Hi
I noticed a couple of weeks ago i suddenly needed to pee much more often it coincided with me starting sertraline ( anti depressant) but i didnt necessarily think the two were connected. Had a urine test was fine, this week though feels like pressure on my bladder and sometimes i go and not much comes out and its uncomfortable down there a little bit, not helping with sleep. Not drinking any more or less than usual and dont drink alcohol, Any ideas please???
Hi Carolyn
Are you taking any other meds??
I'm interested to here what others think, i came of pregablin ( nerve pain and to many side effect) 300mg twice a day about 3 weeks ago but was also put on sertraline ( for depression ). Since I came off I have lost just over 12 kg but I have been peeing more and going at least twice in the night never had this problem before. So I don't really know if coming off pregablin has caused it or the sertrline. I have not changed diet or drinking anymore.
Seeing Gp next week due to rapid weight loss as she said she's not sure if it's drugs.
Regards
George
Could be over active bladder ask your doctor for medication to help relax the muscle that controls the bladder. Sometimes our our plumbing wears out a bit too!
Your GP will help you or send you to a specialist.
He's taken me off sertraline I was willing to persevere with the 2 side effects I had insomnia and ibs flare ups thought the pee thing was a coincidence. So maybe not. Not on any meds yet but he's switched me to amitrypteline but I don't think dose is strong enough for depression. He wasn't interested in the peeing problem as I've given another sample to test for infection. I'm at a loss really. ...
The doc wasn't interested. I have put another sample in to test for infection as it's worse than last week. Is there anything I can get from a chemist as I'm sick of he sight of my doctors at the moment!
The doc has to write u a prescription once he had completed all the urinary tests. The RX MEDS will help relax the bladder muscle so u won't feel the urgency to releive the bladder or constantly running to the bathroom. If iT's not an infection of any type then that is the next conclusion.
Oh no then! Docs again! They will be sick of me. Hopefully get results back tomorrow
Forgot to say, I've had major spinal problems and during my spinal fusion the sacral nerve got damaged, my bladder feels up I get the sensation to go but I actually physically can't pass it's called a atonic bladder, so I have been self catherterising since I was 34 ( now 38). They have said they can't repair and it's I have to do it for life.!!
What dose of amertryptilin are you on, are they using this as the antidepressant now then??
I'm on 10 to 20mg for sleep ibs and depression but don't think dose enough for depression
maybe you're more sensitive to coffee and other diuretics
Maybe but I only have one coffee a day and a cup of tea later in the day with lunch or mid afternoon. It's never affected me before. I just don't know why it's come on all of a sudden
Keep me posted.
Hopexxx
any back problem sometimes nerve issue can cause it. Also taking antihistamines?
Talk to some pharmacists
10-20 mg is no where near enough for depression, it would normally be doses over 75mg + once a day. Lower doses tend to be used for help with nerve pain etc, however your Dr might be starting you off on a low dose with increasing as you go, does he have follow ups to see you?
Well he was funny with me. He said now I'm not drinking I might not need anything else and amitrpteline will help with sleep and ibs. From what I remember I was groggy for a week or so after starting on the 10 and would still be a bit tired when that wore off. I don't think I could manage on 70mg say and get back to work full time. He mentioned 25mg. He said come back in a month. I wanted to see a different doc but none available. I'm concerned buggsy
You need to be very careful about Amitryptiline. I will narrate my own experience to you and you can decide what to. Around eleven years ago, I was given increasing doses of Amitryptiline over a space of one month or so ranging from 10 mg to 75 mg because 10 mg-20 mg did not work and in spite of the fact that I was complaining all along about the side-effects. When I reached 75 mg, my urination and defecation stopped. My bladder was full one day but I could not urinate; it felt like my muscles were paralyzed. In fact, it was so bad on one day that I felt that the depression was better than the drug. I called the doctor immediately and he suggested applying a warm bag of water over the lower abdomen to help urinate. He also indicated that cathetarization might be required. I had to take an enema to relieve myself.
I was a twenty seven year old healthy male, and this drug completely messed up my urinary and excretory system for a brief period of time. I believe some damage persists even to this day. I have urinary retention, frequent urination, pain, bloating and cramping in the lower abdomen. There is definitely a connection between the use of anti-depressants and urino-genital issues although, as usual, doctors and pharmacists will vigorously deny it. Amitryptiline is a first generation dirty drug with several terrible side-effects, and there are many milder and more effective substitutes which the doctor should have known about.
Fortunately, I could void my bladder with great difficulty, but I was traumatized so badly that I stopped the drug immediately after that event, and switched to another doctor who prescribed Mirtazapine which fortunately worked better for me. I also changed my life style considerably and recovered by the beginning of 2006 although the recovery had started by July 2005. I have not taken a pill since that time. Good riddance.
If you expect that a pill alone can pull you out of depression and keep you there permanently you may be expecting way too much. If you are really serious about recovering you need to cut out alcohol, smoking, processed foods and other junk food, eat salmon, green vegetables, avocado, some sea weed, asparagus and other healthful foods, try to jog for around half hour everyday, take cod liver oil for the omega-3 fats, and sleep well. For sleep, you could take 1-2 mg of melatonin, or valerian root, or magnesium. Cherries are rich in melatonin, and you will feel sleepy if you ingest five to six cherries. Eat more if you don't; there are no unpleasant side-effects. Close your eyes and lie absolutely still as you go to sleep. Also, don't try to control any thoughts, but don't make a conscious effort to think either. You will find that sleep will overcome you, and even if it does not, lying still and closing your eyes achieves the purpose of sleep. After all, your body just needs rest.
Also, practice mindfulness. Just be aware of what is going on in your mind - witness it without reacting to it. After all, your depression is just a manifestation of the interplay of neurochemicals in your brain- it is not reality. It is just your perception of reality, and if you are intellectually able to realize this difference without actually doing anything about it you will have won half the battle. If you have trouble doing this, it is again your sick mind causing the "trouble" and ad infinitum. Basically, you are not your brain similat to how you are not your stomach or leg, so do not identify yourself with it. If you had abdominal pain but had good mental health you would treat it as ordinary pain. Why should the brain be any different?
This is what I can think of right now. I wish you a speedy recovery.
Hi thanks for your reply. I don't think I would go up from 20mg to be honest. I've been on it before so know what to expect. I know a pill can't cure me. Sometimes it just helps me focus and keep symptoms at bay so hoping coming off sertraline doesn't have a detrimental effect. Think doc just treating ibs and sleep as my mood has lifted somewhat. I'm eating a lot better and trying to get fresh air every day. Starting them Monday so see how it goes. All I can do
Also, please cut out the coffee if you can, or consume a decaffeinated version if you cannot live without coffee. The caffeine might be interfering with your sleep.
Also, asparagus will increase urinary output and will give you a feeling of having voided completely. Pumpkin seeds will help your urinary function.
Unfortunately, doctors have narrow focus and some of them have plain hubris that impels them to dismiss anything that has not been accepted by mainstream medicine. But it is a fact of life that they do miss seeing many treatments that could help their patients without producing nasty side-effects.