Loss of sensation to pass urine

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 10/12/2023 13:30

I've not had this but if it still hasn't returned by 6 weeks, I'd go back to the GP on the day and ask for a referral.

SunshineIndoors123 · 10/12/2023 13:33

Yes, the exact same thing happened to me. The sensation has returned, I can't remember how long it took but it did come back slowly over time.

Flippingflamingo · 10/12/2023 13:35

Yep happened to me. I’m now 4.5 years since having my daughter and the sensation still isn’t the same.

I don't feel the need to wee until I’m desperate. And when I do pass urine I don’t feel it coming out as such.

But I don’t leak or have accidents so I’ve not bothered following it up.

Original poster

shellybon · 10/12/2023 17:38

SunshineIndoors123 · 10/12/2023 13:33

Yes, the exact same thing happened to me. The sensation has returned, I can't remember how long it took but it did come back slowly over time.

This is reassuring to know. Did you end up having any tests or anything before it came back?

OP posts:

Original poster

shellybon · 10/12/2023 17:40

Flippingflamingo · 10/12/2023 13:35

Yep happened to me. I’m now 4.5 years since having my daughter and the sensation still isn’t the same.

I don't feel the need to wee until I’m desperate. And when I do pass urine I don’t feel it coming out as such.

But I don’t leak or have accidents so I’ve not bothered following it up.

Do you remember when you started to feel the sensation again? There's talk of reinserting a catheter again and having more tests which I really want to avoid but equally it needs sorting

OP posts:

Original poster

shellybon · 10/12/2023 17:41

SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 10/12/2023 13:30

I've not had this but if it still hasn't returned by 6 weeks, I'd go back to the GP on the day and ask for a referral.

Yes I definitely will x

OP posts:

valentinoandme · 10/12/2023 17:41

I had this and it took 6mths to get that sensation back. Didn't tell anyone because I didn't want anyone coming near me with a long-term catheter!

Scarletttulips · 10/12/2023 17:43

Yes this happened to me - wee’d all over the bedroom floor because I didn’t know!

It did come back a few weeks later! I was in the habit of going to the loo very time I walked past until it came back.

HappyCactus757 · 10/12/2023 17:45

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

ShatParp · 10/12/2023 17:45

I had this too and if I remember rightly it took about 8 weeks for it to resolve for me. I still had it at the 6 week check. I was checked for cauda equina because I couldn't feel when I was pooing, either! All ok, it was nerve damage I think.

ShatParp · 10/12/2023 17:47

Forgot to say my sensation is still a little dulled from time to time and it's 4 years on!

CobraChicken · 10/12/2023 17:52

shellybon · 09/12/2023 18:21

I had my baby 5 weeks ago via forceps with an episiotomy and had an epidural for pain relief. Ever since, I have not had the urge to pass urine.

When I go to the toilet, everything is normal. I pass a good amount and the hospital have checked and I am not retaining any urine. It is just my body isn't telling my brain that my bladder is full and I need to pee.

My midwife has now discharged me, but said they never come across this normally, so has sent me to my GP a few times to be seen. The last time I saw my GP, I was sent to the pregnancy unit to be checked.

The doctors have all told me this can be normal and should return by 6 weeks post partum. That is only one week away and I can't see it returning next week.

Has anyone else had this issue?

Yes, after my elective c-section. I first noticed that some sensation was starting to return on the morning of my 6 week check. I'm naturally pessimistic so I really thought I was going to be like that permanently. I don't remember exactly how much longer it took to get back to completely normal, but I do remember that it wasn't long at all. I was so relieved!

SunshineIndoors123 · 10/12/2023 19:09

@shellybon I can't quite remember. I had a lot of complications tbh and my head was all over the place. I know I had an MRI but I couldn't say 100% it was because of this issue. I mentioned it when I was on the postnatal ward and they wanted to recatherterise me but I declined. I mentioned it to a friend who said the same thing had happened to her and that the sensation had come back with time, so with everything else that was going on I wasn't focusing it on it too much, because like pp, I wasn't having any leaks or anything like that. I had a forceps delivery too and I think it was some temporary nerve damage from that.

Greenestofbeans · 18/12/2023 18:17

I'm nearly 21 weeks postpartum and I had this. I had over a litre of urine in my bladder at one point and didn't feel a thing. The midwives were baffled when I told them in hospital and they seemed like they'd never seen it before, so I really freaked out about it. I ended up having a catheter for five days and that was honestly a worse experience than labour for me. I ended up having it taken out early due to a blockage. Then the midwife who took it out told me she didn't think I'd needed it in the first place, and I agree. For a couple of months afterwards I set an alarm to go every three hours so I didn't forget. Sensation started returning after 3 months or so, but still isn't the same. I've had a few sessions with a women's health physiotherapist which is helping.
The usual risk factors are c section and epidural, neither of which I had, so it was extra weird. I had a long labour though (24 hours) and I suspect nerve damage. I also had a second degree tear and stitches but felt no pain at all from it, which must have been related to the loss of urine sensation. The midwives apparently thought I was some sort of superwoman because I didn't need any pain medication - nope, just numb from the waist down 😂

Original poster

shellybon · 18/12/2023 22:15

Greenestofbeans · 18/12/2023 18:17

I'm nearly 21 weeks postpartum and I had this. I had over a litre of urine in my bladder at one point and didn't feel a thing. The midwives were baffled when I told them in hospital and they seemed like they'd never seen it before, so I really freaked out about it. I ended up having a catheter for five days and that was honestly a worse experience than labour for me. I ended up having it taken out early due to a blockage. Then the midwife who took it out told me she didn't think I'd needed it in the first place, and I agree. For a couple of months afterwards I set an alarm to go every three hours so I didn't forget. Sensation started returning after 3 months or so, but still isn't the same. I've had a few sessions with a women's health physiotherapist which is helping.
The usual risk factors are c section and epidural, neither of which I had, so it was extra weird. I had a long labour though (24 hours) and I suspect nerve damage. I also had a second degree tear and stitches but felt no pain at all from it, which must have been related to the loss of urine sensation. The midwives apparently thought I was some sort of superwoman because I didn't need any pain medication - nope, just numb from the waist down 😂

This sounds very similar to me! They told me I may need to have a catheter put back in to let my bladder rest but luckily I didn't need it in the end as they did a bladder scan and saw that I wasn't retaining any urine. Hopefully that doesn't get suggested again as it doesn't sound fun.

I have now been referred to a specialist but have been told there is a 20 week wait to see someone. Hopefully I should be working again by then!

What kind of things does your physio tell you to do? I have been told to practice my pelvic floor exercises by a midwife but nothing more.

The epidural didn't work the first few times for me so they had a few goes at it. I asked if that caused the damage but the doctor at the hospital told me it was a mixture of the epidural, birth and forceps together that has somewhere along the line caused the nerve damage. I was in labour 36 hours so also a long labour like you. It's reassuring to hear that it seems to come back after a while - I just hope mines the same🤞🏼

OP posts:

Sarahleeanne · 22/12/2023 18:07

So im 13 weeks pregnant 1st baby and have a loss of feeling in my bladder as in i dont feel like i need to urinate at all but when i go to the bathroom i do go fine no pain or burning and drinking plenty just finding it weird i keep having to remind myself to nip to bathroom and check as dont get the feeling i need to go, anyone else experienced this?

Bossedbyasmallperson · 22/12/2023 18:28

I had this, didn’t know I needed a wee at all but just kept going as part of my routine and was doing massive wees when I went even though I had no sensation. Had a scan to check I was emptying bladder properly which I was so they just left it and I think it was about eight weeks after birth it came back.

Sarahleeanne · 23/12/2023 09:14

Thank you having spoken to my friends and none of them experiencing it i though id see if anyone else has the same, thanks for replying 😁