Has anyone experienced the inability to urinate when constipated?

Posted by reillyg1013 @reillyg1013, Jul 2, 2023

I have had constipation issues since childhood, along with severe RLS . In the past year, I have had 3 instances when I am so constipated, I can’t urinate. The last time this happened, I went almost 5 days before I was able to relieve the constipation and finally urinate. Anyone have any insight- so far 2 doctors have made comments that actually imply this isn’t possible.

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Echoing the other great advice here… GI issues are very individual (which can be annoying) and not everything works for everyone. A high fiber diet is like that—it’s not the right fit for everyone and there are different types of fiber too.

Only because it’s less common, I wanted to bring up I completely agree getting a pelvic PT evaluation could really help. Seeing a pelvic PT can eliminate the need of doing a test. They can evaluate if your pelvic floor muscles aren’t coordinating well; this is an under recognized cause of constipation, especially when conventional means (laxatives, hydration, fiber, etc.) don’t work because those things can’t address a muscle and nerve problem.

Also agreed that Miralax doesn’t cause dependency—some of us just need it.

I take Sunfiber, which is specifically a GI friendly fiber supplement shown not to cause excess gas and pain in people with IBS, and it’s been proven to facilitate the “good bacteria” in the gut, if you’re reluctant to take Miralax or it doesn’t work as well for you.

And 300 mg magnesium citrate capsules every night has helped me (which my GI doctor and GI dietician approved).

If you really prefer the natural route, 2 kiwis a day improves constipation, and that’s evidence based! Kiwi is GI friendly and low FODMAP. 2 was actually too much for me lol.

Wishing you all the best and hope you find something that works for you.

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@reillyg1013

Validation always helps-so thank you.
I just started seeing someone for digestive issues, she also didn’t believe me. I was sent for CT scan with contrast. Even though I had a bowel movement every day that week, plus 3 the day of, my test results came back that I was constipated.
I have gone weeks without a bowel movement- that’s what I consider as constipated😩 .
I did mention the issue to my GYN , whom I have only seen twice, her words were “ that makes no sense “. She then told me to go see a digestive person.

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You’re welcome! Ok I know I’ve already replied, but I just saw your reply now.

Yes…it totally is a thing to have multiple bowel movements and still be withholding stool on x-rays. It’s called “heavy stool burden.” And that totally happened to me. It is real.

Sometimes GI doctors aren’t so helpful…it just depends.

I found this blog post helpful; she is a GI dietician (I have a GI RD as well, and she is extremely helpful to me): https://www.fodmapeveryday.com/stool-burden-and-the-low-fodmap-diet/

If you truly feel you’ve tried everything for constipation with no improvement, I would ask for a referral to a pelvic PT for constipation. They can check to see if it’s a nerve/muscle issue. Good GYNs or GI doctors should in theory know about this, but some do not… It’s annoying. But if it’s something you wanted to try, hopefully you can ask for an order from one of them or from your PCP. And I’m also crossing my fingers you live in an area where you can find a pelvic PT, because sometimes that can be difficult.

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@emo

You’re welcome! Ok I know I’ve already replied, but I just saw your reply now.

Yes…it totally is a thing to have multiple bowel movements and still be withholding stool on x-rays. It’s called “heavy stool burden.” And that totally happened to me. It is real.

Sometimes GI doctors aren’t so helpful…it just depends.

I found this blog post helpful; she is a GI dietician (I have a GI RD as well, and she is extremely helpful to me): https://www.fodmapeveryday.com/stool-burden-and-the-low-fodmap-diet/

If you truly feel you’ve tried everything for constipation with no improvement, I would ask for a referral to a pelvic PT for constipation. They can check to see if it’s a nerve/muscle issue. Good GYNs or GI doctors should in theory know about this, but some do not… It’s annoying. But if it’s something you wanted to try, hopefully you can ask for an order from one of them or from your PCP. And I’m also crossing my fingers you live in an area where you can find a pelvic PT, because sometimes that can be difficult.

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Thank you so much for the advice- will watch the video today😁

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Thank you so much- I guess I have a new route to explore with the pelvic floor muscle- I’ve never heard about it before.

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@sallyw133

Also, if you are drinking a normal amount of fluids and not urinating at all, that to me, again I’m not a health professional, sounds serious enough for a ER visit. It happened to me once after a surgery and I couldn’t make it past 12 hrs the pain and pressure were so intense. The fluid in your bladder could back up into your kidneys.

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You are 100% correct! I actually texted through my Health app to my Doctor Who told me to get to the emergency room. The unfortunate thing is the emergency room was packed since it was right before Christmas. I was pretty low down on the triage list, so instead of waiting, I went home to try to deal with it myself. I knew the constipation was why I wasn’t able to urinate, so I figured I could deal with it on my own. Unfortunately, it took me another full day before anything happened.

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@reillyg1013

You are 100% correct! I actually texted through my Health app to my Doctor Who told me to get to the emergency room. The unfortunate thing is the emergency room was packed since it was right before Christmas. I was pretty low down on the triage list, so instead of waiting, I went home to try to deal with it myself. I knew the constipation was why I wasn’t able to urinate, so I figured I could deal with it on my own. Unfortunately, it took me another full day before anything happened.

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Sometimes a warm bath helps to relax the muscles. You can even do abdominal massages to help the constipation (UTube). Sounds unsanitary, but I’ve gotten so desperate I’ve actually peed in the tub! Just shower after, obviously.

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@reillyg1013

Hello @scolio
Yes to your RLS question- I have had it since childhood ( so I am going to assume genetics are to blame) . I was on pramipexole for almost 3 years, but it wasn’t working so well anymore and some of my behaviors finally made me do a deep dive into the med. I just stopped it cold turkey 3 days ago. I wish I had found this site sooner, I never would have taken it at all.
As far as the constipation goes, I tried all the usual things doctors suggest, I was even a participant in one of the drug trials for a very popular drug often recommended. First of all, let me state that a high fiber diet is one of the worst things for me, it binds me up terribly. I have relied on certain foods that seem to help my system- Australian black licorice-, & low fat ice cream with fake sugar. I used to wait up to 2 weeks of constipation before I would resort to these, but now I don’t wait any longer than 5 days. I started eating 1 cup of a cold oats (Brekki) every night, so far my body has been responding well. Last week I added a probiotic capsule with 60 billion CFU.
I am scheduled for a colonoscopy in a few weeks, but they are making me start the protocol a week before- no vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, plus miralax every day, then the usual pre day prep.

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I hope you get some answers soon!

I'm so glad the cold oats has been good so far . . . How did you find out about that?

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@dalrn

possible cystocele?

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I don’t know what that is, but right now I’m thinking anything is possible.

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