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Getting ready for urodynamic testing: why, getting ready, the tests, and after
For anyone sent for urodynamic tests because of leaks, rushing to the bathroom, trouble peeing, or a bladder that won’t empty. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says urodynamic testing is any procedure that looks at how well the bladder, sphincters, and urethra store and release urine. This page passes on, by name, what NIDDK says: why the tests are done; how to get ready (fluids, medicines, a full bladder); how each test works, from uroflowmetry and the cystometric test to electromyography and video tests; and the first hours after, the results, the risks, and when to call right away. It builds the words to say and the questions to ask, and prints a card for the fridge.
Right now
- Trouble breathing, chest pain, or fainting? Call 911 (ours).
- After urodynamic tests: pain, chills, or a fever? NIDDK says these can be signs of infection: call your health care professional immediately. If you cannot pee at all and your bladder feels full, and you cannot reach your team, go to the emergency room (ours).
- Told to stop a medicine before the test, and not sure which or when? Ask whoever ordered the test and the doctor who prescribed it. Do not stop or change a prescribed medicine on your own (ours).
- It is all too much, or you are thinking of ending your life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- The kidneys and bladder, on this site: Bladder leaks · Bladder infection (UTI) · Enlarged prostate · Interstitial cystitis · Getting ready for a cystoscopy or ureteroscopy · Kidneys, bladder and urine: find the right page.
- Getting ready: Symptom diary · My medicines list · Get ready for your appointment · Rides to care.
- Care and costs: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · Medical bills.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Kidneys, bladder or urine, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for bladder infections, kidney stones, blood in the urine, bladder pain, bladder leaks, the prostate, kidney disease and bedwetting, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 17, 2026 on NIDDK’s Urodynamic Testing page (NIH) and its Spanish version, both last reviewed in September 2021 and saying the same things; the cards also point to NIDDK’s Bladder Control Problems (Urinary Incontinence), Urinary Retention and Bladder Infection (UTI) in Adults pages. The numbers (100–150 milliliters or more left in the bladder; discomfort for a few hours; an 8-ounce glass of water every half-hour for 2 hours; some results in a few days) are NIDDK’s. Ours: 911 for trouble breathing, chest pain, or fainting; the emergency room if you cannot pee at all and cannot reach your team; never stopping or changing a medicine on your own, and asking the doctor who prescribed it too; asking which tests and which use a catheter; asking how full to arrive and planning the trip; mentioning a pregnancy or a past problem with a numbing medicine or an x-ray dye; that leaking during the test is part of what is measured; noting your leaks before the visit; asking who gives the results; the card; 988 when it is too much; health centers when money is tight; and the order of the steps. What we left out: medicine names, doses, and clinical pages for providers. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.