What Is Overactive Bladder?
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a condition that causes frequent, sudden, and difficult-to-control urges to urinate before the bladder is full. This condition causes women to feel like they may need to pass urine several times day or night, or even experience unintentional loss of urine.
If you have OAB, you will have symptoms like sudden urges to urinate that are difficult to control, frequent urination (usually 8+ times in 24 hours), unintentional loss of urine immediately after the urgent need to urinate or waking up more than two times a night to urinate. These problems affect people of all ages and both sexes.
Possible Causes
One or multiple of the following conditions contribute to overactive bladder:
- Neurological disorders
- Urinary tract infections
- Diabetes
- Hormonal changes during menopause
- Bladder abnormalities, such as bladder stones or tumors
- Constipation
- Previous operations to treat incontinence
- Other factors associated with the symptoms, including excess caffeine or alcohol consumption, difficulty moving to the bathroom, incomplete bladder emptying, medications that increase urine production or require taking plenty of water with them
Symptoms
- Nocturia (waking up several times in the night to urinate)
- Urine leakage at inconvenient times
- Increased frequency of urination
- sudden, strong urges to urinate
- Leaking urine when you stand up after sitting
- Inability to get to the bathroom in time
- Feeling the urge to urinate when you hear water running or even spontaneously
See Interstim/Axonics for more details on how we address symptoms of overactive bladder. Schedule an appointment today with one of our healthcare providers at ASUI to help you take back control of your bladder!