You probably already know that Overactive Bladder (OAB) is a condition that can happen when the nerve signals between your brain and your bladder tell your bladder to empty even when it isn't full. OAB can also occur when the muscles in your bladder are overactive and contract before your bladder is full. In some cases, OAB can be caused by a neurologic condition.
Overactive Bladder is a clinical condition characterized by the presence of urgency, which means the sudden need to urinate, that may be accompanied by one or more of the following:
Part of Overactive Bladder Syndrome, this condition is characterized by the sudden, overwhelming urge to urinate with accidental urine leakage.
Not a part of Overactive Bladder Syndrome, this is urinary leakage that occurs only while laughing, sneezing, or other physical effort.
This means you have symptoms of both Urge Incontinence and Stress Incontinence.
OAB isn’t just a natural change that comes with aging.
It’s a condition that can—and should—be treated.
In one study, patients with OAB reported among the lowest quality of life scores compared with other chronic diseases such as asthma and migraine headaches.
If you’ve been coping with Overactive Bladder (OAB) symptoms for a while, you know it’s more than just a minor annoyance. OAB can impact every area of your life, affecting your work productivity, social interactions and exercise.
Simply masking your OAB symptoms, or settling for suboptimal results from medications, doesn’t mean you have this situation under control.
Even if no one else knows you have this problem, you’re still dealing with it every day. You wouldn’t want your child or someone close to you to just cope with a chronic medical condition. You wouldn’t stop until you found the right treatment for them. You deserve the same attention.
The good news is, even if you have tried therapies in the past that haven’t met your expectations, there are other options that may not have been discussed with you.
You owe it to yourself to find a treatment that really works for you.
Results from one study show that even one incontinence episode per day has a clinically significant impact on the quality of life of OAB patients.
Maybe you’ve missed out on social events due to embarrassment, or have been afraid to take a long car trip because of needing to make frequent stops to go to the bathroom. If you think about all the ways OAB is impacting your daily life, it’s time to rethink your approach to dealing with OAB.