What do bladder spasms feel like?

[Enthusi]

A tiny bit of background: I have a hefty mix of functional and urge incontinence from years of unpotty training and diaper wearing.   
 

Last night as I was dosing off I had this weird sensation where a felt just a tiny bit of bladder fullness followed by the sphincter muscle clenching tightly, followed by difficulty getting the muscle to relax.  It was sort of like how it used to feel back when I had bladder control and the muscles were set to default contraction mode.  After a few minutes things went back to normal.  I felt a tiny bit of wetness but I don’t think I peed all that much.  It didn’t hurt or anything, more so just odd sensations that came and went. 
 

I have a couple of questions for those who’ve experienced bladder spasms:

 

1. What do they feel like for you?  Do they feel anything like I described?  
2.  Have they changed in frequency?  Intensity? 
3.  Does anything make them better or worse? 

4. Do you tend to pee when they happen?  Does it “feel” normal? 

Feel free to answer any or none of these.  Thanks! 

Edit:  After doing a little more online research it would seem that whatever it was, it was more consistent with dysfunctional voiding symptoms rather than spasms per se.   I’m going to chalk it up to weirdness from bladder de-conditioning and keep an eye on it.  Though I would still be interested in hearing others’ experiences with spasms and other weirdness! ?

[square_duck]

They hurt...

[oznl]

The only unmistakable incidents of “bladder spasms” I can definitively claim had nothing to do with my 24/7 nappies.  Instead, it was whilst I spent a miserable couple of days catheterised in an ICU several years ago.

My bladder hated that catheter with a vengeance.

Every so often, I’d get this transient, monumental urge to pee which was both at once pointless (I was catheterised) and ineffective (I was catheterised).  Fortunately each one only lasted a few seconds.  It was kind of like having a cramp: in your bladder.  It’s REALLY hard to sleep in an ICU (things you never knew) and those purpose-free spasms would wake me every time I dozed off.

It would have been SO much more comfortable if they’d just put a nappy on me.

I also had a curious “fluttering” sensation from what I thought was my bladder once or twice, relatively early on in my 24/7 journey which, in the manner of new acolytes, I probably read far too much in to.  In retrospect, I don’t think these were spasms.  I’ve no idea WHAT they were but they didn’t reflect any sustained trend.

Like yourself, I seem to be drifting backwards: finding it harder to wet my nappy during the day sometimes.  I suspect some kind of voiding dysfunction.

[ThomasInWVa]

Have you ever had an arm muscle that jumped on its own? It's like that but inside around where your bladder is.  

They can be slow or rapid, strong or weak.

For me, it's mostly a lot of fluttering and a few larger single flutters. They rarely hurt but will often lead to more leakage if anything is in the bladder.

They can cause pain if the bladder sphincter doesn't relax or open at the same time.  Very similar to trying to force yourself to stop urination mid stream. (Exactly like that actually.)

When I would have some control and my bladder would fill as usual, a sudden spasm would often result in an immediate expulsion of spurting urine depending on the strength of the contractions. This can be painful if the urine flow is blocked or impeded. Such as sitting or flow is restricted by a diaper.

They can also be quite painful during an erection while the flow is restricted by the prostate.

I tend to get them when my bladder starts to retain urine, usually when sitting, having a partial or full erection for a while (resulting in urine retention) or those damn hydrostatic tests.

Or any foly cath that is 5cc or larger will cause them. That 5cc cath is hit or miss sometimes. But the larger ones will trigger them.  They are usually not painful but extended fluttering is usually always accompanied by increased arousal, orgasmic contracts, possible ejaculation, and usually both a dull ache in the bladder area and a "blue balls" sensation for some time afterwards.

In general they are nothing and are of zero concern to me.  It has been years since they caused any pain. They happen basically randomly except as noted.

 

[Old_PA]

For me bladder spasms are associated with the use of a Foley catheter and are brought on by the same stimuli that cause me to pee unexpected when diapered. Typically, I am standing at the kitchen bench with hands flat on the bench in front of me. An intense shiver begins down below and is quickly felt in the arms and hands. This is something I enjoy, being the next best thing to a climax. Having had the prostate out 7 years ago, a climax is but a distant memory.  

[Little Sherri]

On 11/21/2021 at 11:32 PM, oznl said:

I also had a curious “fluttering” sensation from what I thought was my bladder once or twice, relatively early on in my 24/7 journey which, in the manner of new acolytes, I probably read far too much in to.  In retrospect, I don’t think these were spasms.  I’ve no idea WHAT they were but they didn’t reflect any sustained trend.

I experienced something very similar. At the time, I also characterized them as "spasms", @Enthusi. I'd have to go digging through my thread but I think I mentioned them when they occurred, and asked a very similar question - if they portended something. As far as I can see, they do not - I haven't had one of them in a while now, maybe a year or more. Although what I experiences was more along the lines of a "flutter", as Oznl aptly described it. Perhaps yours were more profound. 

I have never been catheterized, @oznl, so I have no idea what the rules are surrounding if or when they do that to you, but I think I might be bold enough now to actually say I'd prefer a diaper. I've seen people with catheters - they look awful. I guess if they have to keep strict track of your fluidic output, maybe it's necessary. I know that with kids in hospital settings, they will weigh the diapers coming off, to save subjecting them to an invasive procedure, but I guess the appetite among nursing staff for doing that with a sodden 4 kilogram adult nappy might be not be there...

[oznl]

2 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

I have never been catheterized, @oznl, so I have no idea what the rules are surrounding if or when they do that to you, but I think I might be bold enough now to actually say I'd prefer a diaper. I've seen people with catheters - they look awful. I guess if they have to keep strict track of your fluidic output, maybe it's necessary. I know that with kids in hospital settings, they will weigh the diapers coming off, to save subjecting them to an invasive procedure, but I guess the appetite among nursing staff for doing that with a sodden 4 kilogram adult nappy might be not be there...

In my case, it was routine procedure to be catheterised as I was having open heart surgery and the surgery duration was going to be greater than 4 hours.  I was warned in advance.  At least they put it in AFTER I was put under.  I just woke up with it there.

As you go straight from that kind of surgery into intensive care for a couple of days, they leave the catheter in.  You're so drugged and connected to so many different things that it's not like you could really take care of it yourself anyway and they give you IV fluids to keep your kidneys ticking over so it's not like there isn't a pee train running on the tracks.

In contrast to the lesser surgeries that preceded this, I don't think they even bothered to give me the opportunity to pee prior to being anesthetized.  I guess they had a plan for that.

There were loads of adult nappies scattered around the ICU but the way I was feeling, their presence barely registered but I do recall it was a brand I'd never heard of.  It was a very weird few days there.

[Little Sherri]

11 hours ago, oznl said:

There were loads of adult nappies scattered around the ICU but the way I was feeling, their presence barely registered but I do recall it was a brand I'd never heard of.  It was a very weird few days there.

I guess if you were drugged up, possibly on narcotics that tend to constipate, and not really eating, anyway, the other of nature's callings never became an issue? I do wonder how I'd handle THAT eventuality, were I ever to find myself incapacitated for long enough for it to become a factor. I don't particularly relish the idea of crapping in a bed pan, but loading up a nappy and then making some pour soul deal with that would be awful for everyone involved. I think I would try to just hold it until it turned to diamond within me. 

[skizics]

Think of getting that Last drop pee out as you finish peeing... Now just keep squeezing as Hard as you can, wait a moment... and REPEAT until you get bladder muscle spasm. Hold and enjoy.

did I mention that it's rather uncomfortable?

 

[ken2988]

I know that I have had that happen to me on several occasions which is one of several reasons why I wear diapers almost all of the time.  I have noticed that sometimes I get these spasms when I have almost no pee, and I continue to feel like I need to pee, but nothing comes out.  It can get uncomfortable if not painful.

[Mindylou]

I have just realized what I have been feeling are bladder spasms! They don't hurt exactly, just feel like tiny squeezes of the bladder .. and when they start, there is no predicting when they will be productive! I focus on keeping my sphincters open and relaxed all the time (I get mad at myself when I clench!) so when those start (every half hour or so) I'm thankful for my diapers! 

[adhb]

I have urge urinary incontinence. I’m not sure whether my urges are the same thing as spasms, but they probably are. What happens is that, when I first get a slight feeling that I need to urinate rather soon, sometimes the slight feeling intensifies over anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes to the point of becoming painful. If I try not to urinate, the intensity of the urge reaches the point where the pain is so intense that I have to let go and let the urine out. If I’m near a bathroom, I can generally get there to use the toilet. But otherwise I have to wet my diaper or my pants if I’m not wearing a diaper.

[Mindylou]

That's what started my diaper wearing at night... Urge incontinence..  I had a hard time waking and getting to the bathroom on time. Then when I had my accident and become partial disabled, it made it even harder. So I just gave in to wearing diapers nightly in September 2018 and never looked back. I started wearing in daytime for fun, then went 24/7 last spring. and now I'm dependent on them 100% which is what I want. 

Just gotta figure out which way you want to go and commit.. get treated by doctor or go into diapers all the time. Sounds like it's coming to decision time. 

[slaveal]

I've had to wear diapers 24/7 since 2006.   My bladder doesn't spasm, I just wet in small amounts all day and only flood my diaper after getting up  from laying down.

[Enthusi]

Thanks for the replies! 
 

I just posted this on the Seeking Incontinence forum because it was more related to my journey towards incontinence.    But I think I had a REAL bladder spasm. For better and for worse.