Another 'water' related one..

[Alexandra]

Hi Daisy, I'm glad that was useful. You could do the input output test yourself if you can be bothered. Over 24 hours you just need to measure all the fluid you take in, and pee in a jug to measure what comes out each time. I put big black pen marks on the outside of the plastic jug I peed into so it was easy to see how much was in it. You write down the time you get up, then the times you pee and drink with the amounts in & out each time and the time you go to bed. You can make a chart with the hours of the day down one side and columns for drinks & pees. If you are out of the house, you are allowed to estimate, but I was a perfectionist, took the jug with me and measured in public loos and even behind the bushes. I also made a note of the "wet" foods I ate, as my food intake tends to be stuff like fruit, veg & porridge that is full of water. Some women, like me, are taking in too much fluid but more are getting too little, and that can lead to irritation. You can also see from your chart how long you last between pees - are you going too often, either because you feel you need to or because you have that habit. And you can see how much your bladder can hold. I realised that sometimes mine was holding over a litre - no wonder it had trouble coping! It was amazing, seeing that big jug full and knowing all that had been contained inside me. You might like to do the test to give yourself a baseline and then do it again after training for a while. Good luck!

[old un]

its not only women daisy, my frequent pee stops are a standard joke among me and my running mates and as such i have to pick my courses carefully with oppertunities and my gp wasnt that intrested just keeps taking blood samples for prostate, not much help to your problem i know, just showing solidarity in the water department

[Splatcher]

... just showing solidarity in the water department

For me that was the most painful unintentional pun I've read in a while. Brought back memories of kidney stones...

[old un]

oops sorry didnt think of that.................

[daisy]

its not only women daisy, my frequent pee stops are a standard joke among me and my running mates and as such i have to pick my courses carefully with oppertunities and my gp wasnt that intrested just keeps taking blood samples for prostate, not much help to your problem i know, just showing solidarity in the water department

Solid waterworks aside, Old 'un, I appreciate the thought! I did wonder if any of you guys were familiar with the problem...I mean at the end of the day, we've got more or less the same equipment (just fitted differently) so anything us girls suffer from is probably something that you guys tend to keep quiet about!!

And thanks all for the input - about my output ... :thumbup:

[anthonykay]

Resurrecting a very old thread . . . I seem to be among the male minority who have Overactive Bladder syndrome (see https://patient.info/womens-health/l...r-syndrome-oab , as linked from post #4 on this thread), but only when out walking or cycling; I don't need to have a pee too often when I'm at home and, curiously, it's not a problem when I'm running. In fact, I usually know when I've been out for 1 hour on a cycle ride, because that's when I need to find a field entrance where I can go behind a hedge. The article on patient.info (linked above) doesn't mention physical activity as a cause.

On causes and treatments: my caffeine intake isn't huge (typically two mugs of tea and one of coffee in a day), and I would really miss my tea at breakfast time (the others could be cut out if necessary). The suggested "bladder training" wouldn't work for me because of another feature that isn't mentioned in the patient.info article: if I try to hold the pee, I soon start getting the urge to poo. And it's not just an urge: on one occasion on a walk, I did eventually stop to pee after holding it for a while, but as I started to pee, that was not the only excretion. A mistake never to be repeated.

[Mike T]

Does this have something to do with perineal irritation from your bike saddle, given that it does not occur when running?

It is my understanding that bladder training does not actually increase bladder capacity, but just lets you know how long you can put up with the misery until the inevitable happens.

As to caffeine, it is a weak diuretic and can directly stimulate the bladder - is it worth trying decaffeinated tea/coffee, if you have not already done so?

[anthonykay]

Does this have something to do with perineal irritation from your bike saddle, given that it does not occur when running?

It does occur while walking, but not while running, although I first noticed it while cycling. There does seem to be a psychological element to the condition (the bladder sending misleading messages to the brain), so here's a hypothesis (without any evidential basis!).

Maybe it was initially caused by perineal irritation (the saddles on both of my bikes feel comfortable, but that doesn't exclude the possibility of something going on down there without me noticing). There then arose an association in my mind between prolonged moderate exercise and bladder discomfort (the intensity of my cycling is usually similar to a brisk walk, and much less than the intensity of my running), so I started feeling it while walking. But when running, the brain is too distracted by the more intense exercise.

As to caffeine, it is a weak diuretic and can directly stimulate the bladder - is it worth trying decaffeinated tea/coffee, if you have not already done so?

I've never tried decaffeinated beverages, due to a bias (without evidence) that they don't taste as good. Maybe I ought to try.

[mr brightside]

I've never tried decaffeinated beverages, due to a bias (without evidence) that they don't taste as good. Maybe I ought to try.

De caff tea tastes like dirty dishwater

[PeteS]

De caff tea tastes like dirty dishwater

It's not all bad. My wife swears by rooibos tea. It's not Yorkshire but at least you get some kind of hit.