Most weekdays, I leave the house in the morning (about 7:30 am) without urinating. Long story. Then, I get busy at work and I don’t think about it. I go when I get home after work, which sometimes isn’t until about 6 pm or so. At this point, I haven’t peed since bedtime the night before, so it’s been about 18 hours.
Am I asking for any kind of trouble? My wife thinks so, but she doesn’t know what. Something kidney-related, she figures. She is also amazed at my ability to “hold it” for that long. The thing is, I’m not really “holding it”. It’s not like I really really have to go but restrain myself (dance around, etc.). I just don’t think about it because I’m too busy working.
Anyway, is there any medical/health reason I should try to avoid this behaviour? I suppose I could set up a reminder in Outlook.
[QUOTE=samm]
I just don’t think there’s any way you can be drinking enough water.
[/QUOTE]
I forgot to mention in my original post that I generally drink a couple of cups of coffee when I get to work in the morning, and maybe one in the afternoon too.
Holding urine for a long time can bring on urinary tract infections in some people. A doctor I know calls it the “busy girl syndrome.” My untrained opinion agrees with Samm.
[QUOTE=AskNott]
Holding urine for a long time can bring on urinary tract infections in some people. A doctor I know calls it the “busy girl syndrome.” My untrained opinion agrees with Samm.
[/QUOTE]
It’s also possible to damage the kidneys through reflux, pressure builds in the bladder which either forces urine back up the ureter or prevents the urine in the ureters exiting causing a pressure build up in the kidneys.
Whilst it probably won’t do much damage if you don’t do it frequently, it doesn’t take long for there to be a significant drop in kidney function.
A couple of years ago I had such a drop in function through exactly this method, although the reason behind mine was involuntary (and due to a long time medical condition). Once the pressure was relieved through surgery my kidney function improved considerably.
So my tip would be don’t make a habit of it.
Whilst that’s probably true in this case, the healthy bladder does have an amazing capacity for expansion, albeit not infinite.
[sub]Durn burn whppersnappers! Wait’ll they get to be my age and start planning a trip to the grocery store by first knowing where each public bathroom is along the way. grumble punks grumble gotta go whiz grumble humph[/sub]
Hey, a little sidetrack but why is it that none of my female friends between 17-25 are able to hold it in? I drink plenty of fluids, and when I’m not consuming caffeine I probably urinate about twice a day, probably at least a quart or two each time. They have to go about every hour or so. Am I surrounded by a UTI epidemic or what the hell?