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Urethra, Your Enemy?

In response to the ragtime thread, I thought I'd see if any other gentlemen on this board have had urethra complications... I think mine came up after I started doing a short commute (maybe four, five miles?) to work. After urinating, I would urinate a little more without consent. (This is called post-void dribbling) This continued for maybe two?three? years until about a year ago when I went to a urologist. And my mileage drastically increased in that time period as well. A pee test determined I probably had a problem when a little bit of tissue came out with my urine. A camera up my urethra confirmed it. I had an enflamed urethra! (and scar tissue) It was then scraped and the doctor said it was common for cyclists and I'd probably have to do this every year. So here I am, a year later, with post-void dribbling creeping up (or leaking up?) and me considering going back to the urologist. I was wondering if this has happened to anybody else? I'm also wondering if I should get one of those funny seats. I knew a cool guy (Seth?) who had one, but he moved to California.
sgtjonson
2013-02-06 19:01:12
That sounds miserable. I'm sorry you've had to go through that. I'm also amazed you've stuck to cycling. I've had some nerve irritation in my arms and some jock itch rash from cycling, but nothing terrible serious. I did quit running due to chronic foot paint, and I quit swimming for the nerve irritation. Back to the original topic: I use a VERY rigid saddle on all of my bikes. My sit bones are used to it now, but were perpetually bruised for a month or two while getting used to the saddles. With the rigid saddle, my bones take the load from my body instead of the soft tissue. I'd recommend going that route to anyone.
brybot
2013-02-06 19:22:10
Urethra... I can't quite place it. Greek Mythology?
headloss
2013-02-06 19:29:44
Eh, it's not usually that big of a deal. I Just have to make a concerted effort to shake it out before I'm finished. I agree with the harder saddle. I've recently switched back to my hybrid which has a slightly more squishy seat and it's been less comfortable than my rigid 20 year old Schwinn seat.
sgtjonson
2013-02-06 19:32:32
I do have issues, but to my knowledge, they aren't bike related. The problem started when I had a UTI and never really went away. I never even considered that my cycling might be contributing. I suppose I should go see a urologist... as I do have the post-void dribbling. Since the problem began before I got back into cycling, I can't blame my seat. I did have some pinched nerve issues for awhile but at Terry Liberator cleared that up.
headloss
2013-02-06 19:38:33
I haven't had any plumbing troubles to speak of from riding any of the bicycles. The unicycle, that's a different story. The nature of the saddle places all my weight on my perineum, not my sit bones, so after a couple of miles, once I get off, I feel like I'm walking like one of those iconic bow-legged cowpokes. Trying to urinate within, say, 15 minutes of a 2+ mile unicycle ride becomes unpleasant. That 16-mile unk ride on New Year's Day? I was already in pain by 5 miles. Those things are not made for long trips. I have had no medical issues, though. OTOH, I haven't seen a doctor for anything in years, so who knows what might be wrong up in there. The plumbing works without trouble; that's all that matters.
stuinmccandless
2013-02-06 20:11:14
I like the stiff ones too. (pause) I like the ones w/ big channels too.
rice-rocket
2013-02-06 20:12:00
I'm pretty sure there was "Godzilla vs. Urethra".
edmonds59
2013-02-06 21:11:17
I have the "Spongy Wonder" seat and like it for long rides. It might work well for you. I switched to a Brookes saddle on my normal bike because I didn't like giving up some power and control (I needed everything I had, and more, in the Dirty Dozen this year) which you do with the noseless seats. But definitely it was more comfortable on long rides so I'll bet it's easier on the urethra. http://www.spongywonder.com/
jonawebb
2013-02-06 21:20:50
@rice-rocket That Specialized Romin is what I use. As for Brookes saddles, I was tempted, but I read that they eventually mold to your sit bones and would then cause the same problem any other saddle would for soft tissues. I know they do make a cutout version, but its more of a cutout than a channel. @jonawebb, Do you ever feel like you are going to slip off the seat with that spongey wonder? I suspect I use the saddle nose more than I'm consciously aware of.
brybot
2013-02-06 21:31:08
before the snowey weather hit i was riding at least 10 miles a day and peeing blood i have biking shorts they have good pading. As soon as i switched back to running due to the snow my pee cleared up and went back to normal.
bear250220
2013-02-06 21:43:55
@brybot the seat is a bit slippy when I'm wearing smooth tights, but otherwise it's OK. You sit a little more firmly than with a normal seat.
jonawebb
2013-02-07 08:07:32
What about a saddle like this? Would that help?
gg
2013-02-07 09:42:37
That is the Spongy Wonder, in person.
jonawebb
2013-02-07 10:48:09
I Just have to make a concerted effort to shake it out before I’m finished. i hate when i have to shake it more than usual. i feel like someones going to think im just standing there playing with it :-\
melange396
2013-02-07 10:51:23
"No matter how much you jiggle and dance, the last few drops still stay in your pants" -- saw this in a restroom once. BTW, if you're peeing blood you'd better stop whatever it is that's making you do that.
jonawebb
2013-02-07 10:59:47
Pierce, or anyone else for that matter, try stopping the flow while it is still strong rather than letting every last drop out.
tetris_draftsman
2013-02-07 11:14:41
Bladder control must be a huge problem. The Adult incontinence products are usually adjacent to the fem hygiene stuff and in recent years the adult sections seem to have gotten HUGE!. I don't know if this is due to product development and marketing or if incontinence is on the rise, but to me it is very noticeable in the stores....for women, childbirth and aging are factors. Pelvic Floor Exercises for All! Pierce that sounds painful (the treatment) I hope you get 2nd opinions before more procedure. A lot of sitting is no good, whether in your SUV, office chair and perhaps bike. Its a lot of pressure to put on your tender vittles!
pseudacris
2013-02-07 12:54:20
I strongly dislike when i sit on my testicles.
pbeaver
2013-02-07 13:01:33
yeah, I would imagine that hurts, I meant the whole area is tender
pseudacris
2013-02-07 13:44:58
Well, that just about does it. This thread stopped working for me as an alternative to the rag-time thread. I really don't want to spend any time thinking about sitting on pbeaver's testicles.
jonawebb
2013-02-07 14:02:48
@Pseudacris It's not that bad of a treatment; it feels like peeing in reverse and they tell you to wiggle your toes to keep your mind off it. I also do pretty much nothing but sitting; sit at work, sit at home, sit a school, sit on bike, etc, etc @spongywonder I might consider that... that's what Seth had too @pbeaves Been fortunate enough with that lately; haven't had any cold contacts with the top bar this year either, but it hasn't really been that cold. The first malady is harder to avoid when mounting a unicycle
sgtjonson
2013-02-07 16:13:44
That spongy wonder seems a bit expensive and I can only find it in one store; where did you get yours jonaweb?
sgtjonson
2013-02-07 17:07:40
There are other noseless saddles too if you are thinking of going that route. I know Kordite who posts on here, uses something like one of these http://www.ismseat.com/ and has commented more than once how much he likes it.
marko82
2013-02-07 17:27:11
I peed blood daily for 3 weeks a few years ago- had my bladder inspected by camera and an MRI- no cause ever found. I was riding my normal 75 miles a week commuter and running maybe 50 a week up until the bleeding. It went away on its own.
helen-s
2013-02-07 17:42:49
I was gonna post a pic from South Park but I can't get it to work
stefb
2013-02-07 18:49:12
I ordered my Spongy Wonder from the web site. I didn't know they were available in stores.
jonawebb
2013-02-07 19:38:52
I love love love love my Easy-Seat. I've been riding these since about '96 when my Doctor suggested I try it after I injured a very important part of me. I've got this on two of my three bikes, on the touring bike (my most recent acquisition about six years ago) I took a walk on the wild side and got a Brooks triple-sprung. There is a loss of body-english but a total level-up in terms of comfort and issue avoidance.
vannever
2013-02-08 06:30:24
VAnnevar - where did you get those? I tried shopping for one a year or two ago. I couldn't find the "separate seat for each cheek" seats and the other nose saddled varied between sucking a lot and being painful after minutes (or even seconds) in the seat. I have a few of these - free to a good home!
mick
2013-02-08 12:18:02