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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32 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Your bladder wall contains nerve endings which are sensitive to a number of things, and a few things can go wrong with them as well. Assuming it’s not neurological (like overactive bladder, very unlikely), it’s probably based on what you drink. Some things, when filtered by the kidney and passing into the bladder, are bladder wall irritants. Your brain can’t differentiate between the signals from the bladder stating “I’m full to bursting” from “I’m really irritated by the (ph/caffeine/alcohol/specific gravity/bladder stones/bacteria/whatever)”. Both are perceived as the need to pee.

Try drinking more water. You don’t need to drink that much, but make a conscious effort to drink more than you do and that should help. Water is very easy on the bladder and a good diluent of irritating things.

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