and then when she goes to the bathroom she can only urinate a little bit at a time. she does eventually emtpy her bladder. she has no pain. the urine is nearly clear, no fever or other symptoms of infection. she also has been tired more easily and has occasional headaches (like 3 in the past 2 weeks). it has been super hot here and she always needs to be reminded to drink enough water, so she is likely slightly dehydrated. in the past, her ped has run cultures to check for uti and they have always been negative. she (ped) thinks this is related to stressful life events. the first time it happened was when she started kg. it also happened when her brother was born. now, we are struggling with ds' food allergies and gut issues and very focused on that. she is stressed over this and even though we try not to make such a big deal out of it, his issues are still very much on all of our minds as a family. we have implemented many diet changes and supplements into our lives. i have tried giving her extra attention, making sure she is drinking enough. she takes a cranberry "vitamin" that her ped suggested might be helpful. this has always done the trick in the past, the symptoms would go away in a week or so. now, this has been going on for 2 to 3 weeks. she takes a good probiotic already. i don't want to just think this is all "in her head." i believe her symptoms are real and want to help her. any suggestions.... homeopathic, foods that might help, whatever ideas you all have are appreciated. fyi, she is gluten free bc she tested as sensitive to gluten through muscle testing. we eat very little to no grains in our house. thanks

jen

[mellowjello]

My DD has always done the same thing (now almost 3). In her case, she has impaired kidney function. Her urine cultures are always negative, but I believe she has a low level chronic infection that can flare up under stress. When kidneys are stressed, you can have decreased urine output and thirst. For my DD, magnesium supplementing really helps. Kidneys need magnesium. I use Mag Glycinate from Kirkman, gentler form of Mag, but Natural Calm powder (can get at Whole Foods) is a really absorbable one if it's not irritating to the stomach. (Also my DD needs extra B12, and I'm not really sure the connection to bladder.) Anxiety can be a sign of kidney stress, as well as experiecing discomfort peeing (pee can be acidic and painful). Pee is acidic when the body is detoxing, as when an infection flares up and then the organisms are killed off. When the organisms die they release toxins that the body has to clean up. A healing diet (such as GAPS) might really help her and if you're dealing with your son's gut issues then it might be easier anyway to have them both on it. (Start with gradually moving over to full GAPS diet, then "wean down" to intro and back up again, slow slow slow and support their detox please!!!). I apologize if I'm off track, just a brain dump. HTH!

I just reread your post and it sounds like you might be already close to doing GAPS but there are some veggies that are not recommended and also GAPS introduces dairy very slowly.

[gigismom]

wow interesting... we are essentially on the gaps diet at this point (except for gf oatmeal which ds seems to be tolerating). we don't do the starchy veggies that aren't allowed. we do the bone broth etc... dd1 was on extra b12 and mag also. we use natural calm. i took her off the b12 because she is not an "allergy" kid. she has no histamine reactions at all and i saw no change in her when she was on the b12. she was muscle tested for the b12, though, and our practitioner said she needed it. maybe she should be back on it. as far as i can remember she did not have these bladder issues when she was on the b12. i did not tie these 2 together before. i took her off the mag because her stress level had gone down and she was doing much better with her mood. i have been thinking to start that again. these are great suggestions because i already have all this stuff and we are already trying to implement the gaps diet. this gives me more motivation to keep going with the diet. it is soooo tough to eat gaps without eggs (ds is ige to eggs). we can't even have them in the house at this point.

these are potentially great long-term solutions, any other ideas to help her acutely to deal with this bladder issue?

thanks so much

jen

[JaneS]

Salicylate sensitivity

www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info
www.feingold.org
www.plantpoisonsandrottenstuff.info

I'll be back tom. to discuss.

[gigismom]

Originally Posted by JaneS

Salicylate sensitivity

www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info
www.feingold.org
www.plantpoisonsandrottenstuff.info

I'll be back tom. to discuss.

oh... please said it isn't so! we have been through this with ds when he was temporarily reacting to sals while detoxing one time. i am anxiously awaiting your input

jen

[JaneS]

From my personal experience with myself and DS and research by Feingold Assoc and Sue Dengate's FAILSAFE diet, these sx can be connected to sal intolerance.

It could be a matter of not having enough nutrients to detox: magnesium, sulfate, b6 and molybdenum so you can try supp'ing those. Also watch your omega 6 oils from vegetable oils and grain fed animal products, supp with omega 3's.

I've had this issue and have been majorly stressed off and on, it's not stress per se although stress can drain the body of magnesium and b vits.

[gigismom]

Originally Posted by JaneS

From my personal experience with myself and DS and research by Feingold Assoc and Sue Dengate's FAILSAFE diet, these sx can be connected to sal intolerance.

It could be a matter of not having enough nutrients to detox: magnesium, sulfate, b6 and molybdenum so you can try supp'ing those. Also watch your omega 6 oils from vegetable oils and grain fed animal products, supp with omega 3's.

I've had this issue and have been majorly stressed off and on, it's not stress per se although stress can drain the body of magnesium and b vits.

That seems to ring a lot of bells for me. Stress depleting mag and b vits combined with recently stopping her mag b vits bc I thought they weren't helping her with anything... All on top of tons of berries and other fresh fruits likely high in sals. Resuts...not detoxing sals well. I just did not realize this urinary stuff could be related to sals. My sons sx were much different.
She started the mag and b vits this morning so we will see
Off to read more. Thx
Jen

[kjbrown92]

Something that helped my bladder issues was lemon in water all day long. It makes the urine more alkaline, and less friendly to bacteria. But I was going to say it could be a symptom of a food intolerance (though Jane might be right on the money with the sals thing) since you already have a son with food problems, since everyone presents differently, even to the same foods.

[FireWithin]

I agree with what JaneS is saying. I get that when I have too many sals, although my tolerance is much higher than Jane's.

That said, I am very successful at using a homeopathic remedy for both true UTIs and for a sals reaction. For me, it is cantharis and that is the typical one for urinary issues. That might not be the one for your daughter, but it is certainly a place to start.

[JaneS]

My tolerance was extremely low but it is quite high now due to supp'ing esp. magnesium baths/oil and epsom salts I think. Selenium is also helpful. My DS is a different story unfortunately, he's a tough one to crack.

[Oubliette8]

I actually think your doctor might be on to something that its related to stress. I have bouts of frequent urination. I had repeated doctors visits, checks for utis, saw a urologist for more tests. All came back pretty normal. I decided just to let it be. It eventually went away on its own.

Last year I became involved in some legal proceedings, which was really stressful. Every time there was a deposition, I had to go constantly- like every 5 minutes. It was highly embarrassing. And as soon as the event was over, I'd be fine for the rest of the day. I never had to go except in the presence of lawyers. Thats when it made sense to me. This year, it came up again, I'd have to go every 5 minutes for a few hours. I realized that I was anxious during those few hours awaiting an important phone call (the type that leaves you staring at the phone because you cant miss it, but you don't know when exactly its coming)

The symptoms themselves are VERY real. I do not want to have to go so often, its highly embarrassing to me when it happens. Its a reaction my body has to stress, like some people sweat profusely? I have to pee every 5 minutes.

I wonder if stress reduction techniques might help? A calming, comforting activity? And looking for some way to help with the overall stress she feels right now.