r/OveractiveBladder

28f
So for a few months I have been having severe frequency and urgency that has developed into urge incontinence. Rewind to around December of last year I got a comprehensive metabolic panel run. My b12 and vitamin D was low. I was told to take b12 and a high dose vitamin d for 3 months. Well for one I wrote 500mg of b12, when I think it was suppose to be mcg. Well I have been taking 1,500mcg b12 this whole time, which that one isn’t too much of concern because while the recommended dose is much lower it did say you only absorb a small amount and excrete rest in urine, but it could increase frequency some.
The one I am really concerned about now is the vitamin d bc upon a google search you are suppose to only take 600-800ui per day for my age range, I have been taking 4,000ui for 5 months now. I read that it can cause increased frequency and urgency because it’s not readily excreted and can cause calcium buildup and even kidney stones!!!! Has anyone had this happen?? I’m stopping use immediately but it said it can take months to get out of your system completely.

There’s a misconception that using protection means you’ve ‘given up,’ but in reality it can reduce anxiety, improve confidence, and help people stay active socially while they work on recovery.

For some people, leakage improves significantly with pelvic floor rehab. For others, protection remains part of the long term management plan, and that’s okay too. The goal is improving quality of life, reducing shame, and helping people regain control and confidence.

A few things I commonly discuss with patients:

• Finding protection that is comfortable and discreet

• Skin care and irritation prevention

• Bladder habits and fluid timing

• Pelvic floor coordination instead of just endless Kegels

• Nervous system tension, urgency, and fear around leakage

• Exercise and movement modifications

People are definitely not alone in this, and many benefit from combining pelvic floor therapy with appropriate protection rather than viewing them as opposites.”

hey everyone, I literally made a reddit account just so I could talk to someone about this.

Basically, my bladder feels pretty fine a lot of the time. But sometimes I get what I call “flares” where I get a sudden urge to pee badly, and when I do pee it’s just a bunch of clear urine. When I finish, I feel no relief. I wait a few seconds, and another stream of urine comes out (and it’s not just a few drops, it’s like a stream). I wait a few more seconds, another stream. And it keeps going on and on and on and it’s severely uncomfortable. I just don’t know what it is, and I’m wondering if anyone else can relate.

FYI, I’ve had many tests, ultrasounds, a cystoscopy, even the test to check for polyuria. It all came back normal. But I KNOW this isn’t normal. Also, I drink one coffee in the morning every day (it has no major effect on my bladder, as some days I’m completely fine), and I don’t drink or smoke.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and lmk if any of you relate. Also forgot to mention, I’m a woman.

<3

Axonics trial reviews… anyone had it not work!?

Almost 32, mom of 4, have had 3 different meds, 2 different surgery’s and PT for pelvic floor therapy. Finally saw a urogynecologist instead of just a urologist, and she was amazing. I’m starting a new PT, she said I have a 1 score of Oxford chart or whatever that’s called. My urologist is doing a urodynamic test next if meds don’t work which they aren’t. It’s not even OAB honestly. I’m standing up walking/working and my urine just comes out. Want me to retrain my bladder but how? Urine just comes out and I can’t even stop the flow of urine. Botox, interstim, and PTNS is my next step if nothing else works. I just want to chase after my kids. 😭😭😭

Hello, all. 27, F. I have struggled with overactive bladder for years, ever since I was 12. I wound up diagnosed with very, very tight pelvic floor muscle knots in the vaginal wall and started receiving Botox injections and using vaginal suppositories of Baclofen around 25 years of age. I also have an Interstim implant. It was believed these muscle knots could be contributing to my urinary frequency, and that my period cramps were exacerbating the knots. So, I was given a Kyleena IUD.

I should emphasize that I didn’t start getting treated for my muscle knots or overactive bladder until I had the IUD for about 4.5 years. Nothing, NOTHING has truly helped. My urologist thought I would only need a round or two of Botox to resolve it, but no dice. As a matter of fact, the Botox seems to do almost nothing. I was put in pelvic floor therapy for my muscle knots, but couldn’t stop them from fully returning between sessions even if I did my home stretches. I tried oral medication for overactive bladder and saw minimal improvement with significant side effects.

At a recent visit with my urogynecologist, I brought up that I’m thinking of removing my IUD due to a slew of worsening symptoms (I have been checked for absolutely everything else as a possible cause). I mentioned how I don’t think the IUD is truly “localized” in its effect, and she made a casual comment: “Yeah, recent research has been showing the IUD causes bladder inflammation. It’s not localized like we thought.”

Are you kidding? The “localization” of the IUD was the entire reason why I got it. That was the whole point. The IUD causes inflammation, but it’s supposed to be localized to the uterus. I’ve heard of cases of bladder inflammation in the event of a migrated IUD, but maybe it’s possible that the IUD’s effects aren’t localized for sensitive individuals.

The symptoms I’ve dealt with, on top of the bladder issues, have absolutely destroyed the last decade of my life. I do absolutely have problems that will persist regardless of the IUD, and everything i deal with cannot be attributed to it, but things have gotten so, so much worse over time. My mental/emotional symptoms, fatigue, and overactive bladder have all worsened together, and i would not be exaggerating to call myself debilitated. I have a shadow of a life now.

Very, VERY briefly, using an estrogen patch reduced my overactive bladder symptoms. For one week I felt like there was a soothing balm on that ever-present, pissed off bladder feeling. Visible signs of inflammation included a complete disappearance of facial swelling (this is my ever-present “inflamed” face despite a lifestyle that is entirely anti-inflammatory). The difference was so night and day that people around me noticed.

Then it disappeared again. I wish I understood the mechanism at play: it’s as though whatever is wrong with my body is overwhelming every single intervention I’ve tried for any symptom. It works for a few weeks at most, then it’s gone.

If you have an IUD, it may be worth considering the possibility that it is causing bladder inflammation. For me, I believe it is highly likely. Do I think removing my IUD will cure me? No. But I do believe it will make me respond more positively to effective intervention across the board.

I am not someone who is anti-birth control. I want more funding for birth control research so we can get better options, and plan to try out estrogen-forward forms of birth control in the hopes of finding a better option. This is not a “birth control is poison” post. When I hit perimenopause, I am absolutely lining up for hormonal support. I believe I am most likely exceptionally sensitive to birth control, which makes complete sense as an individual with a highly reactive immune system. I am the exception, not the norm.

What I do believe is that medicine is, unfortunately, an industry. I believe that women’s health is not taken as seriously as it needs to be (nobody’s is, really), and everyone is entitled to information about their own health. I don’t know what kind of research they’ve been doing on this, but I sure would have liked to know a few years and thousands of dollars ago.

I have tried many meds over the years without much success, so I opted for Botox bladder injections which I had a few hours ago under general anesthetic. I am at home now recovering and hoping for the best. Any advice?

Have any OAB meds reduced it.

Also its odd I never wake up during the night to pee.

Hello friends, I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I’ve been dealing with this issue most of my life and I have mostly found peace managing my symptoms, I had an interstim implant 3 &1/2 years ago and it’s been life changing.

In the last 6ish months I’ve started developing this issue where the sound of running water is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. It’s not something that happens from the sound alone but if I have a full bladder and encounter the sound I have a very hard time keeping control. The issue is hard enough to deal with at home but my real issue with this situation is that I work in healthcare and wash my hands in a public place very often. Having accidents in public is very difficult to deal with emotionally and logistically, after having the issue several times I’ve had to start using larger pads at work (formally I only needed the big pads for interstate travel or things of that nature).

I talked to my urologist about it at my yearly check in last month and she referred me to Pelvic floor therapy. I’ve done pelvic PT twice before and had some small success with maintaining more control and more success addressing pelvic pain from years of clenching and fighting spasms.

Does anyone else deal with this trigger? My doc says it’s very common but it’s new for me and it’s causing me a lot of distress. If anyone does deal with this trigger how have you addressed it?

Thanks so much for reading and have a great day, any feedback appreciated!

You've probably noticed the series of informal polls being posed in this and related subs.

These are to get a snapshot of the community's current thoughts and approaches to a number of challenges we face as well as to stimulate conversations that might otherwise be awkward to broach amongst friends, peers and strangers.

We have at least another ten poll topics lined up for the coming weeks but you're very welcome to suggest more topics that you'd like the collective wisdom of a relatively large audience applied to.

Once a few more have been run we'll be writing some analyses and presenting the results to health authorities, manufacturers and so on, so please vote and/or comment - every data point helps!

I mean are you able to work

Many people delay seeking medical advice because of embarrassment, uncertainty, cost, or hoping symptoms will improve on their own. How long was it before you spoke to a doctor or healthcare professional?

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I was recommended to try these over-the-counter pills by another thread here. I took two before having a cup of coffee in the morning and have given it a few tries. But it has seemed to make a zero difference for me, unfortunately. Am I doing something wrong?

I don't know what it is lately. I am 32 male but recently I have been getting up a lot to go pee at or around 3am quite some time. Before I could sleep in till 5am before I need to wake up and use the restroom. I try not to wake up before 5am to go pee. Now it seems like most days I've been doing this. Even if I drink a little or no water at night. Anyone else experiencing getting up multiple times a night like this to use the bathroom?

Hello everyone. I am 28F in the US. I have had the worst 40 days of my life. I’m feeling very isolated internally but truthfully I have a great support system of family and friends. I just had TURBT 4 days ago and I’m not feeling better and want to put my story out there if some soul that has a similar experience.

Over a month ago, I was in line at security at the airport and I had a sudden, overwhelming urge that I was going to pee myself. I made it to the bathroom, voided, stood up and thought to myself “something isn’t right”. I sat down in the terminal and the feeling that I couldn’t stand up or I was going to pee myself returned. I ended up missing my flight and went to Urgent Care to get UTI medicine. Over the next two days I had a near constant tingling/irritation in my bladder but I rebooked my flight anyway. I arrived for my next flight and it happened again. Terrible, overwhelming urge to urinate. This was the first time in my life I have felt this sensation.

I got my UTI culture back and it was negative so I went to the ER because I was still experiencing a constant discomfort. No pain at all ever. By every metric, I am a healthy 28 year old female. Blood tests, CT scan, ultrasound, STD test. I was then referred to urology.

At Urology, I saw perhaps the worst physician I’ve ever had the displeasure of interacting with. He came in, asked me no questions, looked at my hospital records, prescribed me TROSPIUM and said come back in 4 weeks. The appointment was under 10 minutes. I cried…a lot after that. I ended up calling the clinic back asking if that was the regular standard of care as I haven’t been able to leave my house in two weeks for fear of peeing myself. I was given a second appointment with a female physician. That appointment went slightly better than the first. I was referred to get a cystoscopy and they found a .3cm papillary lesion during that procedure. They also ordered a urine test which showed high WBC and high PH. I took a week of antibiotics leading up to the TURBT.

Last week, before my surgery, I described my symptoms to the surgeon and he said that the tumor was most likely not the source of my issues. That’s been stuck in my head like a revolving door. Now, I’m sitting at my WFH desk feeling the same constant tingling and weak but persistent feeling of urgency. I have been wondering if this is side effects from the surgery or my hell isn’t over. I’m due to get my biopsy back in the next 3-4 days. I feel like my life has been stolen from me and I have no answers and I’m scared. So scared.

Does this help urgency

Talking about bladder, bowel, bedwetting, urgency, or continence issues can be difficult. What has been the easiest or most effective way for you to bring it up with someone?

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I am F(15) and have bladder issues. I have had these since I was five years old, and I constantly went to doctors and got shut down instantly + tested for a bunch of stuff. I am at a point where I have had tests and ultrasounds on my bladder and kidneys. The doctors said my organs looked healthy, extremely healthy even and that there should be no reason I have these issues. I was told my only hope is to age out of it in my twenties, and if I dont, I"ll have these problems forever. I am on solifenacin for OAB, but I still havent been diagnosed. My quality of life is not great right now, but I think itll be the best I can get. Ive done everything medically possible to make sure I dont suffer more. All the exercises, the medications, the training etc. However, I know my bladder issues are either trauma or anxiety based. Probably both.

My current situation is every 12 hours at home, but every 30 minutes in public. I know neither of these are healthy at all. I am lowkey fed up after suffering for ten years and still no solution. But, I want to hear from older people with OAB too. How do you deal with it and how do you navigate life? I am scared because I dont think ill ever pass my gsces, my driving tests, or even be able to ever use public buses because of a lack of toilets. I am frightened to become an adult because how am I going to get a job and survive? How will I travel to said job if I cant take public transport or drive? I know you cant drive on solifenacin because of drowsiness. Im so scared. I hate having the bladder of someone much much much older than me at fifteen. I feel like my life is ruined. I dont want to have to depend on urinary incontinence equiptment just to take a bus or learn to drive, and my carers say I am not bad enough to need these things.

Can someone older tell me how they experience life now with it ? I just want to know if I can have an okay life like this. Im terrified.

Compared to urodynamic test, how painful is cystoscopy? That test lasted 25-30 min, and I pissed blood for 2 days straight. It was so painful, it was complete torture

I workout constantly and sauna etc. so I like to drink electrolytes. I ran out of electrolytes about 10 days ago and I decided to see if that was the cause of my bladder irritation and consequently waking up to pee so msny times at night. My bladder slowly got better and I started only waking up to pee a few times a night for the past 4 or 5 days. Yesterday I used electrolytes again for the first time and I woke up like 8 times to pee and have this constant bladder kind of pressure laying down in bed. Is this common for anyone else? Feel like I finally figured this bladder stuff out.