Overactive bladder has a way of stopping your life in its tracks. When this first began for me, I had to strictly plan out my days based on the proximity to a bathroom. For example, I had to stop running because I was not close to a bathroom when I hit the wooded trails. Things like road trips, shopping at places without bathrooms and work were things that became very difficult for me.
My symptoms came on very quickly. It felt as if I was fine and then the next day, I had to run to the bathroom nearly once every hour or two. I was baffled as to why this would come on so suddenly.
I was in my early 20s when this began, so I was a bit embarrassed to tell anyone. At my age, things like this were not supposed to happen. At least this was my mindset. It took me several months to make an appointment with my doctor.
After getting over my embarrassment, I was able to get help for this. After getting help, my life has greatly improved. I cannot say things are perfect, but I am able to live a normal life again.
What Causes Overactive Bladder?
This was the biggest question I had when my bladder started to go into overdrive. At the time, I was relatively healthy, though I did have a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease. I was not thinking that this disease could be what was causing me to have to urinate as many as 15 to 20 times a day. I have multiple sclerosis and it turns out that this disease was exactly what was causing overactive bladder for me.
Other possible causes, can include:
- Bladder Cancer
- An obstruction in the bladder
- Infection
- Stroke
- Spinal cord injury
- Nervous system diseases
- Bladder stones
- Bladder inflammation
In many cases, the cause is simply unknown. If there is an underlying cause, as there was in my case, it is very important to figure out what this is. With many causes, getting that under control will result in your bladder being less overactive. For example, once I started my regimen for MS and the various treatments that target specific symptoms of my disease, I did experience far less frequent urination. It was not instant, but within a few months of steady treatment, I started to urinate on a schedule that was more normal for me.
Dealing with the Symptoms
Of course, urinating far more frequently than is normal for you is a sign that we just cannot ignore. I tried to work around it and act like everything was okay, but eventually I had to accept that something was wrong and I should not be urinating this much.
The Mayo Clinic states that the following are symptoms of overactive bladder:
- Feeling the urge to urinate and then immediately involuntarily losing urine
- Getting up at least twice every night to urinate
- Experiencing a sudden, strong urge to urinate
- Urinating more than eight times in a 24-hour period
As much as I hate to talk about it, there were times where I did dribble a little urine before making it to the bathroom. I used to carry an extra pair of undergarments with me when I went out just in case I dribbled. I wanted to be able to change as quickly as possible. I also wore panty liners for small “accidents.
I would wake up no less than two times every night to run to the bathroom. There were many nights where I was up three or four times. Needless to say, I was not getting much sleep.
