hey Laurie, it can be caused by a variety of things-pressure on the sacral nerve as Michelle referred to, menopause or perimenopause, MS damage to the aforementioned sacral nerve or 2 or more of those.

The Brain and spine l Cord both
Have effects on the bladder and
Bowel in MS.........
Blessings ❤️ 🙌 ❤️

MRI can determine if cause is spinal lesions or spinal stenosis. It can be both and brain. There are several issues. May not be simple or just one.

My experience is more of a signal processing error: but the time I realize I need to go to the bathroom, it's too late. To combat this for myself, I changed my life habits and added two things: 1. five daily planned bathroom breaks (first up, mid-morning, after lunch, after dinner, before sleep) 2. Always wear a pair of adult depends (but changes to both my diet and the planned bathroom visits have almost eliminated them getting mixed mixed of too late signals from my body.

LaurieLemoine. Some is from brain but spinal stenosis in lumbar spine was my primary cause of bowel and bladder issues. With stenosis at 50 my doctos diagnosed DDD and did a lumbar fusion. Terrific. I no longer need a catheter. I am 74.
What does your orthropedist suggest?