If you're an older woman (or, perhaps even "not-so-old"), you may be struggling with this very real but very embarrassing problem of having to keep track of the nearest washroom, just in case.
If you're struggling with this embarrassing issue, you're not alone. And there are ways to deal with it that are safe and effective.
For women, it's often hard to understand what causes this issue. There are, in fact, sometimes several different issues at play.
Age, medication, complicating factors such as other health issues and sometimes genetic predisposition or other factors can influence your bladder and how well you are able to control it.
But let's start at the beginning. Perhaps understanding normal bladder function is a good place to start to see what alternatives there are out there to deal with this embarrassing issue.
Just what is an "overactive bladder" and what causes this condition?
Let's look at what happens in a healthy body during urination. According to the Mayo Clinic,[1]
The kidneys produce urine, which drains into your bladder. When you urinate, urine passes from your bladder through a tube called the urethra. A muscle in the urethra called the sphincter opens to release urine out of the body.
In women, the urethral opening is located just above the vaginal opening. {In men, the urethral opening is at the tip of the penis.}
(By the way, I discuss this issue specifically for men here, if it is helpful for anyone you know.)
As your bladder fills, nerve signals sent to your brain eventually trigger the need to urinate. When you urinate, these nerve signals coordinate the relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles and the muscles of the urethra (urinary sphincter muscles). The muscles of the bladder tighten (contract), pushing the urine out.
What happens when you develop an "overactive bladder" condition?
Overactive bladder happens when the bladder muscles start contracting on their own even though they don't have to, because the bladder isn't really full yet.
These are called involuntary contractions, and that is where the urge to urinate comes from.
What can cause an overactive bladder?
Strokes and MS as well as other neurological disorders can cause an overactive bladder. Sometimes diabetes can do it. Bladder infections can do it, too. [1]
Sometimes it can be caused by constipation or less than optimal bowel habits. Also, some medications can cause these issues, too.
And be aware that sometimes, age just does a bit of a number on some of your body's communication signals which can make it more difficult for the bladder to "understand" the signals from the brain.
Avoiding too much alcohol and caffeine can help. But that might only do so much.
Let's look at other issues you need to be aware of that might need the input of a medical professional.
Bladder Infection
More often than not, if the issue of this frequent urge to urinate has developed fairly quickly or recently, it would be a good idea to consult a medical professional to see if you have a bladder infection.
Symptoms of bladder infection[2] might include strong-smelling urine, urine that looks cloudy, or urine that is red, bright pink or brownish (cola) colored.
Loss of bladder muscle control
Sometimes, due to age, the muscles that control the involuntary release of urine can get weak over time. Kegel exercises are often helpful for helping to have better control of the muscles that work in this area.
Kegel exercises also have other helpful benefits (such as better sexual response), are easy to do, and can be done even while watching TV or driving in the car.
Sometimes it can just be psychological
Probably not the first thing to suspect, but it is occasionally an issue. Sometimes it's a simple matter of counselling to help you to not be constantly distracted by the worry about whether or not you're going to need to go.[3]
Check out this article on Web MD to see if counselling for this issue might help. With most cases it doesn't seem to be the root cause. But it could be. You know you better than anyone else.
Also...
A helpful approach to overactive bladder in women that just might do the trick
Sometimes, doctors will prescribe drugs for this problem. And if you're interested, you can read reviews of the most commonly prescribed medications here (along with comments about effectiveness and side effects).
The drugs do (usually) help with this signal control between the brain and the bladder.
But the problem is that drugs so often seem to have negative side effects. Typical side-effects of many of these different meds prescribed for bladder control seem to be headache, dry mouth, sometimes dizziness and the like. And they can also affect blood pressure.
Also, a lot of these drugs shouldnt' even be used if you have a history of kidney or liver disease. So that complicates things somewhat. [4]
If you're going to use these meds, you need to keep an eye on your blood pressure and let your health care provider know of any changes.
Natural treatment is best
There is an interesting product I've found recently (called Confitrol 24) that is packaged and advertised as a product for women (although it actually works well for men, too). It is a mix of 3 different natural herbal substances
Clinical trials [5] showed this stuff showed these improvements in the study participants:
- 60% reduction in urinary incontinence
- Almost 50% reduction of nighttime bathroom visits
- Significant reduction in urgency
- Significant improvement in urgency throughout the day
- Significant improvement in quality of life
Many women find this blend of these herbs helps a lot with some of these sudden urges to go.
Confitrol 24 has a proprietary formulation of natural herbs called "Urox" that are clinically shown to help reduce these "false signals" to the bladder. [6]
What is in Confitrol 24 that works so well?
Urox is a proprietary blend of three herbs.
Lindera extract is an effective anti-inflammatory [7] and supports kidney function [8] and liver function [9].
Horsetail extract is effective as an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory in the urinary tract.[10]
Three-leaf caper extract protects against oxidative damage from testosterone. [11] (Fun fact: women have testosterone and men have estrogen. It's how much of each that is significant.)
But the studies using these together tells the whole story of how they work so well together for reducing these unwanted urges in the urinary tract. [5]
It's a product targeted specifically toward older women who want their lives back.
The results are real. I've spoken with reps from the manufacturer and it seems that it generally works with great success.
For those who swear by the stuff, the results typically come in 2 to 4 weeks.
It comes with a 67-day, money-back guarantee. So you could even order a tow or three-month supply to get a discount and still have over two months to see if it works for you.
Order it HERE.
References
[5] Schoendorfer N, Sharp N, Seipel T, Schauss AG, Ahuja KDK. Urox® containing concentrated extracts of Crataeva nurvala stem bark, Equisetum arvense stem and Lindera aggregata root, in the treatment of symptoms of overactive bladder and urinary incontinence: a phase 2, randomised, double-blind placebo controlled trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2018;18(1):42. Published 2018 Jan 31. doi:10.1186/s12906-018-2101-4
[7] Antiplatelet and Antithrombotic Effects of the Extract of Lindera obtusiloba Leaves - PubMed (nih.gov)
[8] Lindera aggregata intervents adenine-induced chronic kidney disease by mediating metabolism and TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway - PubMed (nih.gov)
[9] Protective effect of 70% ethanolic extract of Lindera obtusiloba Blume on tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced oxidative hepatotoxicity in rats - PubMed (nih.gov)