Hi
My name is Anne Marie

I was wondering if any one else with MG suffers from bladder weakness - I'm 41 yrs old so quite young and have had MG for 2 years approx with mild deterioration, I am due to see my consultant after 14 months of cancelled appointments - but since Christmas I have developed really bad bladder weakness - could this be linked to MG - I have heard that bladder weakness isn't always connected but then others say it is.

I am seeing a Urologist who just said speak to consultant

Thanks in advance for any replies

Anne Marie

Since I've been on Mestinon I've found that my bladder has become very weak. As Mestinon is given to patients recovering from operations whose bladders aren't working, I'm presuming that it encourages bladders to work .... and if the bladder is working fine to start with, it 'overworks' it ..... thats my thoughts anyway.

Anne Marie,

in 1996 I had surgery for a prolapsed bladder, by 2004 i was having very bad urin =
ary incontinence, back to urology had a useless test where upon they decided I had a unstable bladder, tried the standard prescription of detrusol, ended up with permanent head aches and still incontinent!

After many years it was discovered eventually the m.g.I saw neurologist and asked if the bladder problem could be related to m.g. and he said it was possible as the bladder has some striated muscle in it.

The mestinon does not help, and when I have mentioned it on here some
well meaning souls assume it's because of the mestinon....

I have been back recently and saw some moronic incontinence nurse said my g.p. had written that I suffer from stress incontinence....which I dont....

I am still needing Tena ladies and pads from district nurse....I have been like that really from 2004...

it does need more investigating i think...

you are a young lady of 42, I am almost 69 and had I not been a widow and had a sex life of sorts it would be very embarrassing! lol

hope you get sorted soon

jantoo

Hi Anne Marie

Welcome to the forum.

Further to what Jantoo says about striated muscle in the bladder, from my own research on the Internet, it seems that striated muscle is also found in the urethra.

Found this document at www.hy-q.com/cooper/pdf/NCS%20Exam/114%2...sthenia%20Gravis.pdf which says:

"Pelvic Floor Muscle Weakness. This is an often
overlooked aspect of muscle weakness in MG. How­
ever, some female MG patients with urinary stress
incontinence claim that it is alleviated by anticholinesterase medication. Likewise, routine transurethral
resection of prostate tissue in myasthenic men often
leads to urinary incontinence. If, as is usually done,
the proximal sphincter is removed during the surgery, a weak external sphincter may not be able to
perform reflex contractions during cough or
strain."

Dusty

Thank you all for your messages - I will be bringing it up with my consultant
Anne Marie

This is just another proof that MG is not that easy to understand and treat disease.

But, looking at the positive side of this-Life is never boring when you have MG.

I do think that there must be bladder problems associated with MG and like Jantoo said i think that it is completely unrelated to Mestinon.

I dont experience this at all right now. I was diagnosed in november last year and it all started off with me going into crisis and being in hospital for nearly two months. I distinctly remember the two days before i went into hospital and everything happening (very quickly), that i just couldnt hold it when i needed to go, in work i was grand as i sit very close to the toilet and obviously at home it was okay too but the walk from work on both days resulted in small "accidents", it had never happened before and hasnt happened since but it has to be related in some way, i am 100% convinced. i think that it, and all my other symptoms, are now controlled by medication and so it just doesnt happen any more.

definitely something to look into.

should have said, I'm only 30.

I am also a fully paid up member of the Tena lady club. i had always thought it was down to being 52 and having had 5 children, but since i've been having IVIG which relieves all symptoms for a while I have noticed a pattern. it is also worse if I am 'coming down' with something. the more I think about it the more i think it's an MG thing.

As usual there doesn't seem to be a clear cut answer.

I'm only basing my reply on my experience. I obviously had MG before I was diagnosed and it was unrecognised, and I don't remember any bladder problems then at all. The bladder problems only started when I started taking Mestinon. I did mention it to the neurologist on my last visit but all I got was a blank look back ..... and I remember thinking .... 'you don't know either'

Hi crystalrainbow,

I regularly give that look to my neuro.

Carol x