[MooseHole (OP)]

I've heard that when the ambient temperature is cold, people tend to want to urinate because their bladders shrink.  Sometimes when I urinate, I shiver a little bit.  I think this is because my body has built up a response to my shrinking bladder.  That is, my body detects that my bladder has shrunken (because I'm urinating), so it reacts with a shiver because it thinks I'm getting cold.

Is this probably true, or does the urine just keep me warm before I urinate?

Kindest regards,
MooseHole

[chris]

A great observation - I too have experienced the urine-shiver phenomenon !

However, I don't think that it has anything to do with temperature.

Urination requires a complex co-ordinated interaction between 2 different parts of the nervous system - the voluntary part of the nervous system that you use to initiate urination (and defaecation) and the autonomic nervous system (the automatic arm of the nervous system that controls blood pressure, sweating, shivering (temperature regulation) and keeps you continent when you are asleep).

I suspect that when you switch off the part of the autonomic nervous system involved in keeping you continent (so that you can pass urine) there is a bit of accidental cross-talk to various other nerve groups, some of which are involved in shivering. Whether this occurs in the spinal cord or higher up in the brain (hypothalamus) I'm not sure.

Great question though.

Chris

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Ahh the "pee shiver".  One of the greatest parts of being male....  I've never heard any good theories as to what causes it, but I have a good feeling that yours might be right on (or at least close) chris.

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[Donnah]

So I suppose you men are going to blame lousy aim on "pee-shivers"![]  Women wouldn't care if you cleaned up your own mess.

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Actually, they do account for some of the bigger messes Donnah, but they don't happen all the time and they're usually after you're done, and to be honest we're just too lazy to clean up the other messes.  For that I'll appologize to the females of the world.
Not putting the toilet seat down on the other hand... I refuse to appologize for... I say, "why don't YOU put it UP when YOU'RE done??!!"
Sorry, minor rant.

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[Donnah]

Oh Justin you must have missed it but that topic has been covered in depth before.  Chris informed us that when the toilet is flushed minute particles spray the room like a sneeze.  I say keep the seat and the lid down to contain the spray and prevent things falling in the toilet.

I lift the seat and the lid for my sweetie if I know he's on next.  Why not?

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Awe, how sweet!   See.... i just need to find me a Donnah

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[MooseHole (OP)]

Well, shiver me urethra.  Thanks a lot!

[bezoar]

Do women get pee shivers too?  I've never had one.

[Donnah]

Never had shivers like that, but I get goose bumps if I have to go really bad (wonderful grammar).

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Just by the nature of what it feels like I can imagine getting one if I were "going" while sitting down.

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[bezoar]

Do women get pee shivers too?  I've never had one.

[Donnah]

Never had shivers like that, but I get goose bumps if I have to go really bad (wonderful grammar).

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Just by the nature of what it feels like I can imagine getting one if I were "going" while sitting down.

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[Karen W.]

Yes women do get them....both me and my daughter.. she more then me.. and both boys..and huband.

[Seany]

I've heard that when the ambient temperature is cold, people tend to want to urinate because their bladders shrink.  Sometimes when I urinate, I shiver a little bit.  I think this is because my body has built up a response to my shrinking bladder.  That is, my body detects that my bladder has shrunken (because I'm urinating), so it reacts with a shiver because it thinks I'm getting cold.

Is this probably true, or does the urine just keep me warm before I urinate?

Kindest regards,
MooseHole

Hey this is the exact question I was asking.. Except not with an expected-detailed-answer []

Thankyou for your post on this!