Category: overactive bladder

Summer is the time for trips, outings, beaching, and lots of activities. That works for most of us, but if you suffer with OAB, you might find yourself resisting doing much of anything. There is always the fear of an embarrassing accident. What can you do? Overactive bladder management: staying active this summer.

Signs Of An Overactive Bladder

When you have an overactive bladder, there are a host of symptoms including urinary frequency and urgency, incontinence, and the nagging need to pee several times during the night. It affects 40% of women or maybe even more since it is an embarrassing topic to bring up with urologists like The board certified urologists at Cleveland Urology Associates. Many women even refrain discussing it with their gynecologist.

Obviously if you don’t tell your doctor, you can’t get treatments. If you desire an active lifestyle, there are some ways to manage your OAB symptoms.

Eat Right

This may be a surprise to many, but eating the right amount of fiber can help not only with constipation, but also with an overactive bladder. Choose fresh and healthy summer veggies and other seasonal foods.

When Taking A Road Trip

Traveling by car is a bit more relaxing than a flight. In a car you can plan out specific stops for restroom breaks along the way. It is more flexible and puts you in control.

Flying Is Another Story

We don’t mean to deter you from flying during the summer. You can still manage symptoms when taking a flight to your vacation destination.

Some ways to make it easier:

• Select an aisle seat so you don’t have to climb over others to make it to the restroom.
• Don’t drink a lot of liquids prior to your flight.
• Keep your seatbelt fastened loosely around your waist to reduce pressure on your bladder.

Watch What You Drink

Water is always best to stay hydrated during the summer, however don’t let that scare you. Just don’t gulp it down all at once. Slowly sip water during the day. Avoid alcohol, carbonated sodas, and caffeine which can irritate your bladder especially when traveling.

Manage Your Weight With Regular Exercise

Extra weight puts extra stress on your bladder. Talk with DOCTOR about the right exercise regimen for you to manage your weight or lose a few pounds. These ideas will help you stay active this summer.

Go Before You Have To

Yes, if you are passing a restroom on a trip, take advantage of the opportunity to urinate even if you don’t have the urgency. It will help you delay your next time and make it easier to enjoy an active lifestyle even with OAB. A little bit of forethought and planning can increase your enjoyment of summer activities.

Make an appointment with The board certified urologists at Cleveland Urology Associates to get additional advice for managing the symptoms of OAB and to find the right treatment options.

If you have it, you know what we mean by an overactive bladder. You need to pee more than normal, a lot more than normal. You must know where the nearest bathroom is at all times. The medical name is urinary incontinence. You know that too. What you might not know is what to do about it is how to retrain your bladder.

Living With an Overactive Bladder

Having OAB is not a joke for those that have it.That constant feeling of “I gotta go,” and sometimes leaking urine affects your life in many ways, and they’re all negative.

30% of men and 40% of women in the United States live with an overactive bladder.

What Are Risk Factors for OAB?

Simply getting older or being female are not causes of OAB.

Risk factors for OAB can include the following:

• Hormonal changes
• A urinary tract infection (UTI)
• Neurologic disorders or damage to the signals between the bladder and your brain
• Side effects from certain medications
• Weakness in the pelvic muscles
• Diseases that affect the brain or spinal cord like stroke or MS

What Are Therapies for an Overactive Bladder?

Treatments or therapies for an overactive bladder range from some lifestyle changes all the way to surgery. Understand that OAB will not go away on its own. Don’t ignore the symptoms or they will only get worse.

We are going to focus on retraining your bladder which is non-invasive and one of the first therapies at Cleveland Urology Associates may recommend.

Retraining Your Bladder

It is critical to work with your urologist as you retrain your bladder, and the more information you can provide about your symptoms, the better. The goal is to increase the amount of time between using the bathroom and to strengthen your ability to control the urges.

Begin to Keep a Bladder Diary

This is simply a record of when you go, how long in between, what you have eaten and what liquids you’ve consumed so you may be able to track any triggers. This includes peeing at night.

This will give you an average of how long between urinations.

Select a Practical Interval

If you discover you are going to the bathroom every hour, set a goal to increase the time between. Don’t be overly optimistic. Select a rational or practical time to increase like an additional 10 or 15 minutes.

Start First Thing in the Morning

Go to the bathroom when you first get up. If your increased interval is one hour and 10 minutes try to stick to that timing. Even if you don’t feel like going, go anyway.

If you can’t wait that long and you have the urge, try some different tactics. Stay calm and begin to count down from 50. Try Kegel exercises, and attempt to hold off for 10 or 15 more minutes.

Increase the Interval

Once you become comfortable with the extra time between peeing, now is the time to increase it a bit more. As time passes, you may be able to increase the intervals slowly. You can also try double voiding. Go, and then wait a few minutes and try to go again.

Give Yourself a Break

It is important to be patient and not give up. Once you have made the commitment to follow through on retraining your bladder, give it time. Don’t beat yourself up if it takes longer than you expected. Again, consult with Cleveland Urology Associates for additional suggestions.

There may be additional techniques or therapies to try in conjunction with bladder retraining.

Schedule an Overactive Bladder Consultation in Cleveland, OH

Don’t suffer in silence. Overactive bladder relief is possible.Contact The board certified urologists at Cleveland Urology Associates at (440) 891-6500 for help with an overactive bladder.