# Having to go to bathroom real, real bad **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883 "2010-03-26T15:01:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/1 "2010-03-26T15:01:08Z")
1. OK, you have to go #1 sort of, if you think about it, but not really. You start doing the dishes, and after a minute, you’re beating the land speed record to get to the bathroom. How cum? “Psych response” never satisfied me. 1. You’re in the elevator praying your bladder or anal sphincter–now a rugby scrum–will not call it a day and relax. a) Why is it that the agony gets worse as you get closer to your floor (or near your house, if you’re walking)? Everyone says “it’s just psychological” but why? Some fight-or-flight thing? b) I have a theory, which is mine, involving physics, and I’d like to hear your comments. This is specifically an elevator one. You have to go #2 to die. You get in the elevator, and the acceleration as it starts up forces you and your guts downwards, which only makes matters worse. This sounds like total baloney, but it makes for a good theory, which is mine. //If this has been Cecilized, just tell me, although I think if Cecil’s closed there’s always room for a new go-round, right mod?// ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/2 "2010-03-26T18:06:03Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 1and the acceleration as it starts up forces you and your guts downwards, which only makes matters worse. This sounds like total baloney Especially baloney since your intestines go mostly side-to-side, not up and down. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/3 "2010-03-26T18:14:14Z")
I’ve often wondered exactly the same. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/4 "2010-03-26T18:20:41Z")
It doesn’t answer your question as I recall but check out > **[My Bladder Knows I'm Home](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=166577)** > > Arriving home yesterday evening, as I usually do, I felt the sudden urge to pee. What luck, I thought. Andhere I am just yards away from the back door. Suddenly it occurs to me: my bladder knows I’m home! I doubly my pace to the door and fumble... ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/5 "2010-03-26T18:49:56Z")
Funny, I never had that problem, so guess I’m lucky (or just numb). And puuuhlese, it should be “Having to go to bathroom **really, really badly** ” ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/6 "2010-03-26T19:10:12Z")
One of the incontinence meds being advertised on TV right now claims to work by suppressing bladder contractions that cause the feeling of having to go even when the bladder isn’t entirely full. The brain is certainly capable of causing bladder spasms, so I think psychology is probably the best answer to these questions. If your brain is psyching itself up to go to the bathroom, you would expect your body to respond. Furthermore, if you imagine something very scary or stressful, you can elevate your own adrenaline levels, heartbeat, breathing, etc. without any real danger present. Imagining that you’re about to mess yourself in public is certainly scary or stressful. The main physical thing I can think of is that movement can change the pressure on your organs. When I’m in bed and don’t want to get up to pee, I can often change position so that the feeling of urgency goes down and I can wait another twenty or thirty minutes. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/7 "2010-03-26T23:11:32Z")
You have 2 sphincter muscles that control the bladder, one on autopilot, one under voluntary control. The autopilot lets you go about your business without thinking about your bladder, but lets go when you’re approaching the potty, hear running water, think about your need to void but double back for a magazine, and then, suddenly you’re holding the stream with your voluntary muscles, hoping you make it. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/8 "2010-03-27T00:07:49Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > You have 2 sphincter muscles that control the bladder, one on autopilot, one under voluntary control. The autopilot lets you go about your business without thinking about your bladder, but lets go when you’re approaching the potty, hear running water, think about your need to void but double back for a magazine, and then, suddenly you’re holding the stream with your voluntary muscles, hoping you make it. Now \*that \*is good information (assuming it’s true). It explains so much. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/9 "2010-03-27T00:14:37Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > How cum? The usual way, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/10 "2010-03-27T02:53:15Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > You have 2 sphincter muscles that control the bladder, one on autopilot, one under voluntary control. The autopilot lets you go about your business without thinking about your bladder, but lets go when you’re approaching the potty, hear running water, think about your need to void but double back for a magazine, and then, suddenly you’re holding the stream with your voluntary muscles, hoping you make it. The anal sphincter, also, has two muscles, right? I’ve been experiencing this as far back as I can remember. Whether my bladder or anal sphincters, they know exactly how long it’ll take for me to get to the toilet, not a second too soon or too late. If you are correct, my autopilots give up too soon . . . and my voluntaries can’t handle it. Any way to strengthen them? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/11 "2010-03-27T10:25:59Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Now \*that \*is good information (assuming it’s true). It explains so much. > Roddy ‘‘For the urine to exit the bladder, both the autonomically controlled internal sphincter and the voluntarily controlled external sphincter must be opened’’ > **[Bladder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinary_bladder)** > > The bladder (from Old English blædre 'bladder, blister, pimple') is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys. In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. In humans, the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. The typical adult human bladder will hold between 300 and 500 ml (10 and 17 fl oz) before the urge to empty occurs, but can hold considerably more. > The Latin phrase... > [@panache45](#): > > The anal sphincter, also, has two muscles, right? > > I’ve been experiencing this as far back as I can remember. tell me this isn’t how you meant for that to come out. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/12 "2010-03-27T11:05:38Z")
Cautionary tale: a few weeks ago, after a routine minor operation, a friend of mine needed to go real(ly) real(ly) bad(ly), but due to the anaesthetic, couldn’t release her bladder sphincters. A nurse told her to keep drinking water and eventually she would be able to pee. So she went home and kept drinking, but a few hours later, she was rushed back to hospital with two and a half liters of water in her bladder - which was distended to the point of irreparability. She has to wear a catheter bag for the rest of her life. She’s only 30. ☹ The moral is, if you need to pee badly, do it! If it ain’t working, get medical attention STAT. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/13 "2010-03-27T17:13:36Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The anal sphincter, also, has two muscles, right? > > If you are correct, my autopilots give up too soon . . . and my voluntaries can’t handle it. Any way to strengthen them? Yup, Kegal exercises. Here is just [one](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kegel-exercises/wo00119) link. If you search, you will find a lot more. I’ve been doing them, and it is not that difficult after a while. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/14 "2010-03-29T06:02:56Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > She has to wear a catheter bag for the rest of her life. She’s only 30. ☹ > > The moral is, if you need to pee badly, do it! If it ain’t working, get medical attention STAT. That’s horrible! I’ve had surgery a few times, and even after having brief outpatient surgery they didn’t let me go home until after I was able to urinate at the hospital, to prevent just that problem. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/15 "2010-03-29T06:13:36Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Cautionary tale: a few weeks ago, after a routine minor operation, a friend of mine needed to go real(ly) real(ly) bad(ly), but due to the anaesthetic, couldn’t release her bladder sphincters. A nurse told her to keep drinking water and eventually she would be able to pee. So she went home and kept drinking, but a few hours later, she was rushed back to hospital with two and a half liters of water in her bladder - which was distended to the point of irreparability. > > She has to wear a catheter bag for the rest of her life. She’s only 30. ☹ > > The moral is, if you need to pee badly, do it! If it ain’t working, get medical attention STAT. :eek: I’m not sure which scares me more: that you can so quickly achieve permanent damage from unrelievedly having to go, or that a nurse could give out such dangerously wrong advice. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/16 "2010-03-29T16:57:22Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Cautionary tale: a few weeks ago, after a routine minor operation, a friend of mine needed to go real(ly) real(ly) bad(ly), but due to the anaesthetic, couldn’t release her bladder sphincters. A nurse told her to keep drinking water and eventually she would be able to pee. So she went home and kept drinking, but a few hours later, she was rushed back to hospital with two and a half liters of water in her bladder - which was distended to the point of irreparability. > > She has to wear a catheter bag for the rest of her life. She’s only 30. ☹ > > The moral is, if you need to pee badly, do it! If it ain’t working, get medical attention STAT. Yeah. Anesthesia can muck things up there. **Typo Knig** had surgery some years back where he was warned of this specific side effect. He got through it by the elementary-school trick of sticking his hand under running water. Otherwise we’d have had to rush back to the hospital. IIRC we were given parameters for when to get help. And after my recent surgery, when I’d have been dancing (if it hadn’t been painful), I got to the toilet, sat down… and nothing. I gave it a couple of minutes and the bladder realized “oh. Oh yeah. That’s what I’m supposed to do :smack:.”. ---
**Author:** ![Textual\_Intercourse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Textual\_Intercourse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Intercourse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/17 "2010-03-29T17:21:44Z")
> [@Waenara](#): > > That’s horrible! I’ve had surgery a few times, and even after having brief outpatient surgery they didn’t let me go home until after I was able to urinate at the hospital, to prevent just that problem. In a similar vein, after my own surgery (which was inpatient) I went for quite a while without being able to pee. When the doctor noticed this he told me that if I didn’t urinate soon they’d have put a catheter in me. Mind you, I was bedridden and overcoming the reflex to not pee while lying down seemed impossible (after that whole bed wetting shindig). In the end, the threat of someone sticking a tube in my pee hole finally won out (the idea of it almost brought me to tears). I nearly filled the urinal and all was right with the world. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-to-go-to-bathroom-real-real-bad/533883/18 "2010-03-29T17:32:42Z")
> [@Textual\_Intercourse](#): > > In a similar vein, after my own surgery (which was inpatient) I went for quite a while without being able to pee. When the doctor noticed this he told me that if I didn’t urinate soon they’d have put a catheter in me. Mind you, I was bedridden and overcoming the reflex to not pee while lying down seemed impossible (after that whole bed wetting shindig). In the end, the threat of someone sticking a tube in my pee hole finally won out (the idea of it almost brought me to tears). I nearly filled the urinal and all was right with the world. That training is _hard_ to overcome! When I was in labor with **Dweezil** , I had to go but they wouldn’t let me out of bed because they didn’t have functioning electronics (telemetry monitoring - never bothered to get it working). I had to use a bedpan. Nothing happened. Finally I suggested the nurse turn on the faucet and leave the room. It worked.