Dealing with an Overactive Bladder And What It Could Mean

Dealing with an Overactive Bladder And What It Could Mean

If you feel like you are the only one who has a problem peeing too often, you are not alone.

You may have an overactive bladder, or OAB. This affects millions and millions of people and can be really frustrating to live with.

The following information will help you begin to understand overactive bladder and get a better handle on it.

About Overactive Bladder

First of all, it helps to know a little more about what an overactive bladder is and how it might affect you. In just the United States alone, about 33 million men and women suffer from an overactive bladder. Since this is often an embarrassing condition, many people do not mention it openly, and may not even visit their doctor and instead may seek more natural home remedies.

It is essential that you understand what happens when you have an overactive bladder so you know if a visit to your doctor is warranted.

How it Affects You

OAB: Lifestyle causes

OAB can happens when the signals to the muscles that control bladder function get stimulated, or when the urethra, the tube leading out of the bladder gets stimulated even when the bladder isn’t full.  You feel like you have to go to the bathroom. 

There are many possible reasons for OAB. For example, you may experience OAB if you drink alcohol and caffeine in large quantities. Alcohol and caffeine can not only affect the nervous system, but they are diuretics, and can cause the body to produce more urine, and this may potentially contribute to your OAB symptoms.

There are some serious health conditions that can also lead to OAB.  For example, a stroke or, multiple sclerosis (MS) or Parkinson’s disease could also trigger an OAB incident. Diabetes and kidney disease can also trigger one due to potential nerve damage, which may cause a false trigger, or nerve malfunction.

For men, an enlarged prostate can create OAB. A walnut-sized gland, called the prostate, can potentially grow larger in your middle ages. This can add pressure to your bladder. You might feel like you have to go more often, and sometimes the feeling can be quite urgent and uncomfortable. Of course, this could be a sign of something more serious, like prostate cancer.

It is best to have a doctor test you for any potentially serious illnesses.

Sometimes interrupted sleep can also affect your trips to the bathroom.  When you are in deep sleep mode, your body produces ADH, antidiuretic hormone, which signals your body to hold onto water until you wake up. Sleep apnea can stop your body from getting to deep sleep mode, and ultimately not signal the body to produce ADH. Hence, you may be making a few trips to the bathroom at night.

It is worth repeating, but some other, more serious causes, might be nerve damage from injury from pelvic surgery, diabetes, kidney disease, side effects of some drugs, and/or neurological complications due to Parkinson’s disease, a stroke, or multiple sclerosis (MS). There are medical tests that can help you and your doctor figure out the cause of your OAB.

What Can Be Done About it

First, try reducing the amount of caffeinated drinks, alcohol, carbonated beverages, chocolate, tomatoes, citrus, and spicy foods you take in. They may be all irritants to your bladder.  But be sure that you do not cut back on your fluids. If you reduce the amount of fluids you take in, this could potentially concentrate the acidity of your urine, Plain water is advised.

Maintain a healthy weight and reduce your sugars.  If you are either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetic, most likely your blood sugar is high.  Your kidneys will do their best to filter out as much sugar as possible, but some may end up in your urine.  The sugar will draw out more water from your body and fill up your bladder more often.  Frequent urination is a common potential sign of diabetes.

There is a simple exercise to help strengthen the muscles used to stop the flow of urine, called Kegels.  It is something you can do anytime, while sitting, driving, or on the computer.  You simply squeeze and hold the muscles that you normally use to stop the flow of urine. Release and continue to repeat again and again.  This may help with controlling any unwanted leaking incidents and get you to the bathroom on time.

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