"You urinated 1200ml this time (two bottles of mineral water bottles)!"
After 6 hours of holding back urine, accompanied by a feeling of relief of emptying, I was still pregnant and experienced the longest and most enjoyable urination in my life.
He was discharged from the hospital three times in 24 hours, from the insertion of the catheter and the installation of an "artificial bladder" to the manual adjustment of the uterus position by the doctor.
My "urination" thrilling accident is really more exciting than riding a roller coaster...
10 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds... Exactly three minutes passed, sitting on the toilet waiting for the "flood" I did not pee a drop out!
For the first time in my life, I experienced what it was like to be "lonely to pee".
Almost 8 weeks ago, I was the same way, counting 10 seconds, 30 seconds in the toilet....... Wait until the two horizontal bars on the pregnancy test stick appear.
In fact, the process of pregnancy is quite smooth.
At the end of 2019, I have been studying in Europe and finally graduated with a doctorate. It also announces that my husband and I who work in Canada will usher in a historic moment of reunion after four years of exotic love.
So, after dealing with various matters, I quickly flew to Canada to find my husband.
Unexpectedly, just after the reunion, the new crown epidemic began to wreak havoc around the world.
Fortunately, my husband and I both had stable jobs, working from home at that time, relatively free and relaxed, and in the year of establishment, we felt that this was the perfect time - don't have a baby, when are you waiting?
In the second month of active pregnancy, I successfully conceived the baby.
In the first trimester of pregnancy, I can simply be described as "all the way to the green light": in addition to easy to feel tired and drowsy, there is no vomiting and anorexia these obvious pregnancy reactions, eating and drinking everything is normal, regular pregnancy tests also indicate that everything is going well.
In mid-September 2020, I entered the 13th week of pregnancy, which is also the "most comfortable" second trimester in the legend.
At this time, we continued to share the good news of pregnancy with friends and colleagues, and also made an appointment with friends to plan the next hike in the mountains.
Because of my pregnancy, this time I specifically reduced the difficulty and intensity of the exercise (you know, as a hiking enthusiast for many years, conquering all kinds of mountains of medium intensity and difficulty has always been my source of happiness).
It was also during this week that I started to feel a little uncomfortable urinating.
It was a two-hour video conference, and I obviously felt a stomach full of urine, and the first time I rushed into the toilet to prepare for "a thousand miles".
According to my previous experience, the urine flow at this time should be good, and it should be naturally discharged without too much force. But at that time, the traffic was pitifully small, and it was accompanied by a feeling of "squeezing out" for a while.
I tried to twist my body to change positions, and it took a few minutes before I felt the urinary drain was smooth.
At the time, I didn't trust it at all. Who knew that within a few days, a bigger urination "bug" would appear...
On Saturday, I sent a WeChat message to my friend at home to discuss the next day's climbing route.
At about four o'clock in the afternoon, I was a little peeing, and I quickly got up to go to the toilet, but I didn't expect it: I got stuck.
No matter how I move my body, I just can't pee! Not a drop!
So, is it that I haven't saved enough urine? I went back to the living room and drank some water, and an hour or two passed, but it was still "only thunder, no rain."
After this back-and-forth, I began to feel a little overwhelmed.
So I quickly told my husband that I also had a phone call with my mother, who was an internist in China.
Mom thought maybe I was too nervous and told me to relax, go out for a walk or take a hot shower.
I did all this, and I thought I wasn't nervous at all, but it still didn't help.
I was a little flustered!
At that time, I didn't know if this had anything to do with pregnancy.
After much hesitation, I still had the mentality of trying it out and called my midwife.
(Author's Note: Midwives are a group of obstetrically trained occupational health care providers who can serve low-risk pregnant women one-on-one according to local policies in Canada)
After asking how much water I had drunk that day, the midwife felt that I did not drink enough water and suggested that I drink more.
I was obedient and obedient, but after a few sips of water, people were even more uncomfortable, and I couldn't drink a mouthful of water.
In this way, by about 9 p.m., my stomach was bulging like I was five or six months pregnant.
And, because it was so uncomfortable, my tears couldn't stop falling.
I could only call the midwife again, who happened to be in the hospital to deliver another mum and let us go right away.
When I got to the obstetrics and gynecology department, the nurse came and measured my blood pressure and fetal heart rate, and after making sure it was normal, she asked me to wait for the midwife and the doctor on the bed in the observation room.
People who have held back urine should understand that in such a "thousand guns" moment, waiting for it is in seconds, and a few minutes is also particularly difficult!
It seems to me that after almost a long century, the midwife has finally come to me. Before she could say hello, she noticed my unusually large belly.
The nurse on the side quickly brought a small ultrasound instrument over, and after detection, my bladder was indeed full.
The human bladder is an elastic organ that can stretch and contract, and as the urine that I can't excrete accumulates more and more, it continues to accumulate, so it is stretched out to the point where it can hardly be expanded.
What can be done? In order to alleviate my "urgent need", I only had to go on artificial catheterization!
Before starting, the midwife also reassured me that catheterization is a common procedure in hospitals and does not hurt very much.
I was full of thoughts like, "Hurry up and open the floodgates for me", and I didn't care if it hurt or not.
The principle of artificial catheterization is not complicated, that is, a thin tube is inserted into the urethra and waits for the urine to drain from the catheter.
As the urine of the catheter began to flow out, I felt the pressure in my stomach release at once, and the "giant belly" slowly began to shrink as the urine flowed out, and the discomfort of holding urine was also alleviated a lot.
A large number of cups filled with one and then replaced with a second, full of 1200ml!
In other words, I had two large bottles of mineral water in my bladder! It really hurts my bladder!
The midwife was also surprised after the operation, and she smiled at the relieved me and said: This must be the most satisfying urine you have ever had in your life!
At this time, it was past 10 o'clock in the evening, and I usually had to go to the toilet almost every hour or two, but I actually held back for 6 hours.
The bladder is not big, and it is clear to hold the urine once.
But what has not yet been fully understood is: why, on earth, I suddenly can't pee out?
The midwife said my urine was clear and not like a urinary tract infection. However, she took a sample and sent it for testing.
After urinating, I acted like no one else, lying on the bed while brushing my phone while waiting for the result. Not long after, the midwife came with a beautiful young female doctor.
After asking me about my condition and making sure the test results were not infected, the doctor deduced that the culprit was that my uterus pressed against the bladder opening, blocking the urethra.
She told me that this can happen in pregnant women with posterior uterus leaning (about a quarter of women are retroverted uterus), and the probability of it happening is low but typical.
My midwife has nearly 30 years of experience delivering thousands of babies, and this is the first time she's encountered it.
I also wondered, the previous pregnancy test has always been indicative of normal, is it my usual exercise caused?
When I asked the doctor if it was caused by my climbing exercise after I became 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 examination and an ultrasound to confirm her inference.
The solution is to manually adjust the position of the uterus, as in the same way as the internal examination, lie down, open your legs, and the doctor will push hard from below to reset.
At the advice of a doctor, I inhaled laughing gas (Editor's Note: a gas that reduces pain, has an anesthetic effect, and is strictly regulated in China) while breathing deeply to relieve the pain and discomfort caused by the manual reduction of the backward leaning uterus.
I don't know whether it was the credit of laughter or the warm spiritual support of my husband, midwife and nurses at that time, but I felt that the pain was within the tolerable range.
However, this strong thrust also made me believe that the intensity of my movement should not change the position of the uterus.
After a few minutes, the doctor suggested that I drink some water after a period of yoga baby posture and try peeing.
Sitting on the toilet again, although it was still a little painful, it finally worked!
When I got home, it was already three o'clock in the morning, and I quickly sent a message to my friend to cancel the climbing plan after a few hours.
Lying in bed with her husband and savoring this strange experience of this night, they all thought that this was a "small episode" on the way to pregnancy. We didn't expect it at the time, it was far from over...
The next day, about 7 a.m., I got up and went to the bathroom in a daze.
After waiting for ten seconds, before the urine came out, my heart tightened: broken, this is "blocked" again!
Because of my previous experience, my husband and I discussed observing for a few hours first, and in order not to make myself so uncomfortable, I controlled the amount of water I drank in the morning.
After all these efforts were made, they were still fruitless, and I ran to the hospital with my husband again.
By the time we arrived at the hospital, it was already noon, and the doctors and nurses in the obstetrics and gynecology department had changed shifts. This time it was a male doctor, and I couldn't be embarrassed to do it, so I cooperated with him to catheterize me and make manual adjustments.
The male doctor's hands were so strong that I felt like all my internal organs were about to be pushed out.
After the adjustment, the male doctor said that although he made adjustments again, it was still possible to go back (my stubborn baby cow in my belly).
Therefore, I have to install a uterine tray to support the uterus and prevent it from pressing the bladder opening again, but this needs to be installed by the pelvic floor doctor the next day.
At the same time, he inserted a catheter and a urinary bag tied to my thigh, also known as an "artificial bladder", so that I could avoid emergency catheterization in the hospital.
It turned out to be a coincidence, and I went home with a heartburn (probably caused by the male doctor's overexertion during the reduction), which was the third time I was admitted to the hospital within 24 hours.
Fortunately, taking some medicine at that time quickly relieved.
I can't say it! A woman who was 13 weeks pregnant, did not vomit, did not get sick and cold, but was tormented by a pee problem and ran before and after.
Thus began the journey to the Pelvic Floor. (Editor's note: You read that the "Pelvic Floor Department" is also a department of the hospital, which is mainly used to prevent and treat pelvic floor dysfunction diseases.) At present, some hospitals in China also offer this specialty. ）
At noon on Monday, my husband and I went to the pelvic floor department of the hospital as promised.
A tall and big suit and leather shoes pushed the door in, and he also heard about my three-day entrance to the obstetrics and gynecology department, and quipped that it was a "special experience."
Later, he used the pelvic floor muscle diagram hanging on the wall to explain to us the reason for my sudden situation, that is, the process of pressing the backward uterus to the bladder opening.
He also repeatedly stressed to me: all this is just a coincidence, I do not have diseases such as uterine prolapse.
He told me that when the baby is older and the uterus moves from the pelvis to the abdomen, there will be no problem. But "out of the pot" needs to wait for days or even weeks.
How to get through this time, he gave me two options: continue to insert a catheter or install a uterine rest.
Option one is inconvenient and at risk of infection; option two can return to normal life, but may require several attempts to install a suitable pessary.
I did not hesitate to choose the second option, thinking that if it was a big deal, I would try it a few more times, as long as I didn't insert the catheter anyway.
That's it, "womb support" on the battlefield!
My uterine support looks like this
▼
(Source: Courtesy of the author)
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 the size and position of the placement is appropriate, it is generally not felt that it is present, so you may need to try multiple sizes to ensure that it is suitable for you.
Before I started, the doctor also said that putting on a uterus was not very painful like doing a papilling, but when I actually put it in, I still hurt to tears.
But this sin is worth it, after loading it, I really pee out, and it is a smooth urination!
Two days later, after debugging, I had to change to a larger uterine trust, and then went through a catheter insertion again, and after the transition, I finally gradually adapted to each other with the uterine trust.
Those few days were also my most torturous days.
Because you need to insert a catheter continuously, you have to repeatedly experience the pain of installing a uterine support, and most importantly: I don't know if the uterine support I installed is the right size, and whether this painful process needs to be done again...
Even, after putting on a suitable pediment, I experienced a "pee out" situation.
According to the nurse, this situation may be because when it was first worn, some swelling of some organs in the pelvic floor, and after a period of time, and the uterine tray "run-in" well, urination will be smooth.
Fortunately, the uterine tray finally helped me solve the "urination bug"!
For more than a month since then, I have not felt any discomfort with the uterine rest I wear.
However, I still have palpitations for holding urine and inserting the urinary catheter, and I have avoided a large amount of exercise for a period of time, for fear that the uterine rest will fall out again. Life is finally back to normal, and urination has been smooth.
At 18 weeks of pregnancy, with a bulging belly, my husband and I braved the snow of early winter to come to the pelvic floor department to get a uterine rest as promised.
The young female doctor was also very careful, removed the uterine tray for me, washed it and handed it to me, and said:
It can be used if needed in the next pregnancy.
I laughed and said:
If I get pregnant again, I sincerely hope it won't be used.
postscript
After I removed the pessary, I recovered as before and was able to urinate smoothly without any assistance.
Since then, my pregnancy has been going well. When he left the obstetrics and gynecology department of the hospital, the male doctor joked that "it is only three."
We went to the obstetrics and gynecology department three times that weekend, but the next time we came, it was indeed the time to have a baby.
When I was giving birth, I had a head-on confrontation with the "catheter" because of a little episode.
At that time, the midwife who accompanied me throughout the birth summed up a sentence for me: The catheter is really the theme that runs through my entire pregnancy!
My mother knew about it and joked: The baby cow won't let me pee, and when she is born, she will spank her ass twice!
Now, I hold the little cute every day, where am I willing to fight?
Doctor reviews
The phenomenon encountered by the lady in the article is called "urinary retention", which is indeed rare in pregnant women who have just entered the second trimester of pregnancy.
Before 12 weeks of gestation, the uterus is located in the true pelvis; it does not gradually enlarge the pelvic cavity until more than 12 weeks, manifesting as the base of the uterus can be touched above the pubic symphysis.
This process will generally be manifested as frequent urination, especially the process of gradually enlarging the uterus has pressure on the bladder, the bladder volume is relatively reduced, the frequency of urination will increase, and many pregnant women also have the experience of "frequent urination" at this stage of pregnancy.
When the uterus comes out of the pelvic cavity, but no longer compresses the bladder, the urine is normal.
This process is a natural process during pregnancy, if you are healthy and there is no disease such as ovarian cyst, you basically do not have to worry about the uterus pressing on other organs of the body, or what is bad for the mother or baby.
In the pregnant women in this article, due to the location of the uterus, the enlarged uterus does not compress the bladder body, but compresses the bladder neck, that is, the junction of the bladder and the urethra.
In this way, the urine contained in the bladder cannot be discharged through the oppressive urethra, and it becomes urinary retention.
Fortunately, the local doctor treats it in time, first improves the rapid expansion of the bladder through catheterization, protects the bladder function, otherwise there is a risk of spontaneous bladder rupture; follow-up through the treatment of uterine rest, supporting the bladder neck, pregnant women can urinate normally.
It can be seen that the local doctor is still very experienced.
Through this case, I also hope that the majority of pregnant women and friends know that if you feel that you are very uncomfortable during pregnancy, do not tolerate it, whether it is related to pregnancy or not, it is best to go to the hospital as soon as possible.
Don't worry, don't be shy, the doctor will help you with professional treatment.
Content production