neurogenic bladder TMS?

[Nancy P]

Hi all,
I’m new to the forum and to TMS in general. My question is, I have neurogenic bladder, which is a very real inability to hold my urine. This came on very shortly after I began having severe sciatica in my leg and foot, which I’ve had for five years, 24/7. I’ve been told by three doctors that they don’t see anything on my MRI that could be causing the pain I’m having, but I do have mild spinal stenosis, DDD, and a couple of herniated discs, all considered mild. I’ve also had two urologists tell me the bladder issue is related to a pinched nerve in my back. I’ve failed all treatment options available to me, short of surgery. Could all of this be TMS?
On another note, when the pain began five years ago, I was in a very stressful job as a court reporter in a small office with another woman who was extremely antagonistic, which contributed to my stress and anger. I involuntarily retired due to the pain of sitting eight hours a day.

I’m currently reading The Great Pain Deception and finding some interesting parallels to my situation, but the neurogenic bladder is fairly unique. Any comments or insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MindBodyPT]

Hi Nancy,

Welcome to the forums! It's a tricky and somewhat unusual situation you're in but i'll say this- the only people with "true" neurogenic bladder i've seen as a PT have a stroke or spinal cord injury or other serious neurological injury...which you certainly do not have! It sounds like if 3 doctors don't see any obvious evidence of true nerve damage (all very mild and normal abnormalities in your spine) it could be TMS, though you'd benefit from speaking to a TMS doctor. I did find this article though: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4357155/ (Correlation between psychological stress levels and the severity of overactive bladder symptoms) which shows a correlation between stress and overactive bladder. Sciatica is known to be TMS, I don't see why neurogenic bladder in the absence of true nervous system injury couldn't also be TMS! Remember that the brain can create ANY symptom in the body if it wants to...

 

[Nancy P]

Hi Nancy,

Welcome to the forums! It's a tricky and somewhat unusual situation you're in but i'll say this- the only people with "true" neurogenic bladder i've seen as a PT have a stroke or spinal cord injury or other serious neurological injury...which you certainly do not have! It sounds like if 3 doctors don't see any obvious evidence of true nerve damage (all very mild and normal abnormalities in your spine) it could be TMS, though you'd benefit from speaking to a TMS doctor. I did find this article though: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4357155/ (Correlation between psychological stress levels and the severity of overactive bladder symptoms) which shows a correlation between stress and overactive bladder. Sciatica is known to be TMS, I don't see why neurogenic bladder in the absence of true nervous system injury couldn't also be TMS! Remember that the brain can create ANY symptom in the body if it wants to...

Thanks so much! I'm hopeful that I can rid myself of all my symptoms eventually. I'm a little puzzled to hear that only spinal cord injury or severe neurological problems will cause neurogenic bladder as I've had two urologists diagnose it as such. Interesting article. Thanks again.

 

[MindBodyPT]

I think it's because that is the population I see most...it's possible for it to be caused by other types of nerve injuries but probably just not my population. I'm sure the urologists know more about it! That being said, if you don't have any other types of nerve injuries in the area of your bladder or pelvis it's definitely suspect for TMS.