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I am 30 yrs old and I have BBS quite badly. I have had it since I was a young teenager. I am fine at home, even if I have people round. But at work I find it hard if I'm not alone and in public I cannot go at all. As a result, I have never been on holiday, avoid relationships, and most other social activities. I also enjoy angling, but usually there are no toilets on a lake.
I have also suffered with migraines daily for about 10 years that are start in the left half of my head and travel all the way down my left side to my foot. They come and go all the time, but one of the main triggers is when I can't pee. If I lock up and cannot go, I can feel it hurting in my head and the headache comes on. I especially get it when I'm under pressure.
I have been seeing my G.P. for a few years and have tried many different types of medication with no help.
Any thoughts? Thanks.
P.S. what are your thought on Visualisation as a way to reduce the phobia?
I have read many posts on this forum and have yet to come accorss anyone else relating bashful bladder to migraines/head aches. Do your migraines ever start with out any reason? Or is it only when you're under pressure/stressed?
Personally, I would say the reason you get migraines when ou cant pee is because you get stressed. If I get stressed in general, I can get head aches. When I cant go and really need to I too get stressed/agitated etc.
Out of interest, has your doctor ever subscribed you to any form of medication for reducing anxeity?
Someone else may have a better idea of whats going on so dont take anything iv said too seriously.
The migraines can start anytime and without any reason, but anxiety, stress and pressure are usually definitive triggers.
Your probably correct in that is the stress of not going that triggers them, but sometimes it feels like I was wired up wrong in the head :-)
The only thing that my doctor has prescribed for anything close to anxiety are anti-depressants - which did not help with either problem. All other medicine had been for migraines.
Unfortunately I know almost nothing abut migraine, but it does seem that stress can be a contributory factor. And as you say, the stress of not being able to pee, and having to deal with the consequences, seems to trigger an attack.
The impact of your paruresis is very severe on your social life, and that also will contribute to the stress.
I have little experience of visualisation; in the hands of a skilled practitioner, it certainly can help with anxiety triggering situations. But the concensus is that progress requires gradual exposure as well.
Which brings me to our workshops. No doubt you have read the feedback from those who have attended one. That would be a way forward for you; it would enable you to have more of a life, and reduce the incidence of migraine. Feel free to get in touch by email if you want to discuss it further.