Urinary Symptoms of Neuropathy

Your bladder and urinary system are controlled by nerves that send signals to and from the brain. If you suffer from neuropathy with urinary symptoms, your nerves may fail to communicate properly between your brain and bladder, causing a variety of urinary problems.

At Advantage Spinal Dynamics & Innovative Medicine in Meridian, Idaho, we offer a number of treatment options for people suffering from neuropathy, including cases with urinary symptoms.

What is neuropathy?

Neuropathy is a general term that refers to damage that affects the nerves and can lead to loss of sensation, changes in sensation, or even pain.

Unlike normal pain where nerves communicate issues with other parts of your body, neuropathy is caused by issues with the nerves themselves. This means that the uncomfortable sensations and pain caused by neuropathy are redundant and not alerting you to any underlying injury.

Neuropathy can occur in almost any area of your body and lead to symptoms such as burning, stabbing or shooting pain, numbness and tingling, muscle weakness, and urinary problems.

What are urinary symptoms of neuropathy?

When neuropathy affects the bladder and urinary system, it can cause changes in your bladder function, leading to an overactive or underactive bladder.

Overactive bladder

Sometimes, damaged nerves send phantom signals that can make it feel like your bladder is full even if it isn’t. This is known as overactive bladder and can cause symptoms such as:

Frequent and small amounts of urination
Inability to fully empty bladder
Loss of bladder control
Urge incontinence, when the bladder leaks due to sudden urge to urinate

Underactive bladder

An underactive bladder refers to when nerves are unable to communicate when the bladder is full. It can cause symptoms such as:

Overflow incontinence, when a full bladder leaks
Urinary retention
Increased risk of infection

Disrupted urinary function can be uncomfortable, inconvenient, and even embarrassing, but it can also cause serious complications if untreated. These include excess stress on the bladder that leads to urinary tract infections, which can further lead to kidney damage or kidney failure.

What causes neuropathy?

Neuropathy can be caused by nerve injuries, medications, and chronic conditions such as thyroid problems, kidney failure, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Celiac disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

The most common cause of neuropathy, however, is diabetic neuropathy, which occurs when excess blood sugar damages the tiny blood vessels that feed your nerves.

If you have diabetes and are experiencing incontinence or other urinary problems, it’s important to speak with our office to find out whether it might be a sign of neuropathy.

Neuropathy treatment

Neuropathy itself can’t be reversed but there are ways to treat the symptoms:

Laser therapy

Laser therapy is a popular treatment for neuropathy because it’s thought to stimulate blood circulation around neuropathic areas. This, in turn, can improve the blood supply to damaged nerves, allowing them to repair and heal.

Thanks to low-intensity “cold” lasers, there’s minimal discomfort during your procedure.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections

Your blood contains platelets that help your body heal through special substances called growth factors. During a platelet-rich plasma procedure, your provider takes a sample of your blood, concentrates the platelets into a serum, and then injects it back into the neuropathic area.

Regenerative medicine

Regenerative medicine uses mesenchymal stem cells from donor cord tissue that, when injected, can transform into new, specialized cells based on your body’s needs.

If you’re suffering from urinary problems or other signs of neuropathy, we can help. Call us at 208-225-4358 or book your appointment online today.