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[gilaray]

Last summer I started to suffer from VA. For those who dont have VA it can mimic cystitis With treatment it quickly came under control and I have been fine ever since that is until.........
Two weeks ago I went to America on a coach tour. On travelling days the coach would leave at 8am and stop at around 10 am for a comfort break
Problem is in the mornings I often have to go for a wee lots of times and one day I became absolutely desperate for the loo so much so that I began to get a pain in my kidneys
This set my mind in motion and I began to focus on my bladder and the sensations within it. I started to think I had a urine infection or that my kidneys were packing up. I needed the loo more than ever and I examined every wee. The pains in my side got worse.
I thought the VA was back so I upped the dose of Ovestin. I was so uncomfortable down below
In short it made me miserable and spoiled the second week of my holiday
As soon as I got home I did a dipstick test ( I have them at home) and my urine was absolutely clear
Miraculously all the symptoms abated almost immediately
I wanted to share this story to show the power of the mind and how in my case I used it to focus on a symptom that then became much worse
I was pretty stressed before we went as my son suddenly had a flare up of his Crohns and it was a race to get him on steroids before we left, I was also a little nervous about my husband who had had a heart attack at Christmas so maybe this made me more prone to health anxiety
The other thing I am going to do is buy a shewee or something similar. Even though there are loos on the coach the drivers prefer they are not used as they themselves have to clean them out. Stupid really isnt it. whats the poinbt of a loo on a coach if you cant use it

[CLKD]

Symptoms can cause the condition to be aggravated.  This morning I feel as though I have a urine infection starting  so am close to the loo, in case I need it ......... also feeling trapped can cause the kidneys to work over-time so that the bladder fills sooner.  Knowing that the driver doesn't want passengers to use the loo  - surely that is what you pay for ........ I would be telling the Tour Company and also, I wouldn't be listening to the driver  ........ I wonder if they really do have to clean them out.  I would have expected it to be a company with a lorry similar to those that empty standing loos at Festivals, interesting subject this ........ so that each time a coach pulls in, the lorry is there sluicing out!

[Kathleen]

I think what you experienced is how even the fear of feeling unwell can begin to dominate our thoughts. For years I was told I had IBS but then discovered it was Ulcerative Colitis, which is thankfully in remission at the moment. As a result I've always been super sensitive about my digestion and the stress of being on holiday increased the problem. I am hoping that this sort of health anxiety fades as we go through meno and come out the other side.
K.

[honeybun]

It's one of the reasons I don't like public transport.

I always have the what if scenario running through my head and that actually makes me feel ill.

I prefer to be independent and a coach trip would be my idea of hell.

The mind is all powerful it would seem and in my case not in a good way.

Honeyb
X

[lily]

Yes, I agree with these posts, but think it can also work the other way too.  If I take a tablet specifically for something I often feel a lot better straight away - like the placebo effect I suppose.

[CLKD]

Nowt wrong with the placebo effect 

[Jemima]

I can relate to this topic imensely!!

My son can too - when he was in his mid teens he would panic about needing a wee whilst walking home from school - which meant he would go just before he started walking, then almost half way home would panic and run back to the school to pee again!! 

when he told me i made him an appointment with the doctor who sent him to a specialist - they said such a lot of it is in the mind - the very fact he was not drinking much during the day was making it worse, and when he did drink it tended to be fizzy, which makes an already over sensitised bladder even worse.  apparently it 'contracts' if its almost empty - giving the feeling its very full....

retraining of the bladder is needed...drink MORE not less, and try not to go the instant you feel like going - practice indoors of course - he did well - he still is a bit panicky on long journeys but lasts the course.

I started to have a similar problem a few years later - and was on a coach trip to Austria when it got really very bad - every coach stop meant a desperate run to the loos - the coach itself had a loo you could use if needed......i tried not to......nightmare!

you have my utter sympathy! 

i retrained myself to a certain extent now....i noticed that if im home, pottering about, i honestly rarely use the loo - maybe only three times a day!! (not including when im asleep)

but the minute im going to be out all day - thats it! every hour at least ill insist on a loo stop - i barely need to go - but my mind tells me i do.

Im sure you use them already but using tena ladies are a great comfort to me - they make me feel like i can relax (no and not pee myself haha) and enjoy where i am even if i have the 'feeling' that i need the loo! (I rarely do - its all in my head not my bladder)..

thank you for sharing your story Gilaray it shows yet again how we are all going through the same kind of things together.

Anxiety being the biggest symptom of all (see my tinitus post) 

Jem x

[grumpy2008]

I totally believe in the mind-body interaction... the power of the mind to heal the body (or the other way round). The placebo effect can be very strong in some cases.

Of course, it's not so easy to control, and stress/anxiety can make things feel much worse than they are  .

Just focusing the mind on one part of the body can bring about phantom aches and pains! But it doesn't mean that the pain is completely in our head, just that one can affect the other. Isn't biology complicated?

Sorry you had to go through that, gilaray. But very happy to hear your symptoms have cleared up