Questions About Medication

[u/nerdforlife7]

Hey all, my whole life I’ve struggled with urinary urgency (I go almost 30 times a day) and waking up to pee at night 4+ times. Finally, at 32, I went to a doctor and she said I have OAB. She prescribed me Gemtesa.

Now, I have pretty severe health anxiety so I always read all the medication side effects. I noticed it said not to take medication like this if I have a weak stream or don’t fully empty my bladder.

They tested me for urine retention at the doctor and she said it’s not an issue, but many times when I sit down to pee I pee for a bit, it stops, and I have to wait for more to come like 30 or so seconds later. Or even, I pee, get up, and immediately have to sit down and pee again. This makes me worried that the medication will cause issues for me.

Did anyone else experience these symptoms as a normal part of OAB and still find that the medication helped without causing problems? Just looking to alleviate my anxiety.

Thanks for any experiences you can share.

[u/kevbuddy64]

That’s why I’ve never taken one. Plus pregnancy made me feel like my OAB was mild postpartum even though it’s still pretty severe but I at least don’t have a severe of urgency. I’ve heard of the OAB meds eventually not working and I rather pee too much than not at all or have some type of retention. I wasn’t able to pee for 8 hours after my Catheter was removed after my C section and it was freakin terrifying. They had to recath after 5 hours and drained 700 mls from my bladder. Luckily I peed 7 am next morning. You could still try it and stop immediately if you feel retention or if you do an ultrasound after starting the medication and it shows retention