“Gotta go! Gotta Go!” I am sure all of you have seen or heard of this commercial. Unfortunately, for many of us living with PD this is more than a jingle….. IT IS A REALITY!
Every time you step into new place you have to scope it out to know where the nearest restroom is or have become afraid of traveling too far from home because of potential embarrassment.
This reminded me of the video submitted last year for the World Parkinson’s Conference at Montreal by that brave PD woman whose bladder symptoms were triggered by the mere mentioned of the sound of water running or the thought of water! And had to live by a neighbor with a running FOUNTAIN! TORTURE!!! I ABSOLUTELY SYMPATHIZE!
If any of you have ever had a bladder infection …you KNOW HOW MISERABLE it is to not be able to step 3 steps away from the restroom before having an urge …NOW imagine having these feelings ALL the time?!
Thus, today I thought I would write about a very frequent and common symptom of Parkinson which causes a lot of discomfort and disability but is often overlooked or underdiagnosed in my experience.
We know that urinary or bladder issues can be a problem for patients with Parkinson’s and in fact is very common in all stages. However, it tends to be worst in late stages of Parkinson’s . If it is more severe at the onset than most likely we are looking at a parkinsonism or Parkinson Plus syndrome ( like MSA). Bladder dysfunction occurs due to loss of dopamine. The message from the brain to the bladder can get mixed up and confuse bladder of when it should empty or retain urine. This is known as a non-motor symptom which although can cause a great deal of problems for the majority of individuals there IS a solution! However, in order to find an appropriate solution you and your doctor or team of physicians ( which is often required in most cases to have successful treatment of symptoms) must FIRST understand the cause or causes of the bladder problems!
Here are the 4 more common reasons for PD patients to experience bladder dysfunction.
Although, the majority of patients have usually one type – “we don’t all follow the medical texts”- as I like to say, Therefore, some of us may have a combination and worse may have a combination that fluctuates making it more challenging BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE to TREAT!
Important thing to remember is that although bladder issues are part of non motor symptoms and can be present through out the history of PD they are not inevitable!
Remember, that if bladder problems worsens acutely or not improving to discuss with physician because other problems can arise like infections …having PD does not exclude common things.
In men, things like enlarged prostate or in women enlarged uterine can lead to going, going, going feeling. If you have a lot of bladder issues early on in disease may not be PD as I said earlier but Parkinsonism.
Parkinson’s disease causes both urinary incontinence and difficulty emptying both of which can be quite troublesome and lead to secondary infections as well.
Sometimes the urinary incontinence ( unable to control bladder) is not caused by dopamine loss effect on the bladder but rather its effect on rest of body. For instance, you might be in an “off” state or “under” medicated and having trouble moving fast enough to get to bathroom when urge hits…
so your bladder in this case works fine but your body does not respond fast enough!
Another issue outside of the bladder and independent of dopamine effect on the bladder is the Practicalities of using the toilet. The ability to USE the toilet can also stand in the way and cause incontinence..like not being able to sit down or pull your undergarments down, or unbutton clothing.
Having increase night time urgency ( nocturia) or wetting at night ( nocturnal enuresis) which can lead to trouble sleeping and increase fatigue and of course put a damper on sexual intimacy and personal hygiene. Also, if you have nocturia aside from putting a rift in intimacy and making hygiene a challenge cohabitating in the same room much less same bed can be a tremendous problem when you have to get up every 5 to 10 minutes to void neither you nor your bed partner get any rest! Lack of sleep as you know does nothing to help pain of PD and stiffness as well as tremors leading you to a catch 22 if already having trouble getting to bathroom this will only increase and worsen if you become slower, stiffer and shakier!
Therefore, it is imperative that you seek medical attention and treatment – which might require a visit to the urologist, gynecologist (if female ) and even at times a behavioral therapist along with regular visits to your neurologist. Remember, effective treatment often requires a multidisciplinary ( team ) approach. Most cases can be successfully treated. Please don’t suffer In Silence. Next blog I will discuss treatments and studies but first want to mention two other causes of frequent urination in PD.
So, as I said previously some PD patients have urgency & frequency and can have accidents because not fast enough to get to bathroom while a second group can experience the opposite difficulty voiding (trouble going) either because bladder fails to contract or sphincter does not relax and can’t let the flow start…this too can lead to infections much higher risk than above. These individuals also have urgency and frequency but from poor emptying, the bladder feels like wants to empty
Anticholinergics also cause difficulty with emptying.
Another cause of constant urgency and frequency feeling with trouble voiding is severe constipation which is common in PD. In this case, feces can accumulate in the rectum causing distention subsequently pressing on the urethra giving sensation of needing to void. The constipation can be so severe that the rectum can distend to the point it might even obstruct the opening of the urethra making it nearly impossible to void.
So, in conclusion if you are often feeling like ” where is the bathroom? where is the bathroom? there is NO WAY to hold it in! blame that DARN brain disease…”then I think is time to have a long talk with your neurologist. Fortunately, there is help and most of the non-motor symptoms have solutions….however, need to remember to keep diary of what’s causing problem. is it due to dopamine malfunction either too much pressure not allowing sphincter to open ( the urologist, gynecologist, EMG doctor will be able to tell by doing test on your bladder), or your bladder is not responding to dopamine getting mixed signals making it go more often and usually a trial of meds like Detrol will help..
or is it outside of the bladder like you are “off” or “under” medicated so cant get to bathroom fast or unbutton clothes to use potty?!
or finally is it a medical problem like chronic infections or enlarged prostate or diabetes causing frequency.
Remember the more you know…the better you will feel!
( note: urine output increases at night as we age!)
————————————————————————————————-
How many times do you think a normal person empties their bladder in a day?
A: 4-6 x a day
Dr. M. De Leon is a movement disorder specialist on sabbatical, PPAC member and research advocate for PDF (Parkinson’s Disease Foundation); Texas State Assistant Director for PAN (Parkinson’s Action Network). You can learn more about her work at http://www.facebook.com/defeatparkinsons101 you can also learn more about Parkinson’s disease at www.pdf.org or at www.wemove.org; http://www.aan.org, http://www.defeatparkinsons.blogspot.com
All materials here forth are property of Defeatparkinsons. without express written consent, these materials only may be used for viewers personal & non-commercial uses which do not harm the reputation of Defeatparkinsons organization or Dr. M.De Leon provided you do not remove any copyrights. To request permission to reproduce release of any part or whole of content, please contact me at defeatparkinsons101@yahoo.com
defeatparkinsons 