Overactive bladder for years, worried about my water intake and health for the future, I’m only 25 and all I think about is using the toilet and my day is planned around toilet!

[sv96]

I have been having this problem for years! I just need to pee nearly every hour and could every 30 mins if I went instead of holding. I am hardly drinking throughout the day as I get anxious and think it will increase it and make it worse. I make tea in mornings but only take few sips, lunch time just few sips of water again and only ever drink when I get home from work. Most days or say day trips, days out I avoid drinks.

I always use the toilet just before leaving, but soon as I get to the next location first thing I think about is toilet. If I’m planning to have a lunch and drink somewhere I use toilet before and after. Cinema I had to run to the toielt literally at the end of a 2 hour film. My pregnant sister in law visits the toielt much less than me.

I also wake up 2/3 times in the night sometimes.

I have been to the GP, they promised I will get a scan but have not received appointment for months and a simple swab showed it was all good down there. It’s almost like they didn’t care.

I am worried that it’s effecting me mentally because all I think about is using the toielt, where the toielt is, will there be an toielt and what will I do if there is no toielt and eventually going to effect my liver. I dread going anywhere because of this problem. No one else around me seems to need to pee as much as me even though they drink bottles of water. I don’t remember it being this bad in my early teens but I’m 25 now and I just can’t deal with it anymore. Most my time is spent literally in the toilet.

Does anyone have any advice? Do antihistamines really work ? What can I do?

Thank you. No other symptoms btw.

Have you tried oxybutynin? Worked quite well for my bairn.

You need to increase your fluids really. Take a week off and just gradually increase. Yes you'll pee but you'll feel better for it and should get used.

Concentrated urine really does irritate the bladder. I'm afraid that dramatically restricting water intake is probably making things worse.

Oxybutynin also really helped my ds @gamerchick

I’ve been there with my bladder and had scans which showed a healthy bladder. I’ve reduced my caffeine intake significantly which helps massively. I have wet myself in the supermarket, driving the car, at work, at home half way up the stairs to the toilet, you name it, I’ve done it! I was absolutely mortified as I was mid twenties and had not given birth so felt like this was seriously wrong. I completed a pee journal and measured my pee every time for a few days and noted it down. My consultant was happy my bladder was working and I was well hydrated which he said was a good thing. I do drink a lot of water! I was referred to female pyshio and learnt some exercises. One that I found helpful was trying to hold in a few seconds each time I sat on the toilet, before allowing myself to go. My consultant did suggest that because of my endometriosis, this could be pressing onto my bladder and causing the problems as this can happen and so can any bowel inflammation as it puts strain on the bladder. Meaning the bladder itself is not the problem! I have found making small changes definitely helps but I still visit the toilet an awful lot and am not able to hold it in for long if and when I need. It is so debilitating, I hope you find something to help soon x

Pelvic physio.

I went private but she runs the nhs clinic too & said self-referral was fairly quick too.

Lifelong sufferer and the only thing that works for me is bladder Botox and it has genuinely changed my life. I haven’t been able to have it for 18 months due to timing of pregnancy but I’m counting down to my post-birth appointment.

Alcohol and caffeine both massively affect mine, not enough for me to give them up though! I would push for a referral to a specialist because it’s not normal and there are treatments.

@CherryBerry99 I'm so sad to read your comment about adult nappies.
I've had incontinence issues for decades, improved a bit now.
I've only ever used pads , but I do find that they need to be held close to the body with well fitting stretchy pants.
We're all different and this might not be the answer for you but I thought I'd mention it .

In case someone is reading who needs to know-
Caffeine is tricksy stuff. I was convinced caffeine wasn’t impacting me. I never needed the toilet after coffee. A glass of water went straight through, though. When I gave up caffeine for a few days I saw no improvement.

I finally took caffeine seriously and reduced it for much longer, and slowly slowly my bladder healed. Now I feel its effects really clearly. A strong coffee in the morning is manageable. Any more coffees after that and it’s a problem.

Also, anxiety! It’s underlying all sorts of things. I struggle to leave the house sometimes because of needing another little wee just in case. It’s like checking you locked the door or turned off the hob. It isn’t about your bladder it’s about your brain. Giving up caffeine doesn’t help with that one! I do a second wee then give myself a stern talking to and go out.

Mine is more or less in hand now after years and years of struggle. The last thing still a problem is the early release/front door problem. Getting into the house without wetting myself. If anyone has any tips for that I would welcome them! 🤣 Sometimes I freeze just inside the door as every fibre of my being concentrates on hanging on long enough to get to the loo!

@Thisoldheartofmine I know it really isn't something I want to do and I have a lot of shame around it. However, I am starting uni soon and will be out of the house all day and with the travel etc I just cannot risk accidents in public and it being obvious etc.

I literally came on here today to write the same post, the only difference is I'm 30! It's really exhausting worrying about this all the time, so I feel for you <3

and to add, if anyone has any success stories for bladder training, pelvic floor exercises etc please share them, I need some hope!

My daughter has overactive bladder and takes Oxybutnin. It seems counterintuitive but the more she drinks (within reason) the better she is. The Dr described it as the medication making bladder walls floppy to hold more liquid, but alongside the medication the bladder has to learn that it can hold more and it can only do this by drinking more. Ot sounds like this might help you, both the medication and increase in fluid.

Lots of good advice here. I would add to it, trying some bladder training at home - making yourself wait longer than you normally would and squeezing to halt mid-flow and hold for a count of 10 (or more), which is what we teachers do the last week or so before the end of the holidays. When I first started teaching, I used to find the afternoons really hard (2.5 hours without toilet), but since being prescribed Amitryptiline (sp) for migraines, I've been much better as the drug also reduces nerve sensitivity, which has helped my bladder immensely.

Came on to say this is what I had heard and you need to drink more not less.
Concentrated wee is irritating to the bladder. Dilute it with water and you will go much less often and do more when you go

@CherryBerry99 I keep thinking about you and wishing I could help you avoid wearing even bulkier protection.
Of course I can't but I wonder if the pads prescribed by the NHS just aren't very effective and that you might find better ones ?Expensive I know.
Would carrying a change of clothes and wipes be an option?
Whatever , please don't feel ashamed. Inconvenienced and angry that life has dealt you this hand, but not ashamed.

Oxybutinin changed my life with this. My GP prescribed it alongside a referral to a urologist.

@Thisoldheartofmine thank you that means a lot. Rationally I know I've nothing to be ashamed off, it's just a process in getting to a point in which I can manage my feelings better.
I definitely need to explore different types of pads/protection etc. I do always carry a change of clothes (I've been caught out before! 🤦🏼‍♀️). It's can just be difficult covering up wet clothes until I can change and people aren't always understanding. But I know that I need to stop worrying about what others think, it's a medical problem and if people can't understand that, then that's their issue.

It’s counter intuitive - but you need to drink more water to dilute your bladder. Concentrated urine irritates the bladder.
also, the bladder is a muscle which can be trained to hold more urine by making yourself wait a bit longer each time.
have you measured your daily urine output?
I’m experienced in bladder and kidney problems unfortunately and a urologist told me to measure my input and output over 24 hours . It’s interesting to do.
How much volume are you producing with each toilet trip? Apparently we should be able to hold around 500-800 ml of urine.
it’s worth getting referred to a urologist to see what else they suggest - and to rule out imbedded infections/ cysts etc.
has it always been like this, or did it get worse after lockdown? My urologist said a lot of people suffered these issues post lockdown as we were used to being within a few feet of a toilet so our bladders never had to ‘wait’, and their capacity to hold urine therefore reduces.
Hope things get better for you OP - I know how debilitating bladder issues can be…

Hi @sv96 , just wondered how things are going for you?

You have my utmost sympathy. And I am a bit horrified that you were referred to the Continence Clinic immediately.

*weren't

This.
You need to drink plenty. Ironic I know.

I must fly the flag for pumpkin seed extract,really amazing for bladder control. One of the things they do is help to dilate blood vessels and therefore help bladder muscles to relax. This muscle relaxation helps reduce the urge to go to the Loo