Overactive Bladder Syndrome

Overactive Bladder



Overactive bladder (OAB) is not life threatening; though it is life altering.

Once overactive bladder symptoms enter your life, you are ruled by the constant need to find the most direct route to the nearest bathroom.

A typical day in the life of an OAB victim goes something like this:

Awake at 7:00a.m. with a difinite need to dash to the bathroon, Go to the bathroom. This must be done before removing nightgown and putting on day clothes. Return to bedroom for day clothes.

Go to the bathroom.

Do a auick clean of the livignn room. Go to the bathroom.

Scrape and stack dishes for hand washing. I prefer washing dishes by hand as it gets dishes cleaner and is kinder to the environment.

Turn on water.

Run to the bathroom

Wash dishes.

Go to the bathroom.

Carry out trash

Go to the bathroom.

Run errands in town.While driving to the first store, bank, or post office try not to think about the urge to go to the bathroom. Singing sometimes helps. Getting angry causes leaking, so must block the thought that causes the anger.

Once at the errand site I must locate the nearest bathroom.

Urinate, wash hands and complete errand.

Once home my first stop is, naturally, the bathroom.

Finish the rest of housecleaning chores with a bathroom brek between each chore. If the chore is laundry, that involves two  bathroom breaks. Something about the water, I think.

Walk dog for twenty minutes or ten to twelve blocks, whichever occurs first.

Hurry home as urge to void my bladder is getting strong.

The dog never wants to go home. He would walk all day if I were up to it.

Pull dog home.

Dog picks up speed when we hit our block.

Stop at neighbor's to borrow her bathroom. The joke of "please be sure to return the bathroom in the condition  you found it" is getting quite old.I laugh qnyway.

hurry home. Pull dog inside but do not release him from leash as I have to go to the bathroom.

Put in at least an hour of "real" writing; no computer games, or reading about writing.

Start the evening meal provided there is anything in the freezer to cook.

Go to the bathroom, wash hands, then return to the cooking..

After the dishes are cleaned I reward myself with an hour of computer games.

Then it's bathroom time, complete with tooth brushing and flossing. Off to bed.

I try not to count the times I get up during the night to go to the bathroom, but I think I'm averaging four trips a night. Each time my bladder is usually nearly full.

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The symptoms of OAB are:

The bladder contracts suddenly without the victim’s control, particularly when the bladder is not full.

Urgency. The victim has an urgent need to urinate that can not put off.

Frequency, urinating more than seven times a day and more than once a night.

Incontinence or a leaking of urine. There may been repeated episodes of urinating on oneself.

One of the unrecognized symptoms of OAB is dry hands from the frequent washing. I always keep several bottles and tubes of lotion in the bathroom.





OAB is a major source of embarrassment when others notice the victim’s frequent trips to the bathroom.

OAB also limits social activity, particularly if the victim has leaking accidents. Fortunately, there are adult diapers for this.

OAB is not always bleak and depressing.Having OAB gives me opportunities to make new friends. Mothers with young children seem to instinctively pick me when asking the whereabouts of the nearest bathroom; I always know and lead the way.

Sometimes if I have a wetting accident in the bathroom, I have to ask the lady in the next stall to help me make a discreet exit.



OAB is marked by a weakening of the muscles that surround the neck of the bladder.

In their weakened state these muscles contract too often and too forcefully, causing feelings of urgency and, often, urine leakage.The muscels contract inqppropriately, whdn the bladdr is not full.

Although as many as one in six people, both men and women, over the age of forty suffer from OAB symptoms, OAB is not necessarily a condition of old age. OAB can occur at any age.

In this writer’s case, I clearly remember the onset of OAB  at age nineteen. As a newly emancipated adult; I controlled my own diet, drinking far too many colas.

Though, a cause of OAB has not been proven, carbonated drinks have been suspected as being a cause .

Medications for high blood pressure also contribute the OAB symptoms.

Medication is now available for OAB so there is no need to “live with it”.

In addition to or in place of medication there are several things that may help control or eliminate OAB. There are:



Kegel exercises. Contract and relax the muscles of the pelvis floor several time a day.

Regular, daily exercise

Limiting liquids before an outing and bedtime.

Limiting or eliminating carbonated drinks

Eliminating caffeine. Coffee, tea, carbonated drinks and chocolate are all major sources of caffeine.

Retraining the bladder by waiting ten to fifteen seconds after the first sensation of a need to urinate.

7. Excess weight may contribute to bladder muscle weakness. Losing the weight is a wise choice for overall health.



As for me, I'm limiting myself to two cans o fPepsi per day - a difficult task since I am seriously addicted to those things. I'm also doing Kegels and trying to retrain my bladder by waiting the requisite fifteen seconds after a urinary signal before heading to the bathroom.