Overactive bladder is a collection of symptoms that may affect how often you pee and your urgency. Causes include abdominal trauma, infection, nerve damage, medications and certain fluids. Treatment includes changing certain behaviors, medications and nerve stimulation.
Get regular, daily physical activity and exercise. Limit caffeine and alcohol. Quit smoking. Manage chronic conditions, such as diabetes, that might contribute to overactive bladder symptoms.
Signs and Symptoms of Overactive Bladder
Difficulty holding in urine. Frequent urination (often eight times or more within 24 hours) Unintentional loss of urine with urgent need to urinate (urgency incontinence) Waking up more than once or twice at night to urinate (nocturia)
Treatment for Overactive Bladder
Our urologists treat patients with OAB with combinations of behavioral therapy, medication, and in severe cases, a therapy called Interstim, to treat overactive bladder. Another option is the injection of Botox into the bladder to relax and paralyze the overactive muscle.
Red-flag symptoms/signs
Urethral/bladder pain. Recurrent urinary tract infection. Difficulty with bladder emptying. Constant leak suspicious for a urogenital fistula.
What's normal and how many times is too frequent to urinate? Most people pee about seven to eight times per day, on average. If you feel the need to pee much more than that, or if you're getting up every hour or 30 minutes to go, you might be frequently urinating.
Because the bladder can only hold so much fluid volume, increasing water intake will increase the frequency of urination, and may make people with an overactive bladder more likely to leak. If you have overactive bladder (OAB), more fluid intake typically equals more trips to the bathroom.
Water is the best drink of choice to keep your bladder pain under control. It will also provide other benefits such as healthy skin, increased energy, reduced toxin levels, and a boosted metabolism. You'll want to stay away from acidic, caffeinated, or alcoholic beverages such as fruit juice, coffee, beer, and soda.
What foods calm the bladder? The American Urological Association also recognizes some foods as potentially having a calming effect on sensitive bladders. These foods include pears, bananas, green beans, squash, potatoes, lean proteins, whole grains, nuts, bread, and eggs.
Overactive bladder is a common problem among older adults, affecting up to 40% of men and 30% of women ages 75 years and older.
Overactive bladder affects performance of daily activities and social function such as work, traveling, physical exercise, sleep and sexual function. If this condition is left untreated, it leads to impaired quality of life accompanied by emotional distress and depression.
A study done on vitamin c intake in 2060 women, aged 30-79 years of age found that high-dose intake of vitamin c and calcium were positively associated with urinary storage or incontinence, whereas vitamin C from foods and beverages were associated with decreased urinary urgency.
Bananas, apples, grapes, coconut and watermelon are good options for those with overactive bladder. Vegetables – Leafy greens, like kale, lettuce, cucumber, squash, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, celery and bell peppers. Whole grains, like oats, barley, farro, and quinoa (also a great protein).
Sudden stress (pressure) on your bladder causes stress incontinence. Common causes include coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting and physical activity. Younger and middle-aged women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) near or experiencing menopause are most likely to have stress incontinence.
Urinalysis. Taking a urine sample allows your doctor to check for conditions that can cause overactive bladder. A urinalysis looks for the presence of these substances in the urine: Bacteria or white blood cells, which could indicate a urinary tract infection or inflammation.
Another symptom is the need to pass urine many times during the day and night. OAB is basically the feeling that you've “gotta' go” to the bathroom urgently and too much. Leaking urine is called "incontinence”. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI), is another common bladder problem.
Green tea (Camellia sinensis)
Research supports green tea as a preventative strategy for OAB.
Sacral nerve stimulation devices
The SNS device is implanted above the buttocks. A lead sends electrical impulses to the sacral nerves to calm the bladder (Figure 1). Sacral nerve stimulation for OAB. Only one SNS device is FDA-approved and on the market — Medtronic's InterstimTM.