HomeAnswersUrologyutiWill recurrent UTI occur due to holding urine for a prolonged time?

Can recurrent UTI be caused by holding urine in for long?

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The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.

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Published At May 17, 2017
Reviewed AtJune 30, 2023

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

I am a 35 year old male. I did a urine test today, there is no UTI or any infection, but the RBC count was 0 to 1. I did a test six weeks back, which showed the RBC count to be 4 to 6. I still feel there is a block to the urine flow, and I have to go every 15 minutes or every one hour, and this is going on since last year. I have a very strong history of UTI by staying in long meetings and not going to toilets and holding the urine in for a long time during long drives. It all started when I was 19 years old, and I used to hold it during work and one day I was in pain after holding it from 8 PM to 3 AM. Since then, I have been suffering. My health started deteriorating from the past three years, since then I get frequent UTI every three to five months. And from last year, the urine flow has been affected. I am in pain, and I do not know what to do. I did an ultrasound and many tests, which always says I have UTI. After taking a lot of fluids and Cystone, it gets cured and then in few days comes back. And when I do not have UTI, I have to go to the toilet frequently like once in every two hours.

As I am getting older, it worries me that some ultrasound showed that I have a distended gallbladder and my prostate size as 27. I do take Saw Palmetto, but I stopped since the prostate size is normal according to some urologist. The urologist said that the prostate could be infected. I feel like the bladder is not empty, every single time I go to the toilet, only a little pee comes out. I do not want to do a cystoscopy, as the thought of it is agonizing. I have read that the size of the wire is as thick as a pencil. I am looking for an alternative solution.

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your history suggests that you have very frequent urination and poor flow with recurrent UTI (urinary tract infection). I would like to know, do you have constipation or numbness of the sole? How frequently do you get up at night? Has any catheter been put in your urethra for any reason? Do you have to rush to pass urine? The urine analysis does not show significant pus cells, why do feel that you have UTI? The probable causes are, bladder irritability, or sphincter dysfunction. Investigation to be done are, uroflowmetry. I suggest you to take, tablet Tolterodine 2 mg, tablet Tamsulosin 0.2 mg at bedtime, and Psyllium husk, three teaspoons with two glasses of water. Your post-void retention is 1.01 ounce, which is also fair. I think you have dysfunctional voiding.

Patient's Query

Hi doctor,

Thank you for replying. What does numbness of the sole mean? I pass a lot of gas all the time, especially when the pain is severe under the rib and a few days ago, I felt like the food is not even going down to my stomach and felt as if it was stuck. But that was three days ago, and I feel much better now without any medicine. I am not constipated, every morning once I drink tea or water with apple cider vinegar. From the past three months, I am taking a juice, I mix pumpkin seeds, few sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pineapple or strawberry or dragon fruit, ginger, garlic, and parsley or mint. If you know a scanning machine that I can buy, I would like to evaluate and measure, when I get a feeling that my bladder is full, how much urine is left after a trip to the loo. Yesterday I felt it was full, but one thing is for very sure that when I wake up in the morning I have to rush to the toilet as I have burning sensation throughout my body, and by passing urine, I feel good every morning. In the past three months, I had days where I was getting up twice a night, but from the past month, I wake up only once after six to seven hours of sleep. If you ask me about my life before three months, even though I have history since 19 years old, I used to sleep for 10 to 12 hours without any problem, I never had this issue of going to the toilet at night. This only happens when I have UTI. The report that you saw is just yesterday's report, and if I go again randomly after few days, I am sure there will be higher RBC count and stuff again.

It helps if I take some natural stuff like apple cider, carrot juice, pumpkin, flax seeds, etc. I believe it is important to find out how to get rid of my problem. If I go to doctors, all they say is lets put you under invasive procedures like cystoscopy, which I do not want to do and this will hurt. No, I never had catheter or cystoscope, and I am doing and trying my best to not have it. I am a computer programmer, so I sit in front of the computer for long hours. It gets very painful to get up every hour and get distracted from the work. When I have the urge there is a tingling feeling throughout my body, and many said I have to go to a neurologist, but if you see when the UTI or the symptoms go, I get back to normal life, and this has come and gone many times in the last three years. But now it has been the longest for three months, and since three months, I have only felt good twice for 10 to 15 days. Previously, I always was able to hold even during school when I was a kid, and I never went to school toilets. I just felt the smell in the toilets very disgusting and wanted to vomit, so I avoided the school toilets for years and years until even high school, but I had no sign of issues until I started working when I was 19 years old. I still remember that it was from 6 PM to 3 AM with a very high urge to go, but I could not go as there was no one to take the seat and I had to hold till late. That day I had issues where after voiding, my stomach was hurting so bad with a feeling of cramp. If you see my old reports, you will see I had pus cell and RBC a bit higher. I am also suffering from left stomach ache under the ribs since last three months. I have this feeling under my rib as if something is squeezed like a sponge, and then I get that feeling of pins and needles, the type you get when your arm or leg goes to sleep.

I was told by a friend that my eyes look very yellow, so I am worried. But when I see in the mirror I do not see anything. I also have a history of high bilirubin, for which I visited doctors, who said it is hereditary. I got it under control by drinking a lot of Dandelion. If you see my ultrasound report, it says distended gallbladder. What does that mean? I first experienced this pain when I was traveling and was away, most of the time I get this pain under the rib when I am in the aircraft. Sometimes, I think it is because of the altitude of the plane or gluten meal, but I am not sure if that is the reason. The scariest part is the pins and needle feeling, and whenever I sit on the toilet, sometimes I feel the movement on the left side of my stomach under the rib. Why do I get pins and needles feeling in my stomach? Is it related to UTI?

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I would not label your problem as recurrent UTI. The probable cause for your problem is holding urine for long in childhood. I suggest you try taking the medications. Tablet Pan (Pantoprazole) 40, on an empty stomach in the morning, tablet Tamsulosin 0.2 mg at bedtime, tablet Tolterodine 2 mg at bedtime, and Psyllium husk, three teaspoons at bedtime with two glasses of water. Consult your specialist doctor, discuss with him or her and start taking the medicines after their consent. I suggest you start yoga and pranayama, it is very helpful for computer professionals like you.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Choudhary Devendra
Dr. Choudhary Devendra

Urology

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