Learn Spanish (Latin America): Me duele la vejiga; llevo mucho tiempo sin usar un baño. - My bladder hurts; I haven't used a restroom in a long time.

This sentence uses the structure llevar + [time expression] + sin + [infinitive]. It is the standard Spanish way to express how long it has been since you last did something. While it literally translates to "I carry a long time without using," English naturally expresses this as "I haven't used [it] in a long time."

The English translation says "without using." Why isn't it sin usando?

In Spanish, whenever a verb immediately follows a preposition like sin, de, para, or por, it must always be in the infinitive form (usar). Spanish never uses the gerund (the -ando or -iendo form) immediately after a preposition, even though English uses its "-ing" form.

Why does the sentence use la vejiga (the bladder) instead of mi vejiga (my bladder)?

In Spanish, you almost always use definite articles (el, la, los, las) instead of possessive adjectives (mi, tu, etc.) when talking about body parts or clothing. The pronoun Me at the beginning of the sentence already makes it perfectly clear whose bladder is hurting!

Why is the verb duele conjugated in the third person if "I" am the one feeling the pain?