Training your bladder?

[Iceblink_Luck]

My OBGYN that I went to told me to "train" my bladder by peeing every hour for one week and then an hour and a half the next..etc..etc...until I only go a few times a day. Anyone tried this? Is holding it in for an hour at a time bad? I know that holding it in can be harmful, but it seems that when I don't cater to my bladder's every whim the symptoms get better...

[leelee88]

I have tried it.. Its hard.. But not impossible unless you are flaring.. There would be no way I could hold it if I was flaring..I know it didnt help because in the process of training my bladder I had a bad flare.. So I am waiting to get over it to try again..

[kadi]

I'm not sure how much it trained my bladder, but it did train me to ignore it.
Sometimes now, I'll think, "dang IC" & then look at the clock & realize the "flare" I thought I was having was just need to urinate after 3 or 4 hours since the last time. Of course that's the good days, on a bad day, there's no "training" possible.

I have mixed feelings about the recommendation, I guess. I'm not sure what it did for me really. But, hey, seems like doctors recommend trying this, so maybe it works well for some people...

Let us know how it goes for you.

[dg2901]

Bladder retraining was a significant help to me. I was advised to do this by my URO and PT. However, I was to increase times between voids by only 15 minutes until I was up to 2 hours.--theres no way, at that time, I could have tolerated 1 hr increases.
"Holding" urine under these circumstances is not harmful. Having said that, if you're flaring dont attempt to hold it as its only going to cause you increased pain and pressure; just skip that particular voiding time and start over when you're back to feeling "normal".

:)
Diana

[Iceblink_Luck]

Thanks guys! I haven't actually tried it. I have maybe only done it successfully for like a day at a time. Mainly due to not remembering to not go or go. It does help me to not pee everytime I feel like it. I do try to hold until I know I really have to go... Sometimes I go and nothing comes out, but it somehow does relax the muscle.

[meme]

I have a lot of reservations about this. To me if I'm flaring there's no way I could hold it any longer. Basically I hold it as long as I can everyday anyways, so there's really no 'retraining' it. And if you're in a flare, I know that it can make my bladder hurt worse if I try to hold it.

[ICNDonna]

The information I have read on bladder retraining is pretty specific about not trying it when in pain --- and by increasing the time between voidings in short time increments. I have read that it does help in some instances.

Donna