Hi,
I'm really struggling with several issues that I feel too ashamed to talk about to anyone in real life especially since I've probably caused the problems through my own bad habits.
Basically, I've never been someone who peed a lot – as a teen i would hold it in all day at school due to social anxiety. So i got into a habit of going once in the morning, once early evening and then again before bed. And it didnt really seem to cause me any major issues. Then in my early 20s I developed chronic recurring UTIs which was definitely triggered by sex. As a result I started to fear going to the toilet more and more.
Even though it's been years now since I've had major uti issues, for some reason recently I've got into really bad habits of holding pee for extreme lengths of time eg 15+ hours..I know this is really bad and I've got stuck in a terrible cycle of pain and fear.
Anyway, I'm now struggling with bladder cramps and pain but also bowel stuff like having crazy urgency to poop especially when bladder is really full or after just relieving bladder. I do also have ulcerative colitis but I don't think it's that since my stool is normal and I have no other signs of that currently and it has been happening since I've been withholding pee.
I just wondered if anyone else has experienced bowel related issues or knows if that can be connected or if its unlikely. I'm worried ive messed up my pelvic floor muscles. Does anyone have any advice? Please be kind I'm really struggling with this