Bladder Capacity before needing to go to the bathroom

[ken2988]

When I first started to notice my bladder capacity was dropping off was somewhere between 5-10 years ago, but I didn't really start reading up on it until about the time I visit my first urologist, which was around 3+ years ago.  As I think I mentioned before he really didn't find any simple fix and just said I have an overactive bladder and gave me a prescription for a medicine to help increase the capacity of my bladder so I could reduce the number of times I went to the bathroom.  The problem that I quickly figured out was that there are numerous side effects and restrictions due to the medicine that caused me to stop using it after a couple of months.

Ever since then I have kept track of my bladder capacity and also did a lot of reading on the normal capacity of an adult bladder, point when the urge comes to pee, etc.  Ever few months I will do my best to hold my pee to track my current capacity, and the following is what I found the last time that I measured my capacity:

The average adult has a bladder capacity that typically is between 12oz - 19 oz.  The normal urge to pee starts at around 7 oz and the moderate need to pee is at around 10.5 oz.  Most people tend to void at between 70%-150% of normal capacity.  I am guessing the 150% is because many people are able to hold their pee in well past the normal capacity of their bladder.  All of the above came from medical sites.

The average child have a capacity that is roughly the age of the child divided by 2 plus 6.  An example is a 3 year old would be 3/2 + 6 = 7.5 oz. 6 year old would be (6/2) + 6 = 9 oz.   9 year old would be (9/2) + 6 = 10.5 oz  Another way to calculate is the age of a child plus 2, but this typically doesn't work until the child is around 6 years or older  6+ 2 = 8 oz  9 year old would be 9 + 2 = 11 oz.  Again, all of the above came from medical sites.

For a toddler the normal is around 3 - 4 oz capacity.  

My most current measurements, with the understanding that this is not done in a lab, just based on how I feel and my need to pee, is the following:

I have found that the absolute maximum that I can old is around 7 oz with it hurting for me to pee and with me starting to leak involuntarily no matter how hard I try to hold it in.

I really need to go to the restroom at around 4-4.5 oz where it is starting to get uncomfortable for me and I am thinking about going to the restroom instead of doing my work or other activities.

I start to feel the urge to go to the restroom at around 2.5-3 oz.  In some cases I have felt the urge to go where I only need to pee about 1-2 ounces, but that isn't the normal for me as of now.

Based on the data above that most people need to void at around 70% off capacity and above, I can assume that 7 oz is near my capacity, and 70% of 7 oz is 4.9 oz which is close to the 3-4.5 oz that I typically void when I need to go pee.  Effectively this puts my need to void at around the same level as a 2 year old 3-4 oz capacity (void at around 3 oz) and  below that of a t 3 year old 7.5 oz capacity (void at around 5.25 oz).  Considering most toddlers drink far less than a full grown adult needs, this explains why I am totally unable to hold my bladder when an average adult voids at around 11 oz or greater.

I thought this may be of interest to other people, and I am curious if others on here have found that they have similar capacities?

 

[Diapered Dave]

Do you wet the bed too?

 I ask, because a lot of what you wrote sounds like my situation.  I started wetting the bed several years ago, but only a few times a year. It progressed, and I went to the doctor last year for it. By that time, I was bedwetting several times a month, AND I had to pee VERY often in the daytime. After many tests, x-rays, CT-scan, etc, they didn't find a cause. (But there IS a history of bedwetters in my family.) My doctor told me to get a measuring container and measure my urine output in the daytime. I have been measuring my urine off and on for more than a year now. I've found that I start getting the urge to pee at about 5 oz, and at 6.5 oz, I better be near a toilet FAST. The most I've been able to hold recently is about 7.5 oz, and at that point, I was starting to pee my pants.

As my bladder capacity shrinks, I'm also bedwetting more. At this point, I wake up in wet diapers almost every morning. I'm also wearing diapers more in the daytime, since I'll be in the restroom every hour (or more..) if I don't.

[rubbersheetmike]

6 minutes ago, Diapered Dave said:

Do you wet the bed too?

 I ask, because a lot of what you wrote sounds like my situation.  I started wetting the bed several years ago, but only a few times a year. It progressed, and I went to the doctor last year for it. By that time, I was bedwetting several times a month, AND I had to pee VERY often in the daytime. After many tests, x-rays, CT-scan, etc, they didn't find a cause. (But there IS a history of bedwetters in my family.) My doctor told me to get a measuring container and measure my urine output in the daytime. I have been measuring my urine off and on for more than a year now. I've found that I start getting the urge to pee at about 5 oz, and at 6.5 oz, I better be near a toilet FAST. The most I've been able to hold recently is about 7.5 oz, and at that point, I was starting to pee my pants.

As my bladder capacity shrinks, I'm also bedwetting more. At this point, I wake up in wet diapers almost every morning. I'm also wearing diapers more in the daytime, since I'll be in the restroom every hour (or more..) if I don't.

I am close to you in age and have many similar issues. I think that less bladder control is common as we age. I sometimes wonder if those of us who had bladder issues when we were growing up are also more likely to develop them as we age. Having to pee a lot during the daytime bother me more than wetting at night. It means always having to take precautions. When Im more relaxed at home I wet myself so often that Im often not even aware of it right away.

[ken2988]

rubbersheetmike: I had major issues with bladder control as a child which my urologist believes may have a lot to do with my problems now.  As a kid I still needed diaper until I was around 8-9 in the daytime, and I was still wetting the bed until I was almost 12.  It wasn't a family thing since my 2 year younger brother and 5 year younger sister both stopped way before I did.  It really wasn't a lot of fun to have a 6 year old sister make fun of me wetting my bed.

Diapered Dave;  I think we have very similar problems, but I wish I still had the same bladder capacity as you do since it appears you are similar to how I was about 3 years ago.  You say the most you can hold is about 7.5 oz before you start to pee in your pants while I know I am already leaking by the time I get to 7 oz. (When I held that much I was leaking while trying to hold it in)  You feel the urge to pee at around 5 oz while I typically feel the urge at around 2.5-3 oz. (on some occasions I feel the urge at 1-2 oz.) And you need to be at a toilet at 6.5 oz when I need to go by around 4-4.5 oz.  While you are better off than I am, it does appear that you also have about the same capacity in your bladder as a toddler.  You also asked if I wet the bed? - If I don't wear diapers at night, I will wet the bed, and sometimes my diaper does leak.  I had mentioned in a post before that my last girl friend broke up with me when fell asleep during a movie and got her and the couch wet.  I was too embarrassed to tell her I wore diapers so would go without during our dates and be careful to go to the bathroom.  My mistake!

 

While I know some people want to age play as a toddler, I feel like we really don't have a choice due to our medical conditions.

 

 

[Diapered Dave]

Speaking of bladder capacity, when the urologist sent me for a CT scan of my bladder and kidneys, the instructions said to drink 30 oz of water, 45 minutes before the CT scan... I was like REALLY?!?!? Are you kidding me?? I knew I'd never be able to hold that amount for the whole time, so I wore a thick disposable diaper to the medical center. By the time I was checked in, and called up for the scan, my bladder was already screaming for relief!!

The scan took about 30 minutes, since they stop half way thru, inject a dye, then wait several minutes before they scan again. I made it about 10 minutes before I totally lost control and soaked my diaper. Afterward, I asked the nurse if the scan would be ruined, since I wet myself before it was over. She said "No, don't worry about it, that happens quite often!" 

 

[ken2988]

Last time I went to a urologist, and they asked on the questionnaire if I wore diapers, I said no.  I also didn't show up in diapers since it was too embarrassing at the time (about 2.5 plus year ago, just before the virus issues).  It took a lot for me to tell my general Dr that I was having issues and to ask for a referral.   He gave me the name of a female urologist that when I called to make an appointment, I was told she no longer would see male patients.  I expect some male patient was a total idiot and she decided it was a lot easier to see females only.   I am waiting until after the holidays to attempt to find a different urologist.

I am assuming you had to wear one of the hospital gowns for the scan?  Was it embarrassing to be seen in diapers by the staff?

[Diapered Dave]

Actually, I was surprised that they DIDN'T have me wear a gown. I fully expected to have to wear one for the CT scan. I was wearing a pull-over shirt and dress slacks, with an Abena heavy weight diaper underneath. They had me empty my pockets and take off my belt, and then lay down on the scanning bed/table, still in my street clothes. Of course, after soaking my diaper during the scan, I left there with quite the obvious sagging diaper in my pants!

[ken2988]

I know that the last time I went to a urologist, they had me remove my clothing down to my underwear for an exam, and I expect that the next time I visit the same thing will happen, but in this case I am now wearing diapers.  I know I also will be getting a full physical next summer with my primary doctor,  and they normally ask you to change down to your underwear, so I am a little nervous about that.

[anned]

mine will release at about 250 ml i don't know what that is in OZ.

i never worry about wearing diapers for a urologist appointment. or any doctors for that mater, as I have so much wrong with me that could cause me to need a diaper.just my BPH is a good reason to be diapered.plus its a 120 mile drive to my doctors.

[ken2988]

250 ml is about 8.5 oz which is way beyond what I can hold before I start to leak without control.   I am guessing that you only need to wear diapers for longer trip and maybe to sleep since it appears you are about at the same point I was a few years back before things continued to lose bladder capacity to where I am now needing diapers all the time.

If I convert to ml, I have found that I start to leak uncontrollably at around 210 ml,  I typically need to go to the bathroom at around 120-130 ml, and I normally start to feel the urge to go at 70-90 ml.  There are even some days where I start to feel the urge at 40-60 ml.  I have this data because I was asked by one of my urologist to keep track and measure the amount of urine that I release.  He asked me to do this when I tried medicine to increase capacity, but I stopped the medicine due to side effects and no real improvement in capacity.

What I have noticed lately is that if I happen to not have a diaper on and go to the bathroom to use the toilet, which happens after I shower or when I am changing, or other reasons, I now tend to continue to slowly leak after I think I have finished.  The problem is if I put on shorts or pants before I get a chance to put on a diaper, I many times end up with a medium sized wet spot on the front.

 

[babykeiff]

For your information - the normal adult bladder capacity is around 300ml, and can expand to 500ml before needing to void. Some adults can handle up to 600ml.

A non stretching bladder will overflow at 50-75ml, and send the relevant triggers to the brain of the need to void.

@ken2988 voiding need 40-60ml is normal, but normally, one should be able to supress that value.  Leaking at that stage means that your bladder does not expand, which contradicts the 200+ml. This leads me to believe that the information sent to your brain is being crossed rather than supressed. Do you have a form of nerve degeneration?

@anned - voiding at 250ml is reflex. I suggest that you get your doctor to check that your sphincters are closing, otherwise you may be in for some UTIs either now or the future. 

To those people who voids at 300ml or less, diapers are needed during any medical visit. It is only the odd few doctors / nurses that consider that their paitent might not be able to hold the normal test volumn of liquid in their bladders during the tests. The response that some here have got 'it is ok, the test is not ruined just because you voided during it / it happens all the time' suggest that these testers are fully aware of the limitation in the bladders of their test subjects. As a result, are also used to their test subjects being in diapers - and respect those subjects better than the ones who wet on them.

It is a normal and natural occurance for a person with a bladder capacity of less than 300ml to wet during a test. When calculated, a 500ml capacity voids every 4 hours. A 300, every two hours. A 150, every hour, and a 75, every 30 mins. That is the normal stress free timescales. Under stress, one can create 50ml urine every 10 mins, so a 75ml will need to void every 15mins (rough calculations).

Really, your doctor and/or the receptionist that makes the appointment should inform you, their paitent, to wear protection, but due to the infantile perception that diapers have, do not want to feel embarrassed by reminding you, the paitent to wear a diaper. This is where the receptionist cares more anout themselves than the paitent.

[Diapered Dave]

41 minutes ago, babykeiff said:

For your information - the normal adult bladder capacity is around 300ml, and can expand to 500ml before needing to void. Some adults can handle up to 600ml. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Really, your doctor and/or the receptionist that makes the appointment should inform you, their paitent, to wear protection, but due to the infantile perception that diapers have, do not want to feel embarrassed by reminding you, the paitent to wear a diaper. This is where the receptionist cares more anout themselves than the paitent.

I found this very interesting, since the written instructions the doctor's office sent to me prior to my CT Urogram instructed me to drink 30 OZ (887 ML) of water 45 minutes before my office visit for the CT Scan. With the capacity values you mentioned above, you'd think they would have advised me to wear protection, yet they didn't. I gotta wonder how many patients walk out of there with wet pants!! I mean hey, the people going there ARE going there BECAUSE they're having some kind of problem. I almost second-guessed myself and didn't wear a diaper, but the logical side of me won out, and it was a good thing too. I ended up leaving there with only a soaked diaper, and not soaked pants!

[babykeiff]

1 hour ago, Diapered Dave said:

I found this very interesting, since the written instructions the doctor's office sent to me prior to my CT Urogram instructed me to drink 30 OZ (887 ML) of water 45 minutes before my office visit for the CT Scan. With the capacity values you mentioned above, you'd think they would have advised me to wear protection, yet they didn't. I gotta wonder how many patients walk out of there with wet pants!! I mean hey, the people going there ARE going there BECAUSE they're having some kind of problem. I almost second-guessed myself and didn't wear a diaper, but the logical side of me won out, and it was a good thing too. I ended up leaving there with only a soaked diaper, and not soaked pants!

In my opinion, they wanted your bladder full - that is the reason they wanted you to drink 887ml of water. That is normal in a urology office. They should have requested you wear protection. Even a person with full control of their bladder would need a bathroom within the hour - so them not telling you is them either not believing you, or more likely, them not caring about their patients - and I would first blame the receptionist.

Your instructions were probably wrote by the receptionist, and it was s/he who did not inform you to wear protection out of some peverse thrill s/he gets from watching adults walking in and out in wet pants / diapers. 

I would presume that the floors in the place are not carpeted and that they have a mop & bucket close by. This is the type of place I personally would avoid. Even those that make it to examination without flooding will wet during the examination - which means that the paitent will need a prescription diaper while leaving.

There are people in this world that need something so obvious for them to accept that they need medical intervention. This type of behaviour, ensuring that they will wet themselves and have to leave wearing the wet pants or the care nurse insisting that they leave wearing a diaper with the wet pants in a plastic bag is abuse.

You chosing to wear a diaper and the pants that cover it defeats this process to your benifit. Medically, you should have been sent to change the wet diaper before leaving, but since you were wearing before you entered made the care nurse miss a beat. I suspect that she was waiting in her office with a diaper ready to be called by the technician that ran the test on you - but she wasn't as you did not need it - as you were pre-diapered, something that about 10-15% of people do before entering a urology office. It is usually a husband / wife that is diapered before the test when they enter with their spouse. A man / woman entering the office is usually under the impression that the full blown leaks that they are induring is just a one off thing, and do not wear a diaper before entering the office. As a result, they leave in a hospital type diaper with their wet pants etc in a plastic bag.

[mick_dl]

So honestly I wonder a little bit about this discussion. If I need incontinence pads or diapers, I specify that in the questionnaires that I fill out at the urologist. Everything else makes no sense - how else should he get an idea about the severity of my incontinence. I also bring a micturition diary with me.

It is also clear that I will present myself with the aids - I don't want to end up standing in front of the doctor with wet pants.

It is also clear that various examinations take longer and that you need a full bladder for some of them. Why should a doctor please point out to wear diapers? If I have a continence problem I know that and then it is a matter of course that I appear at the examination with proper protection. 

Personally, I would be surprised if my urologist said something like that to me - and he never has. At the MRI you just write it in the questionnaire - but they are only interested in possible metal buttons. If you couldn't hold it long enough during the examination, it will have to be done again in the worst case. 

Incontinence is nothing unusual for medical personnel. So there is no reason at all to forego protection out of shame. Conversely, you won't necessarily make friends with the staff if you pee all over their equipment.

[babykeiff]

On 2/3/2022 at 8:09 AM, mick_dl said:

So honestly I wonder a little bit about this discussion. If I need incontinence pads or diapers, I specify that in the questionnaires that I fill out at the urologist. Everything else makes no sense - how else should he get an idea about the severity of my incontinence. I also bring a micturition diary with me.

It is also clear that I will present myself with the aids - I don't want to end up standing in front of the doctor with wet pants.

It is also clear that various examinations take longer and that you need a full bladder for some of them. Why should a doctor please point out to wear diapers? If I have a continence problem I know that and then it is a matter of course that I appear at the examination with proper protection. 

Personally, I would be surprised if my urologist said something like that to me - and he never has. At the MRI you just write it in the questionnaire - but they are only interested in possible metal buttons. If you couldn't hold it long enough during the examination, it will have to be done again in the worst case. 

Incontinence is nothing unusual for medical personnel. So there is no reason at all to forego protection out of shame. Conversely, you won't necessarily make friends with the staff if you pee all over their equipment.

What you choose to wear or not wear should never dictate to a medical professional / expert your actual needs / requirements. It is their job to examine you and make a diagnosis based soley on the results of the examination. Historic information is also usefull in ariving at a diagnosis, but should only be used as a pointer, not the core basis for a conclusion.

Yes, you are right, these symptoms (incontinence or whatever is that medic's speciality) are not a shock to the medic - however, the percieved lack of  empthy they show to their paitents due to them seeing this symptom daily is what needs to be addressed. Also, the lack of preparing the paitent for what the medic expects to happen.

Medics in whichever speciality know what is the result to the patient from that issue, and should, primarily, care for the paitents full well being including creating a situation where the paitent is the least embarrassed before, during and after the procedures.

Medical staff can be either too buzy, or more likely, too focused on their own job to even be aware of the feelings of their patients. This is a problem where a patient can get embarrassed by the symptoms of an issue - like bladder / bowel problems results in wetting / messing self and/or needing to wear what some see as infantile garb.

From a medic's perspective, this is normal to see a paitent either in diapers and/or wet/messy pants etc.

From a paitents perspective, this is embarrasing.

From a top down perspective, both need to address the issue to ensure the comfort of the paitent and therefore, the trust of the medical industry. It ususally not one or the other, but both.

[Little Cub Pants]

My bladder capacity is huge. I can hold it for hours when I'm sitting down. Although if I'm on my stomach I usually have to go pee-pee a lot sooner. It feels so good not having to hold it in and just go pee-pee whenever you want to in your diaper!☺️ Especially if you're on the couch.??? Always makes me feel like a little toddler.???? Or if I'm at the movies and I have to go potty, NEVER FEAR, AN DIAPIE IS HERE!☺️??❤️????❤️???❤️?❤️☺️❤️?❤️?

[Kawaharu]

3 hours ago, BabySpiderBoy said:

My bladder capacity is huge. I can hold it for hours when I'm sitting down. Although if I'm on my stomach I usually have to go pee-pee a lot sooner. It feels so good not having to hold it in and just go pee-pee whenever you want to in your diaper!☺️ Especially if you're on the couch.??? Always makes me feel like a little toddler.???? Or if I'm at the movies and I have to go potty, NEVER FEAR, AN DIAPIE IS HERE!☺️??❤️????❤️???❤️?❤️☺️❤️?❤️?

And that's why I am kept in diapers because I can go anytime I want and I don't have to run to the potty all the damn time. Being kept in diapers always makes me feel like a toddler.

[ken2988]

I really never feel like a toddler wearing diapers, it makes me feel like I am an elderly person instead of 59 who has totally lost control of my bladder.

[Little Cub Pants]

1 hour ago, ken2988 said:

I really never feel like a toddler wearing diapers, it makes me feel like I am an elderly person instead of 59 who has totally lost control of my bladder.

Maybe you just need more babyish ABDL diapers.??☺️??❤️??????

[anned]

Quote

@anned - voiding at 250ml is reflex. I suggest that you get your doctor to check that your sphincters are closing, otherwise you may be in for some UTIs either now or the future.

i have both small fiber neuropathy and nerve damage from fourneir's gangrene surgery plus bad BPH. been to the doctors many times in the last two years.

[babykeiff]

8 hours ago, anned said:

i have both small fiber neuropathy and nerve damage from fourneir's gangrene surgery plus bad BPH. been to the doctors many times in the last two years.

Small fiber neuropathy = reduced nerve sensitivity. It this is around the bladder / bowels, it can result in reflex / overflow voiding. Since these nerves will never repair, and one is voiding automatically / overflowing, the bladder looses elasticity and tends to stop expanding. This reduces its capacity back to 50-75ml and one voids every 10-15 mins OR constant dribble.

Fourneir's Gangrene = flesh eating bacterial infection. Since @anned referes to this as surgery, this would have been an emergency surgery to stop this bacterial infection. Emergency surgery around ones genital area normally does not focus on keeping genital function.

BPH = enlarged prostate gland, which can cause issues while voiding.

I suggested that you see a doctor.... but from this information, I suggest you see a specialist for them to identify exactly what in bladder / bowel function os working or not.

Bladder, plus two associated sphincters needs to expand and contract - in your case, do they exist. Bowels operate similarly, do they work. What further complications can I expect in 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 6 years?

That is the information you need to know - and what your doctor shoudl be able to tell you.

 

[ppdude]

On 1/7/2022 at 2:33 PM, ken2988 said:

 

What I have noticed lately is that if I happen to not have a diaper on and go to the bathroom to use the toilet, which happens after I shower or when I am changing, or other reasons, I now tend to continue to slowly leak after I think I have finished.  The problem is if I put on shorts or pants before I get a chance to put on a diaper, I many times end up with a medium sized wet spot on the front. Urges can be intense regardless of capacity.

 

Welcome to my world. That wet spot, in my case, is due to a spastic sphincter muscle that pretty much ignores any brain suggestions and does whatever it wants. This often causes a feeling of needing to pee regardless of actual capacity and leaks or just lets it go. A mechanical fix can be made, but I chose to do nothing and live with leaks and small to full releases. The urologist wanted to operate but I said "no".

 

 

[NapsAu]

This is very interesting. My urologist says I have the bladder the size of a three year old. This is why I am always dribbling because it can not hold anything.

[babykeiff]

1 hour ago, NapsAu said:

This is very interesting. My urologist says I have the bladder the size of a three year old. This is why I am always dribbling because it can not hold anything.

A three year old bladder capacity is 2 + age x 15 = 2 + 3 * 15 = 75ml which is roughly a 3/4 hour reserve. A normal adult bladder is in the range of 50ml (compressed) to 800ml (fully dialated) depending on age, see table, so for you dribbling and a bladder capacity of 75ml is questionable, if your were toilet trained. If you were never toilet trained, and the issue you have was prior to this, the bladder would not have grown to the 75ml size - that of a three year old. I would re-question this doctor if I were you.

If you notice this table, you might see that the bladder size does not grow significantly until post toilet training (2.5 / 3 years+), and the bladder at 2 years (24 months) and 2.5 years (30 months) is roughly the same. The reason fo this is that pre toilet training, the bladder does not really stretch. Post toilet training, the bladder capacity is lower not stretched than pre toilet training due to the thicker walls of the bladder taking up the space when not stretched. As a result an adult empty bladder (non stretched) is around 50ml, and the point at which dribbling would occur. However, a 3 year old bladder has the capacity of 75ml or greater.

 

Age	Capacity
6 months	34 ml
9 months	41.5 ml
12 months	49 ml
18 months	64 ml
24 months	79 ml infant calculation
	67.5ml child~adult calculation
2.5 years	67.5 ml
3 years	75 ml
4 years	90 ml
5 years	105 ml
18 years	300 ml
20 years	330 ml
25 years	405 ml
30 years	480 ml
35 years	555 ml
40 years	630 ml
45 years	705 ml
50 years	780 ml
55 years	855 ml

 

 

The formula to estimate max bladder capacity in ml is:-

Newborn to 12 months old : 2.5 x age in months + 19

12 months+ : 2 + chronological age in years x 15

 

[ken2988]

Not sure where you came up with your post for adults for bladder capacity, but I think wherever you got the information from was a very unreliable source.  855 ml would be equivalent of approximately 29 oz.  Most medical information shows adult capacity tends to decrease with age, not almost triple in capacity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5609730/   Normal capacity of an adult is 300ml - 500 ml.