Urinary Retention

Urinary retention is a condition where your bladder doesn’t empty all the way or at all when you urinate. Urinary retention can be acute (sudden) or chronic (long-term). Acute means that it comes on quickly and it could be severe. Chronic urinary retention means that you’ve had the condition for a longer period of time.

The acute form of urinary retention is an emergency. In this case, you’ll need to see a healthcare provider right away. The chronic form happens most of the time in older men, but it can also occur in women.

Urinary retention can often be treated with medication, behavior modification and changes in diet. If these treatments do not work or cannot be used, a sacral nerve stimulation treatment with InterStim is available.