7 Warning Signs of an Overactive Bladder

7 Warning Signs of an Overactive Bladder

signs of overactive bladder

Summary: A sudden and strong urge to urinate may be common, but when it happens often in a 24-hour day, you need to see your doctor. Perhaps, it’s affecting your sleep and your social confidence, and perhaps subconsciously, you’re adapting to your new situation by finding out if there are restrooms wherever you go. Whatever your experiences, if you’re uncomfortable with what’shappening with you, it’s time to see your doctor.

An overactive bladder is a problem regarding to continence and bladder storage that causes one to have a sudden and strong urge to urinate. You might have no control over this urge and it could lead to flushing out urine from your body without offering any resistance.


An overactive bladder and the fact that you can do nothing to resist the urge could cause you to isolate yourself from friends and family out of embarrassment. However, the good news is that you can be treated for your condition. Managing your problem begins with exercising your pelvic muscles and checking the number of times you urinate, among other things.


This problem is as much experienced by men as by women.

QUICK FACTS ABOUT AN OVERACTIVE BLADDER

  • An overactive bladder is a sudden and an involuntary muscular contraction in the urinary bladder’s lining.
  • This condition may be due to urinary incontinence, or urge incontinence.
  • This is not an age-related condition.
  • Overactive bladder affects men and women equally and can have an adverse effect on their quality of life.
  • This condition can be treated by strengthening the pelvic muscles, surgery, medication, behavioral therapies and neuro-modulation.

Here are the Top7 Signs That Prove That What You’re Going Through is Due to An Overactive Bladder:

1. Your Sleep is Disturbed:

If you feel the urge to urinate over eight times in a day or you wake up two or three times at night to pee, it could mean you’ve got serious bladder issues. This symptom is better known as nocturia. As we age, this symptom becomes commoner and disturbs one’s nightly sleep oftener, proving that you suffer from an overactive bladder.

If you spend so much time each night in the restroom, you’ll have less sleep overall. Broken sleep on a nightly basis can have adverse effects on your health, your mood and your overall sense of well-being. To get a handle on this problem, count the number of times you visit the washroom each night and speak to your doctor about it.


2. You Feel the Urge to ‘go’ Now very Often:

Several times in the day, you want to urinate, which is more than normal. When you have an overactive bladder, the need to urinate is urgent and now. Often, you don’t make it to the washroom in time. This could be at any time of the day or night, no matter where you are and what you’ve eaten or drunk. It could also occur if you haven’t had a drink for hours or even after you’ve just urinated.


3. You have Small Urges to Urinate Too:

Apart from the large gushes of incontinence, you have small leaks too, and again without warning. This might happen when you laugh a little, or sneeze or cough or try to lift something. Any small strain on your muscles will cause you to urinate.This condition is usually seen in young women.


4. You Dress to Hide Your Bladder Problem:

Now that you’ve got this big problem to deal with, you decide to choose your clothes with care so that you wear loose-fitting and dark colored clothes so that no one can see any wet patches on your clothes. It’s not surprising to find that you keep an extra change of clothes in case of an urgent visit to the bathroom.


5. You Urinate in Sudden Large Bouts:

The urge to urinate or urge incontinence can be extremely embarrassing. This is also a definite symptom that your bladder problems are growing. Perhaps, with the right medication and a few exercises, you can be cured. Once you get your bladder checked, your treatment can start immediately.


6. You Suffer from an Enlarged Prostate:

Overactive bladder among men is linked with an enlarged prostate, which puts undue pressure on the bladder. You might experience a sudden and strong urge to urinate, but when you actually go, you might only do a trickle, though your bladder feels full.


At other times, the urine stream may start and then falter, and you may feel that you haven’t emptied your bladder to your satisfaction. If your prostate isn’t the real reason for your bladder problems, perhaps you have stones in your bladder or some other impediment. It’s time to call your doctor, so don’t delay.


7. You Adapt to Your New Situation:

Subconsciously, you may be adjusting to your recent problem of an overactive bladder. So, if you’re wondering why you’ve started checking out the lost in a new place, or perhaps avoid going to an event because you’re feeling you might get an uncontrollable urge to urinate there, you’re actually adjusting to your new behavior and seeking some practical solutions. Once you’ve reached this far, go to a doctor and ask for a definite treatment plan and you’ll soon be fine and feel confident to go out for long periods.


How to Overcome Problems of Overactive Bladder: There are Certain Steps you Can Take to Overcome this Problem, Such as:

  • Speak to your doctor.
  • Drink lesser fluids so you don’t urinate often.
  • Eliminate caffeine and alcohol from your diet as they are diuretics and stimulants. Also, avoid artificial sweeteners.
  • Strengthen your pelvic muscles by exercising them.
  • Lose weight

Bladder problems are common, but they aren't normal. If you feel like you're constantly worried about a leak, it may be time to find relief. Not only can treatment reduce symptoms, it can lift the emotional weight of having to deal with the problem. Free yourself to think about something else. (And wear what you want!)


Traveling—whether flying across the country or driving across town—makes you break out in a sweat: Many people with bladder problems, avoid car trips or other excursions because a bathroom isn't always readily available. If bladder issues are causing you to change your lifestyle or stick too close to home, it's time to seek relief.


Urge incontinence, the strong, sudden need to urinate, can make for nervous travel. But there are many proven treatments to help reduce those urges. These include medications, exercises, behavior modification, biofeedback, and even surgery.

Sehat provides list of best General Physicians in Chennai from which you can research and choose the right doctor for your condition.

Reviewed By:

Dr. Kaushal M. Bhavsar (MBBS, MD)

Assistant Professor in Pulmonary Medicine, GMERS Medical College, Ahmedabad