Has anyone experienced the inability to urinate when constipated?

Thanks, @jlharsh for giving me a chance to update folks on changes in my situation since my last comment herein on May 22, 2024. Six months before that I had most of my colon removed along with a malignant growth high in my abdomen.

As a result, my small intestine is now connected just a few inches from my rectum, and an inguinal hernia provides an open pathway for the lower end of my small intestine to occupy a share of the space that used to exist in the area of my prostate and my rectum.

Loss of the colon left me without the organ that had done a good job of handling food waste and moving it -- along with high fiber waste -- into and through the rectum to the outside. The result has been rectal constipation that expands, putting pressure on urinary organs in the same area.

The usual remedies for colon constipation are of little if any help. As you can see, my situation is far from common in contrast to Lana's, although similar in that my urine flow decreases as time passes after a bowel movement.

My treatment is threefold: Drink water and other fluids often during the day; get a half-hour of exercise every day; and finish off every other day with Senna Tea, a mild but reliable laxative that clears my bowel 10-12 hours after drinking the tea before going to bed. If any of this is helpful to Lana and others in our group here, I'll be glad to have been helpful. Martin

First of all, sympathies to all those who experience this problem- not only is it painful, but frustrating when doctors just try to put me on Linzess. I was in the original drug trial for that drug- a double blind. I spent 18 months in the original trial and was asked back 2 more times. The side effects were as bad as the constipation. Unfortunately, nothing has changed for me, but I swear by authentic Australian black licorice for relief. I drank a bottle of magnesium citrate saline solution 2 weeks ago- nothing for a week. So finally I decided to eat my last 4 pieces of licorice- success the next day. People ask me the brand, but the best one I have found is in a small candy store in Cape Cod. I’ve tried the Darrell Lea brand, but it didn’t work for me. I get nervous when I can’t urinate, and as I stated in my first post, I went 5 days without urinating- I even went to ER on my doctor’s orders- but after sitting with no one ever taking so much as my BP or temp, I left.
@lanabrooke , I hope your situation improves.

I have had this problem. My doctor said it was constipation, but I have IBSD. I am rarely constipated. Urination is definitely more difficult when I am constipated.