Bladder retention after major surgery

[Cmarie03]

So I had major surgery (12 hours) done on 8/20 and my bladder is slow to wake up. They took Foley catheter out Thursday. I am peeing but just a little at a time. Any advice or how long did this last for anyone else that experienced it?? I’m worried I’m going to have permanent issues!

[AmyG]

I had a liver resection on Wednesday, they took out my Foley Thursday morning but put it back that afternoon because I just couldn't feel my bladder. Had that one removed today and have already peed in the potty!

Give it time, it will come around.

[Lee]

this was 15 yss ago, butt has I told Amy G, following my surgery to remove my tumor, my bladder was off for several months. I would pee every few hrs where I felt the need or not, I would get up during the night, just to pee. After a few months, sensation did return and things were fine. Maybe pass this by your surgeon and see waht s/he says.

All the best,

Lee

[Atoq]

I had the same problem and it resolved after some weeks. At the beginning I could not even feel the bladder muscles and then could empty it by myself but not entirely. The surgeon explained that the nerves get damaged with low anterior resection and they will repair themselves eventually. I still don’t get the same feeling of «urge» as before, but have no problem emptying the bladder.

Claudia

[Cmarie03]

Thank you all! It slowly seems to be getting better but I can tell I don’t have the same sensations for urgency and what not. I kinda just pee when I think I feel some pressure. I’m hopeful it’ll get better over next few weeks

[zephyr]

I had this problem after my colon resection. I had no sensation of having to pee but I was clustering so I was able to pee during the 2-3 dozen times a day I was running to the bathroom for backdoor issues. My problem went on for months, during which I had several UTIs. Somewhere along the way, some doctor told me this was a common problem but if it was still happening after a year, to go see a urologist. So after a year, I went to a urologist and it turned out that I was retaining so much in my bladder all the time that my bladder was stretched out and I was headed towards self-catheterization. I was given an exercise to try for a month or two before moving on to more drastic measures. The exercise worked, my bladder shrunk down to a normal size, and the sensation returned. Try this: whenever you pee, bend over from the waist with your head going towards the floor. While you're bending, cover one hand over the fist of your other hand and press your (double hand) fist against your bladder. You'll be totally shocked at how much more comes out when you're bending over while pressing on your bladder. Don't get up ... wait 1-2 minutes, and then try bending over and pressing again. I call it the double-tap method. You might be surprised at how much more you'll get out. Do this at minimum the first time in the morning and again at night. Those were the instructions from the doc but I did and continue to do it every time I pee. Hope this makes sense and helps. Sure made a difference in my life.

[Pyro]

So I had major surgery (12 hours) done on 8/20 and my bladder is slow to wake up. They took Foley catheter out Thursday. I am peeing but just a little at a time. Any advice or how long did this last for anyone else that experienced it?? I’m worried I’m going to have permanent issues!

Could it be opioid induced retention? I get it bad, Flomax solved this for me but not before 2 straight caths bordering on an emergency.

[AmyG]

They tried giving me a flomax and I refused it. I was like dude, I'm putting out 500-800cc of pee every two hours. I don't need help with that!!

[Zod]

Similar issues for me after my surgery 6 months ago. Seemed like I was working in the "top half" of my bladder unless I pushed extra hard for a long time. I was always able to get bladder mostly empty if I spent long enough pushing. I assume that I have nerve and/or muscle damage that messes up the ability to void properly.
Standing up to pee seems to help.
Oddly, I don't get the same feeling for urge to urinate, it is more of a feeling of needing to do a bowel movement (which I don't do anymore unless my ileostomy gets reversed at some point.

[DarknessEmbraced]

After my colon resection surgery when they took out my urinary catheter I couldn't pee so they put it back in. There were blood clots in my bladder that came out when I tried to pee. Once they took the catheter out a few days later I was able to pee. I hope you will be able to pee soon!*hugs*