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Archive for the ‘Overactive Bladder’ Category

Simple Overactive Bladder Treatment Offers Results

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

When you have an overactive bladder it can be annoying to say the least, and frequently it can prove to be debilitating. You may find yourself avoiding social situations, vacations and even family gatherings. Always in the back of your mind is the possibility of your overactive bladder problem causing your a publicly embarrassing moment. The good news is that an overactive bladder syndrome treatment can be just a doctor’s visit away.

Overactive bladder treatments range from behavioral changes to exercise therapy to medication, or maybe even a combination of treatments. This is why you want to start your search for the best treatment with the proper evaluation of your condition.

Bladder training is an effective overactive bladder treatment that does not have any side effects, and it is something that anyone can do. Typically you go to the bathroom when you feel the urge to go, but bladder training sets a schedule for your rest room trips, and you learn to control the urge and wait until your scheduled time. Then you begin increasing the time in between bathroom visits until you have a manageable schedule for your bathroom visits.

Along with bladder training pelvic floor exercises strengthen the muscles of your pelvic floor. You exercise your arms and legs, so it makes sense to exercise the important muscles along your pelvic floor as well. You simply tighten and hold these muscles several times a day to build their strength back up. If you are not familiar with your pelvic floor muscles, the next time that you are urinating, stop midstream. There is your pelvic muscle in action. These exercises are called Kegel exercises, named after the doctor who first recommended them, and pregnant women typically do them to prepare for childbirth. It takes several months to realize the benefit of your new workout, so if you are experiencing any urine leakage during this time you can wear a good quality absorbent incontinence pad to manage your situation.

Using drugs to treat an overactive bladder can be very effective when the problem is caused by nerves sending improper signals to the bladder muscles. Drugs can help to block these misfired signals and curtail the inappropriate bladder contractions. It is also possible that drugs can help to increase your bladder capacity, which also helps decrease the urge to go to the bathroom so frequently. Another contributor to overactive bladder problems in women is the decrease in estrogen production that happens after menopause occurs. So estrogen treatments can help alleviate symptoms in some women.

As you partner with your doctor to identify the cause behind your overactive bladder, you can work together to find the perfect overactive bladder treatment for you. And as you are learning to manage your condition you can find products to help you maintain your active lifestyle. At DryForLife we have been helping our customers manage incontinence for over forty years, and we are here to help you too.

Further Overactive Bladder Articles

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Overactive Bladder: The Acid Connection

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

If you are suffering from an overactive bladder, you may want to check the acidity level of your urine. A recent study has linked high acidity levels in urine to overactive bladder symptoms. What seems to happen is that when there is a high acid level in the urine, it stimulates the cells in the bladder wall, which then send a neurotransmitter signal to the brain that the bladder is full. This study is the first one to draw a straight connection between bladder function and acid.

An overactive bladder can be very difficult to treat, because doctors still do not really understand what causes it. That is why the connection between overactive bladder and acid is an exciting discovery. Currently, an overactive bladder is treated with drugs, which reduce neurotransmitter activity; however, these drugs come with side effects and can be expensive.

Treating overactive bladder is a very expensive proposition. Surprisingly it is more expensive than treating pneumonia, breast cancer and osteoporosis. So if researchers can find a cause, there may be a new, more affordable treatment or cure on the horizon, not to mention reduced side effects like dry mouth, drowsiness and constipation.

Published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, this study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and a grant from Pfizer. While the study’s findings are promising, the research is still in its early stages; so for the present time the cause and treatment of overactive bladder are still proving to be elusive.

As you are working through the solution to your problem, incontinence pads can free you from the worry of having an accident. They come in many different sizes and absorbencies to deal with any problem from mild to severe. They protect clothing and your skin. DryForLife supplies incontinence pads, which may be ordered online and delivered discreetly right to your front door.

Further Overactive Bladder Articles

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Nocturia- When Your Bladder Won’t Let You Sleep

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Nocturia, or frequent voiding at night, can be a troublesome problem that robs you of sleep and causes excessive daytime sleepiness. When it is coupled with incontinence, the problem can be a true nightmare. What causes the problem? There can be many contributing factors to noctiria, including excesive fluid intake too close to bedtime, side effects of certain medications, and drinking beverages containing alcohol and caffeine, which may act as diuretics. Nocturia may be coupled with other voiding problems, such as stress incontinence, urge incontinence (overactive bladder) or overflow incontinence.

What can be done about it? The first step in coping with nocturia may be to eliminate some of the above factors that may be contributing to the problem. By avoiding drinking alcoholic beverages and caffeine-containing beverages too close to bedtime, you may find that your need to void during the night is decreased. If you feel that your medications may be contributing to the problem, you should speak to your physician about changing your medication times. Your physician may also want to rule out other, more serious, causes.

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Botox for Urge Incontinence - Not Just For Wrinkles

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Botox has been used for years as a wrinkle reducer, and has also recently been hailed as a breakthrough for treating migraine headaches. More importantly, and of interest to those who may be suffering from urge incontinence, Botox has been shown to be effectve in reducing or eliminating symptoms in urge incontinence.

How does it work? Urge incontinence is the product of an overactive bladder, and people who suffer from urge incontinence feel an urgent need to urinate as the result of bladder spasms. They also feel the need to urinate frequently due to these unpleasant bladder spasms. Conventional treatment consists of bladder retraining, medications and sometimes surgery.

Botox has been found to be effective in treating urge incontinence when it is injected into the bladder muscle that is responsible for the bladder spasms, thus reducing urgency and frequency. The downside of Botox is that it is not a permanent cure- Botox wears off in a matter of months, necessitating further treatment. However, in studies people who have been treated with Botox report a reduction in symptoms and, in some cases, a complete absence of symptoms following Botox injections. Botox has not been approved for this purpose, but trials are taking place. If this treatment interests you, you may want to consider if there are any trials taking place near you. To read more about this exciting new breakthrough, click here.

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Overactive Bladder Syndrome

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

It is estimated that 1 in 6 adults suffer from some degree of overactive bladder syndrome;  1 in 3 of these people also experience urge incontinence. That’s a huge number of people, and probably more than you ever imagined if you are one of these people. This is likely because the nature of incontinence is such that many remain silent about a condition that is often embarrassing in nature.

Remaining silent about an overactive bladder may be exactly the wrong thing to do. There are many conditions that may contribute to overactive bladder; therefore, seeing your doctor can help identify any of these factors and point to the correct treatment for you. Overactive bladder is often very amnable to treatment, so don’t allow your embarrassment to stand in the way of a cure or, if you are older, don’t assume that you have to “put up with it” as part of the aging process.

In the meantime, if you find that you are experiencing urge incontinence as the  result of an overactive bladder, you may have a need for incontinence products that will allow you to go about your daily life without being fearful that you will experience the sudden urge to urinate and be unable to find a bathroom on time. For a full range of incontinence pads, pants and other incontinence products, you can search the DryForLife site for the best options to suit your needs. You may also want to download our free DryForLife Guide to Living With Incontinence.

Further Bladder Weakness Articles

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