The Phantom of the Pee

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Most of us are familiar with ‘The Phantom of the Opera’; a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

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I bet you are not familiar with ‘The Phantom of the Pee’; not a musical with no music.

Merriam-Webster has the following definition for ‘phantom’ –

1

a :  something apparent to sense but with no substantial existence :  apparition

b :  something elusive or visionary

c :  an object of continual dread or abhorrence the phantom of disease and want

2

:  something existing in appearance only

3

:  a representation of something abstract, ideal, or incorporeal

she was a phantom of delight — William Wordsworth

Google ‘Phantom’ and first on the list of results is ‘DJI Phantom Drone’, with the following descriptions –

The Phantom is a series of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Chinese technology company DJI. It is widely regarded as the company’s flagship UAV line, as it is the most widely used and known product DJI has released currently.

Google ‘Phantom Pain’ and first on the list or results is the following –

Phantom pain is pain that feels like it’s coming from a body part that’s no longer there. Doctors once believed this post-amputation phenomenon was a psychological problem, but experts now recognize that these real sensations originate in the spinal cord and brain.

I current do not experience phantom pain, but I do experience phantom pee.  Have you heard of phantom pee?

Phantom pee is a real thing, very strange real thing and I do experience it on a regular basis.  I mentioned this to my Urologist Dr. P. and yes, this is a real thing.

As you know my surgery in January removed my bladder and prostate and other male related organs.  My urine is now removed from my body via a stoma into a urostomy bag on the outside of my body.  I no longer have control of my urination.

But I still have the feeling of needing to pee, but I can’t.

Anyway, very strange feeling when you have ‘that urge’ and you no longer can ‘relieve’ yourself.

So, although ‘The Phantom of the Pee’ is not a musical with no music, it is a real occurrence.

40 thoughts on “The Phantom of the Pee”

    • Sarah, it is common – since I still have a urethra, it sends signals to my brain even though I no longer have a bladder. I am use to it now, but it was a strange feeling at first. Hope you are having a great day. 🙂

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  4. That sounds very uncomfortable and irritating, but in a way, it also makes sense. The need to pee is such a major thing, in German we have a saying: “A kingdom for a loo/toilet”! When you need to and there´s nothing suitable where you can relieve yourself (of course, this affects women more than men, who are always happy to water the next tree 😉 ). I hope it will lessen with time as your body gets used to the new situation!

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  8. That is soooo not cool …like a silent phantom of the opera playing within your body and there is NOTHING you can do about it. Frustrating Frustrating Frustrating !!!
    I have said before you are dealing with all of this like a champ. You are one in a million. 🙂

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    • LOL, no pee dance here Kathryn. It is when I have the feeling of needing to go, there is nothing I can do about it. I don’t really think about it anymore, I just let it do its thing and move on. Happy Wednesday! 🙂

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  11. Oh dear, that must be very frustrating or even annoying. I hope it lessens over time like phantom pain does. The unpleasant things that they perhaps forget to mention ahead of time eh? Amanda

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    • Steph, it was very strange at first, because there is nothing I can do in response to it. The more it occurred, the more I just become use to it and so it does not really bother me. The brain is doing its job! 🙂

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  17. I have worked with many amputees and have scratched many a leg that wasn’t there….just the action of rubbing or scratching seemed to help sooth there need….I have had phantom tooth aches where no teeth are….crazy ass feeling….a couple of Tylenol for me and the pain mentally goes away….glad your able to live and cope with the feeling…I had never heard of that but it only makes sense…..xxkat great song!!

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