Urinary issues on Venlafaxine

Treatment and medication
1

Evening All,

I’ve been getting on fine on Venlafaxine for the past ten years or so, up until about 6 weeks ago.

I’ve been struggling with continually shifting moods due to Bipolar disorder with Mixed and psychotic features for about a year and had no access to the CMHT… I kept on being told “I wasn’t ill enough” Don’t you just hate that line. but, in February they finally decided they need to get me some treatment.

First thing on the list was a doubling of my Venlafaxine from 150mg to 300mg. Within 48 hours I found myself in my local urology urgent treatment centre being catheterised having found that I had 1.8l of urine in my bladder.

None of the staff there had any idea what was happening and just sent me home with the catheter and bags. I had a cystoscopy 4 weeks later which showed no narrowing/swelling and in generally good condition.

I mentioned the change in Venlafaxine to the specialist and he hummed and argued, and decided he would do a Trial without catheter. He pumped a litre of water in and left me sitting there for 2 hours. Absolutely nothing happened… so in went another catheter. I now have another TWOC a week Monday, which, if I fail, will lead to intermittent catheter training, but, again no one is explaining a) what is happening, b) why it’s happening and c) what they’re going to do about it?

Sorry I’ve splurged, but I wanted to be clear…

Can anyone else relate to this or provide me with any guidance?

Thank you x

2

wish i had something to say that would help, but after reading your post im wondering if i have the opposite problem - a bladder that wont hold it in - with the same root cause of venlafaxine, if it is that for both of us. my bladder has never been great since i had my son 21 years ago and weight gain due to mobility issues didnt help, but it wasnt until a couple of years ago (a year or two after i went on venlafaxine, but it could have aligned with a dosage increase, i just didnt notice at the time) that my urge incontinence has markedly increased. the quantity in my bladder doesnt seem to make a difference. if i need to go, i need to GO and if i dont get to a loo quickly… its highly embarrassing. im only 44 (f). im going to talk to my doctor about it and ask if they think it could be related.