Medications that cause urine retention

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Specializes in MedSurge/Tele/Observation.

Could someone please help me figure this out, bc I searched all over and can't find the physio-mechanics

Why/how do beta blockers (as well as some antihypertensive drugs) cause urine retention?

as far as i am concerned, beta blockers act on the kidneys to decrease the production of renin, thus angiotensinogen is unable to ultimately be converted to angiotensin II. As we know, Angiontensin II acts on the adrenal gland releasing vasopresin, thus increasing H2O/NaCl retention in the kidneys. but if no vasopresin, then why the urine retention?

Thank you.

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You should definitely check your drug guide again, because beta blockers do not work on the kidneys or angiotensin I/II

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Specializes in MedSurge/Tele/Observation.
You should definitely check your drug guide again, because beta blockers do not work on the kidneys or angiotensin I/II

OMg your are so right, my brain is fried, i was thinking of ACE inhibitors, but sratch that.

The betablockers work on the myocardium, but why do they cause urine retention?

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Specializes in MedSurge/Tele/Observation.

you know i think i am thinking way too hard, i have a feeling this has to do with the innervation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic in the smooth muscle of the bladder as a result of the beta blocker.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
you know i think i am thinking way too hard, i have a feeling this has to do with the innervation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic in the smooth muscle of the bladder as a result of the beta blocker.

If I remember correctly (was 3 semesters ago) you are starting to get on the right line of thinking with this post.

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Specializes in MedSurge/Tele/Observation.

Gracias Mi Vida Loca,

Te agradesco tu apollo. :)

I am not in nursing school, this was just a question a friend asked and I was trying to help her out. I was right about there being beta 1 receptors on the kidneys that help with the secretion of renin. lol

Anyhow, lol, also found out that the detrusor muscle of the bladder has beta 2 receptors that relax the bladder and allow the bladder to fill up. Just how the beta blocker causes the opposite and thus urine retention still not 100% sure. I guess if the bladder can't relax it might not be able to fill up with urine. lol...anyhow, i've dropped the topic, she's just going to ask her teacher tomorrow. :)

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Beta blockers don't cause urine retention. Where are you getting that information from? Anything that works on the parasympathetic system (or blocks the SNS) lets everything rest and digest. That means the detrusor muscle is able to contract (patient is able to urinate).

The SNS causes the detrusor to relax but the sphincters to contract, thus allowing the bladder to fill up and not empty (urinary retention).

Hope this helps!

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Specializes in MedSurge/Tele/Observation.
Beta blockers don't cause urine retention. Where are you getting that information from? Anything that works on the parasympathetic system (or blocks the SNS) lets everything rest and digest. That means the detrusor muscle is able to contract (patient is able to urinate).

The SNS causes the detrusor to relax but the sphincters to contract, thus allowing the bladder to fill up and not empty (urinary retention).

Hope this helps!

The information about beta blockers causing urine retention came straight from the instructors on a powerpoint slide. lol...the slide states that beta blockers, antihypertensive drugs, antihistamines, and anticholinergics are medications that cause urine retention. So, I'm thinking huh? lol I didn't understand my friend asking me this question so i asked her to send me her lecture and sure enough that is what it says.

so i'll see what her instructor tells her tomorrow hehehe

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Please let me know what the instructor says...I'm curious.

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Specializes in MedSurge/Tele/Observation.
Please let me know what the instructor says...I'm curious.

Hehehehe me too, and yes i'll let you know :)

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Beta blockers don't cause urine retention. Where are you getting that information from? Anything that works on the parasympathetic system (or blocks the SNS) lets everything rest and digest. That means the detrusor muscle is able to contract (patient is able to urinate).

The SNS causes the detrusor to relax but the sphincters to contract, thus allowing the bladder to fill up and not empty (urinary retention).

Hope this helps!

I am trying to think back to where all the receptors are, it's been ages it seems, I just remember having Beta 2 on the bladder. I am not looking forward on having to brush up on all of that for NCLEX, I have no idea how I got a 99.99 on the Pharm Hesi lol

To the OP I would go with what she is saying over anything I said, I wasn't good with pharm, I just remembered that stuff like that would be from the receptors and SNS or PNS. That is what I meant when I said you were starting to think along the right lines.

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It is true that Beta blockers and some antihypertensives can cause urinary retention.

A part of the urethral sphincter is relaxed by Beta stimulation

When the beta stimulation to this part of the urethral sphincter is blocked, the alpha mediated urethral construction is unopposed.

This is what causes the urinary retention of antihypertensives (beta blockers)

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