Can Anxiety Create Urinary Problems?

To pray for me for my frequent urination due to anxiety. I need to go away because it hinder from my job and can cause problems.  I also feel like I can't go out and enjoy myself like I used to. If I can't find a bathroom I start getting bad anxiety so it makes the urination worst.

Your problem will eventually go away. I had the same thing a few years back. Just relax.

Hi there, I know this post is very old but I wanted to contact you and see if you were still doing well. I am experiencing what sounds like the exact same thing, and I have also convinced myself I have IC (even though the signs aren't adding up) which in turn is a very depressing thing to think about. I would love to talk to you and see if this could be the same thing happening to me, if you're still out there, respond and maybe we can email back and fourth. Thanks so much for your story. It's given me a glimmer of hope to getting my normal life back. Thanks.

I would recommend some anxiety medication

its amazing really i can relate to a lot of this.. sorry i could not read it all am quite distracted at them moment from having the same issues happening as i write this. the urge does come on even stronger after masterbation. then sometimes goes as it would in the past but sometimes does not as it has been now for some time.

i do get bad anxiety but have also put a lot of this happening down to reckless masterbation methods i have practiced in the past with vaseline so am really wondering whats going on most of the time now. libido has decreased a bit but could be the lack of sleep i have been getting (late nights) dont help and of course the anxiety. 

i do plan on getting checked out properly and see whats going on. 

im peeing all day and up at nite and cant harley breath the anxeity has giving me acid in my stomach im i find it hard two cope

Hi all,

A week ago, I sat down on a Saturday night, in tears experiencing the same issues as discussed here. It was a relief to know that there are others out there like me. I am a 26 year old female. I have had this issue on and off for the past two and a half years. My symptoms include needing to pee every five minutes and when I actually manage to pee its only a little and makes me want to go even more. The first time I experienced it was after starting a new job, which was quite stressful but not in an upsetting way, just a super busy way. I had also had viral meningitis two months before hand. Anyway I thought i was going to lose my mind, because the urgency issue made it very difficult for me to do anything- my stomach felt hot and bloated, coupled with a feeling that I was constantly going to wet myself. I went to see one of the best uro/gyne doctors in the UK, privately and after a urodynamics assessment and a
cystoscopy they found nothing and said I may just have an infection in the bladder muscles, so put me on ciprofloxacin for 3 months, which worked over a long period of time, but within three months of starting the course, after a stressful month with family/ boyfriend issues the urgency came back and again, it went away by itself within a few months.

Anyway fast forward to now, I started experiencing urgency three weeks ago, again after starting a new job and joining at quite a hectic time, it seemed to emerge just as the busy time was winding down. I knew I was physically run down, which seemed to be a trigger. Anyway last weekend after reading this blog I was super determined to get over this and find a way to stop it, as it ruins my life and affects my performance at work and I don't want to look back in forty years time and think that my bladder ruined my life.
So I thought what if its not my bladder and its my stomach, because of the slight swelling in my stomach- which felt like it could be my bladder- but what if it was my bowels. What if my stress caused swelling/ bloating in my stomach, which affected the nerves in my bladder or pushed on the bladder itself. Its a cache 22, because you end up more stressed about your bladder, than you were to begin with, and if its solely anxiety that's causing it then its difficult/impossible to recover. So I did a combination of the below and something worked because I am fine now, so please take what you will from below, I hope it helps all of you like it did me!

1. I wore panty liners for a week- I have never wet myself, but was always so afraid I would dribble a bit, so this made me feel a little more assured.

2. I took a laxative two evenings in a row to clear my bowels and relieve pressure on my bladder. I used Dulcolax laxative which helped clear out my bowels, once I used this I could pee really really easily and coupled with a coffee in the morning really helped clear out my bladder and bowels and eased the urgency. I also took a few Deflatine tablets throughout the day to help with trapped wind etc, which believe it or not is quite common with this issue as your body holds gas, when anxious.

3. I added more fibre to my diet- I started having a pumpkin seed bar for breakfast with rasperries and dried apricots, a salad for lunch and a lighter dinner which also helped.

4. I drink water mixed with a quarter unsweetened cranberry juice and try and drink at least two litres of this mix a day.

5. I would make sure I walked at least 10,000 steps a day, as this would allow my to relieve stress and sleep better.

6. I try and ignore the pangs in my bladder and not go back to the toilet 90 minutes after the last time i went. I would go for a walk to distract myself, play a game on my phone or focus intensely on work- this way when i did make it to the toilet i would go a bit more than a few drops which would help.

7. i try and change my positioning on the toilet- so open my legs extra wide, or bend down. I would also do a few pelvic floors, so my muscles would get tired or it would move whatever the pressure was in my stomach.

8. i also did a beginners yoga video on you tube to help stretch and relax, which really helped my stomach. I did it for two days - only for 15 minutes, but i think it really really helped.

Anyway something that i did this time worked for me pretty quickly and i wanted to share, as most doctors don't understand this problem and its genuinely soul destroying. Apologies for the bad grammer too- i have Saturday morning syndrome! Goodluck!

These posts are so old :( I doubt anyone will read but hey it's worth a shot I am a female 23 years old I begun to suffer with bladder issues at 17 years of age. I seeked help straight away as it was driving me crazy and was straight away diagnosed with OAB later the same year I begun to notice severe panic attacks when the urge kicked in so I went back to gp and got further referrals.i begun seeing physiotherapist for relaxation methods which didn't help I then took on pelvic floor exercise which also didn't work. In 2013i was prescribed solifenacin which actually helped I was okay for an hour and half and anxiety calmed down. Just before winter kicked in I got worse and was prescribed regurin which didn't work I then undertaken urodynamic test which showed that my OAB was absolutely crazy and I was suffering with stress incontinence too. I was then prescribed Toviaz and which caused me severe issues I couldn't empty my bladder so had to use catheter- i was then given amitryptiline for night to help me sleep but it also failed - so later last year urology specialist have given me over 5 different medicines to take per day (solifenacin, ciproflixacin, cefradine, amitryptiline, mirabegron, cemeditine,) none worked I was going crazy I suffered so many side effects like constant drowsiness dizziness constipation thirsty and low moods :(
November 14 I had my last urodynamic and was advised of Botox in bladder procedure which I had in January this year 2000 units were injected but during the procedure I was found with chronic growth in bladder and bladder wall missing ?
So was treated with antibiotics again ciproflixacin for 4 months but no improvement. So now there's hardly anything left as I have been told so I am taking mirabegron night time and solifenacin plus to treat severe anxiety which causes me heart issues in taking propranolol which thank god helps me calm down. My problem with IAB remains the same tho I am now starting ptns which is injections in ankles I'm not sure if that will help but urologists told me it ha helped many people. If anyone knows of any treatment pls pls tell me because I am losing faith :(

i am facing same problem and i visited several doctors but all in vain . and i am facing psychological issues too so one day i visited one psychologist and he diagnosed anxiety ... nd i was shocked when i started medication for anxiety i got rid of this problem but when after 20 days i finished my medicine i faced once again same urination problem , now i am thinking about to visit my psychologist once again .

YES Anxiety Create many urinary problems from retention to urgency. and constant urge.

Thanks so much, this was a blessing!!!!

Hi I don't know if you will see this but I have had a constant urge to pee for 2 months now I only go to the toliet a few times a day but have a constant felling that I really need to go I have also started to notice That the amount coming out is starting to be less then normal I have every different possible test all of which come back fine and was put down to anxiety / depression. I was just wondering what your exact symptoms were

We the same problem I cannot even sleep because of this sensation feeling of urninating after urinating it affect me a lot as I cannot sleep because of that I'm always tired at work ..

I had prostatitus twice now, once six years ago and then Oct of last year.
I took six weeks of cipro and after 3-4 weeks my problem returned.
I spent about a month straining so hard to pee I had to sit down on the toilet.
I have found if I distract myself via magazine, talking to myself about benign things, look at the crack in that tile, or this bathroom is an ugly color etc, then I can go.
The month of straining to pee has now gotten in my head and even tho I can pee at times with no anxiety I find myself now having issues starting the stream without straining. I know that straining only exacerbates my problem. I am feeling better from the cipro and flomax, but I seem to be suffering from a type of urinary retention disorder, like I have to hurry up, its like a mental block making me have terrible issues starting a stream and relaxing to void my bladder. I return to the urologist Feb 5th for a followup. I have a minor degree in psychology and I have been diagnosed with anxiety and given .25 Xanax which I prefer to take at night to help me sleep.
I think over the next month I will begin taking xanax once in the morning and once evening and see if I can't relax and pee normally. If I cannot relax and pee normally I could get a UTI, or a bladder infection, or issues with my kidneys. For now I am going with overthinking having to pee because it only seems to happen when I am at work or at home with my GF. Sometimes when I am alone it happens also. That month of straining has gotten into my head and maybe its just anxiety that is causing it. Going to try the xanax for the next month daily and see if I cannot get back to normal. This is really driving me crazy and urinary retention due to anxiety seems to be my problem since I spent a month straining so much. We will see.

What about the opposite...a complete inability to urinate? Person will not accept that it is mental and underwent a surgical procedure on prostate. Worked for a while and now can not go. Urologist examines repeatedly and gives the "all clear" but this person insists that it is physical...that something MUST be wrong. Person is suffering tremendously and is now threatening to do himself harm. Went in an got a catheter put in and obviously passes urine but does not want to wear a catheter for a prolonged period. Goes back and has it removed, goes home and cannot urinate, I have no answers as I have no expertise and instead am trying to be there and listen but this person is rapidly losing will to continue living this way. Any ideas?