You may know well that feeling of frequently running to the bathroom to urinate or waking up at night and making your way to the toilet. You’re not alone.
Overactive bladder is a condition that causes sudden urges to urinate in both men and women that may be hard to control, often resulting in urinary incontinence, another name for losing control of your bladder.
Urinary incontinence affects women twice as often as men, as pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause can affect the bladder, urethra, and other muscles in women, according to the Office on Women’s Heath of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“If you’re having these symptoms, don’t be embarrassed to schedule an appointment with your physician to discuss your concerns,” says Feven Getaneh, MD, a urogynecologist at Mount Sinai. “We see these kinds of symptoms all the time and are here to help you and point you in the right direction so that we can help improve your quality of life.”
Feven Getaneh, MD
In fact, there are many treatment options available for overactive bladder, such as pelvic floor muscle exercises, medication, and bladder injections.
In this Q&A, Dr. Getaneh, who is also Assistant Professor in the Raquel and Jaime Gilinski Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and ReproductiveScience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains common symptoms of overactive bladder, how the condition is diagnosed, and treatment options for women.
What is overactive bladder?
Overactive bladder, also known as OAB, is characterized by bothersome urinary symptoms. This can include urinary urgency, frequency of running to the bathroom, waking up at night to use the bathroom, and even having incontinence episodes when you’re on your way to the bathroom.
Can you prevent overactive bladder?
While we don’t know whether overactive bladder is preventable, there are certain things in your behavior that you can modify to help with bothersome urinary symptoms. These include:
- Drink less caffeine and carbonated beverages
- Use the bathroom at least every two hours
- Do some pelvic floor muscle exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles
How is overactive bladder diagnosed?
Patients who have bothersome urinary urgency, where they’re running to the bathroom frequently and often having accidents on the way, should talk with their physician. Their physician may refer them to a specialist, such as a urogynecologist, to evaluate their symptoms and determine the best treatment options that are available. Diagnosis may involve a physical exam and diagnostic tests, such as a urine analysis; tests that measure bladder function; or a cystoscopy, a procedure that examines the inside of the bladder using a thin, flexible tube with a camera.
What are the treatment options?
We have many treatment options for women with bothersome urinary symptoms. Sometimes we will refer women to physical therapists to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles. Sometimes we’ll start a bladder medication so that you have more time to make it to the bathroom. If these measures aren’t helpful, we have a lot of advanced therapies to deal with overactive bladder. We do bladder Botox® injections in our office. We also implant pacemakers for the bladder, which are done in the operating room. We even offer an outpatient acupuncture treatment for overactive bladder.
At Mount Sinai, we have a team of specialists that can find the treatment plan that’s right for you. Call 646-412-9897 to schedule an appointment with a urogynecologist.