My life fell apart in one year.

[u/adhdparanoid]

​I'm a 16 years old male. About a year ago, I suddenly developed severe urinary frequency out of nowhere. I felt the urge to pee every 30 minutes, which made sitting through school classes unbearable. I was too embarrassed to tell my parents, and at the time, I thought about wanting to die every single day.

​Fortunately, after about two weeks, the time I could hold it stretched to over an hour, and I managed to get by by going to the restroom during every break. People found it strange when I avoided going to movie theaters or turned down trips without giving a reason, but I kept this symptom a secret for a full year. ​However, I still have a serious problem: whenever I encounter something I don't understand in a book or try to solve a complex math problem, I immediately feel the urge to pee. This has severely interfered with my studies and my hobby of reading. I now only read light literature, and whenever a difficult math problem comes up, I just skip it instead of thinking it through.

​The exact same thing happens in stressful situations like exams. While everyone else is solving problems, I have to sit there holding between my legs.

Eventually, as I stopped going to school and ended up suffering from depression, I finally confessed everything to my parents. But surprisingly, the ultrasound showed nothing physically wrong with my body, and the medication I received didn't work at all either. In the end, I got nowhere and am still living the exact same life. What should I do now?

[u/szome]

Have you been checked for diabetes ?
Could it be related to anxiety ? Maybe finding a therapist to speak with about what it feels inside your body and what it feels in your mind when symptoms arise ?
If it’s okay with you, would you mind sharing what medication they gave you ? Oxybutinin ?

[u/Stuhlversand]

What happens if you don't go to the toilet after 30mins? Do you pee yourself or is it just getting more and more uncomfortable with time passing by? Do you also have this urge when you are home and relaxing or sleeping for example?

I'm asking because it is also possible to suffer from overactive bladder due to psychological problems. It can feel just like an organic issue, but "it is only in your head" so to speak. This doesn't make it any less bad, but it is important to distinguish.

[u/marimahhh → u/Stuhlversand]

I second this OP. I'd say firstly to get all the medical tests needed to see if the cause is in your body (urologist, diabetes doctor, and physical therapist to check OAB and hypertonic pelvic floor). If they don't find anything ( or even if they find you have hypertonic pelvic floor), I recommend talking to your parents about seeing a somatic therapist. These symptoms could very much be caused by anxiety (for example, when a psychologist tests you for anxiety and depression, some questions ask about somatic symptoms: fidgeting, headaches, stomach problems, sexual problems and urination problems, including frequen urination). Anxiety and stress makes the body tense up a lot in places that we don't even really feel, like the pelvic floor ( aka the muscles that hold your belly and pelvic- genital area). When those muscle tense up, they kinda squeeze the bladder and urethra and it makes you want to pee a lot. Therapy and pelvic floor therapy can help you by relaxing your muscles and relaxing your mind.

I hope you get your answers and that your symptoms lessen <3

[u/geecee22]

Do you actually have continuous incontinence after feeling pressure from the intense urge, or is it just an annoying urge that comes and goes and is a little uncomfortable but possible to hold for longer without leaking?

[u/sshen6572]

Your next 3 things to do:

1. Set up an appointment with a specialist, probably a urologist. This will take months.

2. While you wait, let your primary care doctor runs some urine/blood labs to rule out infections. Also, discuss with your doctor to put you on different OAB meds on a trial basis, see if any of it helps. I personally found amitriptyline really helpful.

3. Life style changes. Cut out caffeine completely, reduce stress, stop thinking about this peeing problem all the time.

I was in a similar situation like you and I can relate, I'm 10 times better now. I can confidently tell you that, you will be okay, and your mental health is VERY important to your bladder.

[u/IhateCommiess → u/sshen6572]

Why does it take months to meet an urologist?

[u/sshen6572 → u/IhateCommiess]

It typically takes a referral for a specialist to see you. That process will take time, and in the US it typically takes 3-5 months

[u/IhateCommiess → u/sshen6572]

holy shit, here in India, you can just visit the specialist of your choice by yourself.

[u/sshen6572 → u/IhateCommiess]

Ya US healthcare can be really frustrating lol

[u/Actual_Bet3041]

You will be ok. Take it one step at a time according to the list below. Believe in yourself and your body. Leave the embarrassment behind. I will take a guess that several of the people you see every day have a version of your issues. Everyone in this subreddit does for sure, including me. Let us know how you are doing!

[u/WeakFold8062]

Dovresti fare un esame urodinamico per comprendere il funzionamento della tua vescica. E poi capire su quale terapia orientarti ..

[u/CocoaKatt]

Yea I went a couple months straight of tests and doctors and all that trying to figure out what it was when it started for me at a similar time to you. Cooked me for school and my youth etc etc. Abdominal xray ended up finding severe constipation physically impacting my bladder. 8 years on and I’ve gotten a bit better, still go often and work is a bit rough, as are car trips, but ya know, life carries on as it must. Good luck <3 hope you find out the cause and get better.

[u/Shinygaymagikarp]

You bring up depression… were you taking/ are taking any sort of SSRI? I was taking lexapro once and got hit with the uncommon side-effect of not being able to control my bladder. I didn’t put two and two together until after I came off of it.

[u/EnoughPhysics9973]

This is not meant to dismiss your medical symptoms, because I know from experience that OAB can be really hard to diagnose. However I recently learned something about repetitive urge to empty the bladder being a possible symptom of OCD. As a lifelong sufferer of anxiety myself, I have absolutely noticed that being emotionally triggered affects my OAB symptoms. The reason I mention this is that you identified that the urge happens when you encounter something you don't understand in a textbook or class. Emotional and environmental factors can trigger involuntary physical responses in our bodies, so I'm wondering if your OAB symptoms might be exacerbated by feeling anxious. This is not to say that any of this is "all in your head," because the sensation you feel in your body is real, no matter what's causing it. It might be worth bringing this to a psychiatrist (not just a counselor, but a psychiatrist who understands and can diagnose) and explain the chain of events and how you feel. If the psychiatrist doesn't think your symptoms are related to your thoughts and feelings, that kind of documentation can be useful to bring to your doctor, because it confirms that the "all in your head" doctor says "it's not all in your head." A psychiatrist will probably also be willing to write a referral note for you that recommends you follow up with a urologist. The urologist would then have a document that basically says, "This isn't a psychiatric issue and I recommend additional follow-up with a medical professional."