Urine retention is when you cannot empty all the urine from your bladder. Urinary retention can be acute-a sudden inability to urinate, or chronic-a gradual inability to completely empty the bladder of urine. The symptoms of urinary retention can range from severe abdominal pain and the inability to urinate, to few or no symptoms at all. Urinary retention results from either a blockage that of urine, or your bladder not being able to maintain a strong enough force to expel all the urine. You can