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weak bladder
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Bladder could be gladder. 60 y.o. wondering if others have difficulty with nearly constant urination on the run during half and full irons. Been this way many years, have gone to the docs, the PT's, done the exercises but still have problems during events. Don't want to do meds unless it won't mess with my performance. At this point dont' think there is a solution to have it stop but it really confuses me as to how much liquid, nutrition, and electrolytes during these events. My last full iron I took in mainly liquid nutrition during the bike, only liquid nutrition during the run (gatorade) and electrolytes during the bike and run. Did not have the run I should have. No GI issues, no symptoms dehydration or hyponatremia. Legs were tight and I was jogging but, like I said, not to where I should have been. Any guidance would be appreciated
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Re: weak bladder [runagain] [ In reply to ]
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Meds can cause imbalance in electrolytes/fluids. When I raced while taking one medicine, I collapsed afterwards. I did some research and talked to a pharmacist. They suggested taking short acting version so not to effect me during racing.
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Re: weak bladder [runagain] [ In reply to ]
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What happens when you dial back the liquid intake? I prefer solid food to liquid, and have been called "camel" on many long rides and runs before, I just don't drink as much as others. However, when I do, I have to pee like a racehorse every couple k or so. So I actually try to "dry out" a little bit before races or longer training efforts. Unless it's smoking hot of course.

I drink to thirst and eat more calories than I drink. Have you tried this?

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: weak bladder [runagain] [ In reply to ]
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Stress urinary incontinence in female athletes is VERY common.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11999199

https://en.wikipedia.org/...thletic_incontinence

http://www.webmd.com/...-stress-incontinence

Wikipedia says 30-40%, but I've seen studies that place it more in the 40-50% range, depending on sport (and I think one study showed for elite female trampolinists, as high as in the 90th percentile). Increased ground reaction force (like the pounding when running) exacerbate the situation.

PT, as you tried, may help. There are vaginally insertable devices that may help. Surgery may even help. However; even given all of those treatments with varying degrees of invasiveness, that still may not solve the incontinence issue. The key is understanding that this can happen to all women and is not a marker of age, athleticism, nor hydration levels.

... and wearing dark clothing for racing/training ;)
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Re: weak bladder [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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I haven't gone to all gels or solids yet for a couple reasons. I cannot do maltodextrin (so I can do gatorade and carbo-pro). I plan to experiment with less water/liquid in my next half-iron. Have worried about doing that prior because I figured if I'm losing that much liquid, I should try to replace it.k Prior to this past full iron, where I hardly had any water on the bike and none on the run, I would drink a lot more water to try and compensate. I will try your suggestion and see if even hydrating less prior to the event and finding some solid or gel I can eat will help.
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Re: weak bladder [KathyG] [ In reply to ]
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thanks, I will look into that
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Re: weak bladder [KathyG] [ In reply to ]
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KathyG wrote:
Meds can cause imbalance in electrolytes/fluids. When I raced while taking one medicine, I collapsed afterwards. I did some research and talked to a pharmacist. They suggested taking short acting version so not to effect me during racing.
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Re: weak bladder [runagain] [ In reply to ]
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Using a tampon during exercise can help. It puts pressure on things to prevent this from happening.
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Re: weak bladder [Mell] [ In reply to ]
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Confused about your remark about the bladder leakage (although it's more like pouring) does not impact hydration levels. Could you explain further? Does this mean that it also does not impact electrolyte levels? I have read that people use frequency of urinating as one important way to gauge electrolyte and water intake (I use a heart rate monitor to gauge water intake as well). I am not all that concerned about the embarrassment of urine running down my legs throughout the run, as I have just come to accept that. However, I am concerned about how all this constant output might be impacting my performance.
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Re: weak bladder [runagain] [ In reply to ]
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It sounds like you take on only liquid nutrition during your training and racing. Have you tried eating solid foods for your nutrition needs and water/Gatorade typed drinks for hydration only (thus cutting back significantly on the volume of liquid you take in). You may just be way overtaxing your bladder with too much liquid. I'd start with that before trying meds. But maybe you have already.

**********************
Harry: "I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this."
Loyd: "I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of shit, man."
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Re: weak bladder [runagain] [ In reply to ]
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Sure, I can explain further :)

I think the important thing to note is that the act of urination (micturition) has no impact on the filtration rate of your kidneys (the amount of urine you are producing/water loss from urine).

The bladder is just a holding tank for urine - you can't reclaim any water or electrolytes from the urine, so it's already "lost" fluid whether it's sitting in your full bladder until the end of the race or running down your leg.
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Re: weak bladder [runagain] [ In reply to ]
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I would suggest a couple of things. First a sweat test to tell you how much you are losing. Then replace only that amount. You're kidneys produce 0.5-2cc/kg of urine per hour, depending on hydration levels. Your goal would be to start at ideal hydration, and then maintain ideal hydration without going over or under. That would keep your output on the mid to lower range of normal. For a 150lb woman, that works out to 34-68 cc (1-2 oz) per hour. Your bladder may be able to deal with that.
Second, go see a urogyn about a pessary. This is a vaginal devise that puts pressure inside the vagina and onto the urethra to make it harder for the urine to flow through. If that doesn't work, surgery may be an option for you.
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