Monday’s procedure of stretching my wee shoot to help alleviate symptoms of Overactive Bladder (OAB) went well. The technical name for this procedure is ‘Urethral Dilatation’. No slicing, dicing, or removal of anything involved. Just go up my pee shoot, stretch it like an elastic band and then let it ping back into shape. Bish bash bosh, job done.
I say it ‘went well’, but I won’t actually know if the procedure has worked or not for 7-10 days. Meanwhile, I can expect to continue peeing 998 times a day until then. After that time, there’s a 50/50 chance of things finally getting better.
The idea is it re-sets the involuntary mechanism at the base of my bladder that currently sends signals to wee when it’s only been 20mins since my last one. With any luck, re-setting this system will increase my bladder storage – and therefore decrease the frequency of my body telling me to go find a toilet.
It’s all tied up with the autonomic nervous system … which doesn’t work properly in people with POTS. In fact, a dysfunctional autonomic nervous system is what causes POTS in the first place – and affects numerous involuntary body functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, gut function … and therefore unsurprisingly, bladder function.
This procedure works for some but not others, and the doctors have no idea why; it’s a lottery. I’m therefore keeping my fingers (and legs) crossed for a positive outcome!
Also – I’m now a massive fan of IV fluids. More about that in my next post 
