eli5: Why does the serious urge to pee not correlate with the amount that comes out

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So sometimes when the urge to pee is really bad it’s bordering on painful, like after a long sleep or car drive, not that much comes out. But then other times when I’m just chilling at home and go for a pee with no urgency I pee like Seabiscuit. What gives? What causes you to need to pee so badly it hurts cuz it doesn’t seem like it’s a volume thing?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

This sounds like some early stage BPH if you ask me. Sounds like you have urinary retention and the sheer volume of pee in the bladder when you hold it for a long time causes pressure on the enlarged prostate and in response it is contracting (like a muscle) and squeezing your urethra trapping all the urine inside the bladder, which is why you only get a lil sprinkle after holding for a long time (this prostate contraction normally occurs during sex and is why men don’t pee when we ejaculate, the prostate shuts the bladder off from the urethra, but it shouldn’t be shutting it off while peeing unless it is oversized). This is also probably why you pee a river amount when your just chilling and randomly go toilet, because your prostate is relaxed and let’s all of the urine saved up from the last unsuccessful toilet break finally come out.

Probs should ask if you’re a bloke coz this wouldn’t apply if you were a female. Either way urinary retention and urgency are never a good combination and it is not normal (despite all these people talking about “nerve irritation”) and you should probs go see your PCP and they might refer u to a urologist. Goodluck OP

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