- Joined
- Oct 9, 2010
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- 3,398
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Dr. Lee Wei Ling is a very brave and nice person
I started having ARU (acute retention of urine) more than 13 years ago. It is the inability to voluntarily pass urine. This condition happens suddenly, gets worse quickly, and lasts a short time.
It may be the most common urologic emergency but it is a very rare problem in women as the distance between bladder outlet and the outside of the body is short with no chance of obstruction in between.
I was treated at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) by then head of urology Christopher Cheng, who did a urodynamic study and on the basis of no bladder contraction, he diagnosed me as psychogenic ARU.
Often, in the absence of biological evidence of an underlying disease, doctors assume that the illness must have a psychological cause, -- even if the patient shows no signs of being under stress or of having a psychological or psychiatric disorder.
I admit to being psychologically unusual but not abnormal. The last thing I would want to do is draw attention to myself by being unable to pee. It was not until my friend, who is a neurosurgeon, examined the muscle power of my lower limbs that it became apparent. He had found a pattern of weaknesses suggesting tethered cord, a condition in which the spinal cord is being stretched, causing unexplained back or leg pain and sometimes urinary problems.
Surgical resection of the filum terminale, a delicate strand of fibrous tissue about 20 cm in length, then followed and there was by clinical improvement as residual urine dropped to 0 from over 300ml. But my recovery was impeded by zoster vaccination against shingles. A fever and red flush of my skin followed, and I suffered ARU for an entire week. My bladder never went back to normal after that and the frequent ARUs resulted in my needing catheterisation, which my helper, an intelligent and capable Indonesian maid, aided in administering. By then, I had given up hope of normal bladder function.
There was one occasion when I was in a public toilet at Fort Canning Park, unable to pee because my bladder would not contract for 30 minutes. I cursed and swore at my bad luck of being seen by a urological surgeon who was more proactive with his hands rather than his brain.
The 13-year delay had robbed me of a chance of complete recovery. Now I am dependent on Ubretid, a drug that inhibits the breakdown of acetylcholine, chemicals used to transmit signals from one cell to another, leaving enough at the nerve endings in the bladder to cause bladder contraction.
I believe in living dangerously and intend to hike the Swiss Alps alone. The bladder problem will be taken care of by increasing the dose of Ubretid from two tablets at night and one in the morning to two tablets twice a day. It is impractical if not impossible to catheterise aseptically given the lack of clean water on the Swiss Alps.
The other alternative is to abandon the idea of hiking the Swiss Alps, but the Lonely Planet guide to walking in Switzerland states that the very natural beauty of the Swiss Alps is threatened by modern technology, acid rain that contains nitrous oxide, reducing the area of the Swiss forest. I rather take my risk and enjoy the natural beauty whilst it is still available for my enjoyment.
Bad luck hits everyone randomly. I have had more than my fair share of good luck and will not allow this little bad luck to hold me back. Better to take risks, enjoy the scenery than whine and moan about my misfortune.
I started having ARU (acute retention of urine) more than 13 years ago. It is the inability to voluntarily pass urine. This condition happens suddenly, gets worse quickly, and lasts a short time.
It may be the most common urologic emergency but it is a very rare problem in women as the distance between bladder outlet and the outside of the body is short with no chance of obstruction in between.
I was treated at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) by then head of urology Christopher Cheng, who did a urodynamic study and on the basis of no bladder contraction, he diagnosed me as psychogenic ARU.
Often, in the absence of biological evidence of an underlying disease, doctors assume that the illness must have a psychological cause, -- even if the patient shows no signs of being under stress or of having a psychological or psychiatric disorder.
I admit to being psychologically unusual but not abnormal. The last thing I would want to do is draw attention to myself by being unable to pee. It was not until my friend, who is a neurosurgeon, examined the muscle power of my lower limbs that it became apparent. He had found a pattern of weaknesses suggesting tethered cord, a condition in which the spinal cord is being stretched, causing unexplained back or leg pain and sometimes urinary problems.
Surgical resection of the filum terminale, a delicate strand of fibrous tissue about 20 cm in length, then followed and there was by clinical improvement as residual urine dropped to 0 from over 300ml. But my recovery was impeded by zoster vaccination against shingles. A fever and red flush of my skin followed, and I suffered ARU for an entire week. My bladder never went back to normal after that and the frequent ARUs resulted in my needing catheterisation, which my helper, an intelligent and capable Indonesian maid, aided in administering. By then, I had given up hope of normal bladder function.
There was one occasion when I was in a public toilet at Fort Canning Park, unable to pee because my bladder would not contract for 30 minutes. I cursed and swore at my bad luck of being seen by a urological surgeon who was more proactive with his hands rather than his brain.
The 13-year delay had robbed me of a chance of complete recovery. Now I am dependent on Ubretid, a drug that inhibits the breakdown of acetylcholine, chemicals used to transmit signals from one cell to another, leaving enough at the nerve endings in the bladder to cause bladder contraction.
I believe in living dangerously and intend to hike the Swiss Alps alone. The bladder problem will be taken care of by increasing the dose of Ubretid from two tablets at night and one in the morning to two tablets twice a day. It is impractical if not impossible to catheterise aseptically given the lack of clean water on the Swiss Alps.
The other alternative is to abandon the idea of hiking the Swiss Alps, but the Lonely Planet guide to walking in Switzerland states that the very natural beauty of the Swiss Alps is threatened by modern technology, acid rain that contains nitrous oxide, reducing the area of the Swiss forest. I rather take my risk and enjoy the natural beauty whilst it is still available for my enjoyment.
Bad luck hits everyone randomly. I have had more than my fair share of good luck and will not allow this little bad luck to hold me back. Better to take risks, enjoy the scenery than whine and moan about my misfortune.
