fluoxetine and urinary incontinence

Hi

After taking Fluoxetine for 2 months now, I have had a number of episodes of urinary incontinence.After searching the Internet, I found a number of sites connecting the two.Has anybody taking Fluoxetine also had this problem? I Would rather have severe depression than incontinenceI

iv done alot of reading, but not read incontinance as a side effect. firstly i would do a pee sample, and ask for it to be checked at your dr surgery, just to rule out underlying infection, make sure its first pee of the day, and try and get mid flow..lol, not easy, but that gives the most effective result. good luck. xx

Thankyou Karen

no infection.I am seeing the Urologist in few weeks so will ask him x

Hi, I have been taking fluoxetine for a couple of years on and off and there has been a direct association with increased peeing and a heavy diuretic effect. This has led to a semi awake state at night and almost Tourettes behaviour. I have discovered that by drinking a lot more water these side effects are reduced dramatically. It has to be a lot more water though!

Hi Nicholas. I know it's been a long time since you posted, I wondered how you have been getting on. I have been 6 months on fluoxetine and developed incontinence after about 3 months - having never had any problem in this area previously. I have also had Tourette's like symptoms from the start. Speaking thoughts out loud... Constantly counting... Sleep talking. I was hoping to find someone who had experienced similar. I feel sure it's the tablets but my Doctor says she's never heard of any association in her experience.

Hi Kate,

I have continued to take fluoxetine in bursts of a couple of months but then the side-effects get too much and I come off. I then stay off as long as I can but so far, eventually, something happens and I go downhill fairly quickly.

There is no question in my mind that fluoxetine has a bad effect on my stomach - an increase in acid. This gives me a lot of pain because I have a hiatus hernia and the acid attacjs the lining outside the stomach and I use omeprazole to try and manage it. I think this pain MAY be connected with my Tourettes type symptoms. I think it suddenly disturbs my sleep but perhaps without waking me properly so that sudden movements and swearing are just some sort of sleep walking. The more I have "understood" that link the more I have been able to manage it. For example I now relax my diaphragm when I get the pain and it reduces the gas pressure and so reduces the acid escaping and attacking the lining. I also concentrate more and so wake up properly.

All in all, I am getting slightly better at dealing with the side effects.

Good luck.

Nick

Thanks for your reply.  I've also had terrible insomnia. Awake for 72 hours at a time.  I'm thinking of stopping taking them. They undoubtedly make my anxiety better, but I just can't can't cope with the side effects.

Good luck to you too.

Hi I am on 20mg fluxotine each day now for 7 months. About a month ago I started to feel like I needed a pee all the time even after going to the toilet. I am going to get a urine test done now after reading the about posts.