“You urinated a full 1200ml this time (that’s two bottles of mineral water)!”
After 6 hours of urination, I experienced the longest and most enjoyable urination in my life, accompanied by a feeling of emptying.
Three repeated admissions and discharges within 24 hours, ranging from catheterization, “artificial bladder” to manually adjusting the position of the uterus.
My “urinating” thrill was really more exciting than a roller coaster…
10 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds… Three full minutes passed, and I didn’t urinate a single drop of urine while I was sitting on the toilet waiting for the “flood release”!
For the first time in my life, I experienced what it’s like to “pee and be lonely”.
About 8 weeks ago, I was like that too, counting 10 seconds, 30 seconds in the toilet… until the two bars on the pregnancy test stick appeared.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
Actually, the pregnancy went pretty smoothly.
At the end of 2019, I had been studying in Europe and finally graduated with a Ph.D. It also announced that my husband and I, who work in Canada, will usher in a historic moment of reunion after four years of alien love.
So, after dealing with various matters, I flew to Canada to find my husband.
Unexpectedly, just after the reunion, the new crown epidemic began to ravage the world.
Fortunately, my husband and I both have stable jobs. At that time, we were working from home, and the time was relatively free and easy. In addition, when we were in our 30s, we felt that this was the perfect time – don’t have a baby, When are you waiting?
I was pregnant with my baby in my second month of active preparation.
I can be described as a “green light all the way” in my early pregnancy: apart from feeling easily fatigued and lethargic, there is no obvious pregnancy reaction such as vomiting and anorexia, and everything I eat, drink and drink is very good. It’s normal, and regular pregnancy tests also indicate that everything is going well.
In mid-September 2020, I entered my 13th week of pregnancy, which is also the legendary “most comfortable” second trimester.
It was only at this time that we shared the good news of pregnancy with friends and colleagues one after another, and we also made an appointment with our friends about the exercise plan for our next mountain hike.
Because of pregnancy, this time I specially lowered the difficulty and intensity of the exercise (you know, as a mountaineering and hiking enthusiast for many years, conquering all kinds of mountains of medium to high intensity and difficulty has always been my challenge source of happiness).
It was during this week that I started to feel a little rough when urinating.
After a two-hour video conference, I clearly felt like I was holding back a belly of urine, and I rushed to the toilet for the first time.
According to my past experience, the urine flow at this time should be good, and it should be discharged naturally without too much force. But the traffic at that time was pitifully small, and it was accompanied by a feeling of being “squeezed” out.
I tried twisting my body and changing positions, and it took me a few minutes before I felt smooth urination.
At the time, I wasn’t at all concerned about it. Who knew that within a few days, a bigger urination “bug” appeared…
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
That Saturday, I excitedly sent a WeChat message to my friends at home to discuss the climbing route for the next day.
About four o’clock in the afternoon, I felt a little urge to urinate. I quickly got up and went to the toilet, but I didn’t expect: I got stuck.
No matter how much I move, I just can’t pee! Not a drop!
So, am I not peeing enough? After I went back to the living room, I continued to drink some water. One or two hours later, it was still “only thunder, no rain”.
After this back and forth, I started to feel a little overwhelmed by my body.
So I quickly told my husband and got on the phone with my mother who is a physician in China.
Mom thought maybe I was too nervous and told me to relax first, go for a walk or take a hot bath.
I did all of that, and I don’t think I’m nervous at all, just to no avail.
I’m panicking!
At the time, I didn’t know what thePregnancy does not matter.
After hesitating and trying, I called my midwife.
(Author’s note: Midwives are a group of professionally trained occupational medical service providers in obstetrics who, according to local policies in Canada, can serve low-risk pregnant women one-on-one )
After asking me how much water I drank that day, the midwife felt that I was not drinking enough water and suggested that I drink more.
I am obedient, but after a few sips of water, people feel even more uncomfortable, and I can’t drink a sip of water.
Just like that, by about 9pm, my belly was bulging like I was five or six months pregnant.
And, because it was so uncomfortable, my tears couldn’t stop falling.
I had to call the midwife again, she just happened to be at the hospital delivering another mom, let’s get there right away.
When I went to the obstetrics and gynecology department, the nurse came over to measure my blood pressure and fetal heart rate. After confirming that it was normal, I was asked to wait for the midwife and doctor on the bed in the observation room.
Anyone who has ever held back urine should know that at such a “close call” moment, waiting is measured in seconds, and a few minutes are especially hard!
In my opinion, after almost a century, the midwife finally came to me. Before I could say hello, she noticed my unusually large belly.
The nurse next to me quickly brought a small ultrasound machine over. After testing, my bladder was indeed full.
The human bladder is an elastic organ that can stretch and shrink. As I accumulate more and more urine that cannot be excreted, it keeps hoarding and hoarding, so it is stretched to the point where it can hardly be stretched.
What can I do? In order to relieve my “urgent need”, I have to go to artificial catheterization!
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
Before I started, the midwife also reassured me that catheterization was a common operation in the hospital and would not be very painful.
I was full of thoughts at the time, “Hurry up and open the floodgates for me”, I don’t care whether it hurts or not.
The principle of artificial catheterization is not complicated. It is to insert a thin tube into the urethra and wait for the urine to be discharged from the catheter.
As soon as the urine from the catheter began to flow out, I felt the pressure in my stomach suddenly released, and the “giant belly” slowly began to shrink with the flow of urine, holding back the urine. The pain has also eased a lot.
The large cup for urine is filled with one and replaced with the second, full of 1200ml!
In other words, there were two full bottles of mineral water in my bladder! Really distressed my bladder!
The midwife was also surprised after the operation. She smiled and said to me, relieved: This must be the most satisfying pee in your life!
It was past 10 pm at this time, and I usually had to go to the toilet almost every hour or two, but I actually held it for 6 hours.
The size of the bladder can be understood by holding it in once.
But what I haven’t figured out yet is: Why, I can’t pee all of a sudden?
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
The midwife said my urine was clear and didn’t look like a UTI. Still, she took a sample and sent it for testing.
After urinating, I was like nothing else, lying on the bed and swiping my phone while waiting for the results. Not long after, the midwife came with a young and beautiful female doctor.
After questioning me about my condition and confirming that the test showed no infection, the doctor concluded that the culprit was my uterus pressing against the opening of my bladder, blocking my urethra.
She told me that this happens to pregnant women with a retroverted uterus (about a quarter of women have a retroverted uterus), and it is rare but typical.
My midwife has nearly 30 years of experience delivering thousands of babies, and this is the first time she’s ever experienced this.
I am also puzzled. The pregnancy test has always indicated that it is normal before. Could it be caused by my usual exercise?
When I asked the doctor if it was because of the mountain climbing that I was pregnant, she shook her head and said no, it was just that I was “lucky” (a matter of coincidence and probability).
The doctor then gave me an internal exam and an ultrasound, which confirmed her suspicions.
The solution is: Manually adjust the position of the uterus, The same way as the internal examination, lie down, open your legs, and the doctor will push it from below to reset.
At the doctor’s advice, I inhaled nitrous oxide (Editor’s note: a pain-relieving gas that has anesthesia and is strictly regulated in China), Take a deep breath while relieving the pain and discomfort of manually repositioning the retroverted uterus.
I don’t know if it was due to the laughing gas, or the warm mental support from my husband, midwives and nurses at the time. I think the pain level is tolerable.
However, this powerful thrust also convinced me that the intensity of my exercise should not change the position of the uterus.
After a few minutes, the doctor advised me to do yoga baby pose for a while, drink some water, and then try to pee.
Sit on the toilet again, it still hurts a bit, but it finally works!
After finishing the “solving” and returning home, it was already three o’clock in the morning. I quickly sent a message to my friend to cancel the mountain climbing plan a few hours later.
Lying in bed with my husband and savoring this strange night, they all thought it was a “small episode” on the way to pregnancy. At the time, none of us thought that this was far from over…
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
The next day, at about 7am, I felt drowsy and had the urge to urinate, so I got up and went to the bathroom.
I waited for ten seconds, but I didn’t urinate. My heart was tight: it’s broken, it’s “blocked” again!
Because of the previous experience, my husband and I discussed to observe for a few hours, and in order not to feel so uncomfortable, I controlled the amount of water I drank in the morning.
After all these efforts, but still no results, my husband and I went to the hospital again.
It was noon when I arrived at the hospital, and the doctors and nurses in the obstetrics and gynecology department had already changed teams. This time it was a male doctor, and I had no choice but to be embarrassed, and I cooperated with him in catheterization and manual adjustment with ease.
This male doctor is so powerful that I feel like my internal organs are being pushed out.
After the adjustment, the male doctor said that despite the adjustment, it is still possible to go back (I am a stubborn cow baby in my belly).
So, a pessary should be installed to support the uterus and prevent it from pressing on the bladder opening again, but this needs to be installed by a pelvic floor doctor the next day.
At the same time, he inserted a catheter and a urine bag tied to my thigh, aka an “artificial bladder”, so that I could avoid having to go to the hospital for emergency catheterization.
It turned out to be a coincidence. After I got home, I had heartburn again (probably caused by the male doctor’s excessive force when doing reduction), that is, within 24 hours, I had a third Into the hospital.
Fortunately, I took some medicine and it was relieved quickly.
It’s really hard to say! A woman who was 13 weeks pregnant, without vomiting or sickness, was tormented by a problem of peeing and running back and forth.
And so, the journey to the pelvic floor department began. (Editor’s Note: You read that right, “Pelvic Floor Department” is also a hospital department, mainly used to prevent, diagnose and treat pelvic floor dysfunction. At present, some hospitals in China also offer this specialty.)
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
At noon on Monday, my husband and I came to the pelvic floor department of the hospital as scheduled.
A tall old man in a big suit and leather shoes pushed the door and came in. He also heard that I had been admitted to the obstetrics and gynecology department three times in the past two days, and joked that it was a “special experience” “.
Afterwards, he explained to us the reason for my sudden situation, which is the process of pressing the backward uterus against the bladder opening, using the diagram of the pelvic floor muscles hanging on the wall.
He also reiterated to me: It’s all just a coincidence, I don’t have a uterine prolapse or anything else.
He told me that when the baby gets older and the uterus moves from the pelvis to the belly, the problem will stop. But “out of the pot” needs to wait days or even weeks.
How to spend this time, he gave me two options: keep the catheter in place or get a pessary.
Option 1 is inconvenient and carries the risk of infection; option 2 can return to normal life, but it may take a few tries to fit a pessary that fits you.
I chose option 2 without any hesitation. I thought that if it was a big deal, I would try it a few more times, as long as the catheter was no longer inserted.
And just like that, “Pessary” goes into action!
My pessary looks like this
(Source: Author provided)
This is a device that can be inserted into the vagina and placed behind the vagina to support and relieve pressure on the bladder and other pelvic organs.
If it is placed in the right size and location, it is generally not felt, so you may need to try multiple sizes to make sure it fits you.
Before I started, the doctor said that putting in a pessary would not hurt like a cervical smear, but when I put it in, I was still in tears.
But the guilt was worth it, after putting it on, I literally urinated and urinated smoothly!
After two days, after debugging, because I had to change to a larger pessary, I went through a catheter insertion again. After the transition, I finally got used to the pessary.
Those days were also the hardest for me.
Because of the need to continuously insert a urinary catheter, and to experience the pain of putting on a pessary, the most important thing is: I don’t know if the pessary I put on is suitable or not. The size of this painful process needs to be repeated…
I even experienced a “no peeing” episode after putting on a proper pessary.
According to the nurse, this may be due to some swelling of some organs of the pelvic floor when it was first put on. It’s smooth.
Fortunately, the pessary finally helped me solve the “urination bug”!
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
I have not felt any discomfort with the pessary for over a month.
It’s just that I still have lingering fears about holding back my urine and inserting a urethral catheter. I have been avoiding large-scale exercise for a period of time, for fear that the pessary will fall out again. Life is finally back to normal and urination has been smooth.
At the 18th week of pregnancy, with a bulging belly, my husband and I braved the light snow in early winter and went to the pelvic floor department to get a pessary as scheduled.
The young female doctor was also very careful, took off the pessary for me, cleaned it and handed it to me, and said:
You can use it in your next pregnancy if needed.
I smiled and said:
If I get pregnant again, I really hope it won’t be used.
Afterword
After removing the pessary, I was back to normal and was able to urinate without any aids.
My pregnancy has been smooth since then. When leaving the obstetrics and gynecology department of the hospital, the male doctor joked that “there are only three things”.
He really hit the nail on the head. We went to the obstetrics and gynecology three times that weekend, but the next time we came, it was indeed the time of the baby.
During the production, I had a head-to-head confrontation with the “catheter” because of a little episode.
The midwife who accompanied me during the whole delivery gave me a summary of the essence: The catheter is really a theme that runs through my entire pregnancy!
My mother found out, and joked: Baby cow won’t let me pee, and I have to be spanked twice!
Now, I hold the little cutie every day, why would I be willing to fight?
Doctor Reviews
The woman in this article is experiencing a phenomenon called “urinary retention,” which is indeed rare in women who are just entering their second trimester.
Until 12 weeks of gestation, the uterus is located in the true pelvis; after 12 weeks, the uterus gradually enlarges out of the pelvis, showing that the uterine fundus can be felt above the pubic symphysis.
This process is generally manifested as frequent urination, especially the gradual increase of the uterus will put pressure on the bladder, the bladder volume will be relatively reduced, and the frequency of urination will increase. Many pregnant womenDuring this stage of pregnancy, there is also the experience of “frequent urination”.
Once the uterus is out of the pelvis, it no longer presses on the bladder, and urination will be normal.
This process is a natural process during pregnancy. If you are healthy and do not have diseases such as ovarian cysts, there is basically no need to worry about the uterus compressing other organs of the body, or affecting the mother or the mother. What’s wrong with the baby.
In the pregnant women in this article, due to the position of the uterus, the enlarged uterus does not compress the bladder body, but compresses the bladder neck, which is the junction of the bladder and the urethra.
As a result, urine held in the bladder cannot pass through the compressed urethra, resulting in urinary retention.
Fortunately, the local doctors dealt with it in a timely manner. First, catheterization was used to improve the rapid expansion of the bladder and protect the bladder function, otherwise there would be a risk of spontaneous bladder rupture; then, the pessary was used to support the bladder neck. Ministry, pregnant women can urinate normally.
It can be seen that the local doctors are still very experienced.
Through this case, I also hope that the majority of pregnant women and friends will know that if you feel uncomfortable during pregnancy, don’t bear it. Whether it is related to pregnancy or not, it is best to go as soon as possible. hospital visit.
Don’t worry and don’t be shy, your doctor will help you with professional treatment.
*The content of this article is for the popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment suggestion, nor can it replace the face-to-face consultation of a licensed physician, and is for reference only.
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