How To Know If You Have Bladder Problems

Overactive Bladder Problems After Hysterectomy

Sometimes nerve damage or infections are the reason for an overactive bladder after surgery. This crazy, unstoppable feeling of having to go to the toilet, even if you have little or no urine in the bladder, is due to the bladders detrusor muscle malfunctioning. After a hysterectomy, overactive bladder problems include frequent visits to the bathroom, even during the night , and leaking urine.

What can you do about it?

Strengthen the pelvic muscles with Kegel exercises. Avoid substances that will irritate the bladder like coffee, alcohol, carbonated drinks, and spicy meals. Get rid of the extra pounds, as your extra weight can have a notable impact on the pelvic floor muscles that support your bladder. There are several medications that can help to relax the Detrusor muscle. Common side effects of these medications are dry mouth, constipation, and sometimes confusion.

Read more in our post: 5 Effective home remedies for overactive bladder

Products To Help Manage Incontinence

Many people find the following products useful for dealing with incontinence symptoms:

• Pads and undergarments Absorbent, non-bulky pads and underwear are worn discreetly under clothing and are available in different sizes for both men and women. For those with mild or moderate leakage, panty liners are sometimes all that’s required.
• Patches and plugs Many women are able to manage light leakage from stress incontinence by using products that block the flow of urine, such as a small, disposable adhesive patch that fits over the urethral opening, a tampon-like urethral plug, or a vaginal insert called a pessary.
• Catheters For otherwise unmanageable incontinence, a physician can place a catheter in the urethra to continually drain the bladder. Due to a higher risk of developing infections and kidney stones, catheters are usually a last resort and used only for severely ill patients.

Causes Of A Prolapsed Bladder

The following factors are commonly associated with causing a prolapsed bladder:

• Childbirth: This is the most common cause of a prolapsed bladder. The delivery process is stressful on the vaginal tissues and muscles, which support a womanâs bladder.
• Menopause: Estrogen, a hormone that helps maintain the strength and health of muscles in the vagina, is not produced after menopause.
• Straining: Lifting heavy objects, straining during bowel movements, having a long-term condition that involves coughing, or having long-term constipation may damage the muscles of the pelvic floor.

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What Other Therapies Treat A Prolapsed Bladder

Physical therapy such as electrical stimulation and biofeedback may be used to help identify and strengthen the muscles in the pelvis, particularly in those individuals who fail to respond to pelvic floor muscle exercises on their own.

• Electrical stimulation: A doctor can apply a probe to targeted muscles within the vagina or on the pelvic floor. The probe is attached to a device that measures and delivers small electrical currents that contract the muscles. These contractions help strengthen the muscles. A less intrusive type of electrical stimulation is available that magnetically stimulates the pudendal nerve from outside the body. This activates the muscles of the pelvic floor and may help treat incontinence.
• Biofeedback: A sensor is used to monitor muscle activity in the vagina and on the pelvic floor. The doctor can recommend exercises that can strengthen these muscles. These exercises may help strengthen the muscles to reverse or relieve some symptoms related to a prolapsed bladder. The sensor can monitor the muscular contractions during the exercises, and the doctor may be able to determine if the targeted muscles would benefit from the exercises.

How Is Urinary Incontinence Diagnosed

Urinary incontinence is easy to recognize. The primary symptom most people experience is an involuntary release of urine. But the type and cause of the incontinence can be more difficult to determine and may require a variety of exams and tests. Most physicians will use the following:

A bladder diary Your doctor may have you track your fluid intake and output over several days. This may include any episodes of incontinence or urgency issues. To help you measure the amount of urine you pass during an episode of incontinence, you may be asked to use a calibrated container that fits over your toilet to collect the urine.

Urinalysis A urine sample can be checked for infections, traces of blood, or other abnormalities, such as the presence of cancer cells. A urine culture can assess for infection urine cytology looks for cancer cells.

Blood tests Blood tests can look for chemicals and substances that may relate to conditions causing the incontinence.

Pelvic ultrasound In this imaging test, an ultrasound device is used to create an image of the bladder or other parts of the urinary tract to check for problems.

Postvoid residual measurement In this procedure, the patient empties the bladder completely and the physician uses a device to measure how much urine, if any, remains in the bladder. A large amount of residual urine in the bladder suggests overflow incontinence.

UI is usually curable, and if not, then controllable.

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Other Therapy For Prolapsed Bladder

Physical therapy such as electrical stimulation and biofeedback may be used for a prolapsed bladder to help strengthen the muscles in the pelvis.

• Electrical stimulation: A doctor can apply a probe to targeted muscles within the vagina or on the pelvic floor. The probe is attached to a device that measures and delivers small electrical currents that contract the muscles. These contractions help strengthen the muscles. A less intrusive type of electrical stimulation is available that magnetically stimulates the pudendal nerve from outside the body. This activates the muscles of the pelvic floor and may help treat incontinence.
• Biofeedback: A sensor is used to monitor muscle activity in the vagina and on the pelvic floor. The doctor can recommend exercises that can strengthen these muscles. These exercises may help strengthen the muscles to reverse or relieve some symptoms related to a prolapsed bladder. The sensor can monitor the muscular contractions during the exercises, and the doctor may be able to determine if the targeted muscles would benefit from the exercises.

How Do I Know If I Have A Healthy Bladder

Any unexpected leaking of wee is not normal. It might just happen occasionally when you laugh or cough, or you might not be able to hold your wee at all. Often a simple change or some treatment can help to cure, improve or manage it.

The first thing to do is:

• check to see what the signs of a healthy bladder are
• use our checklist to see how your bladder is working.

If you think you could have a bladder problem, the most important thing you can do is to seek help. Bladder problems can be embarrassing and distressing. It wont go away if you do nothing.

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How To Know If You Have Kidney Problems

This article was medically reviewed by Erik Kramer, DO, MPH and by wikiHow staff writer, Jessica Gibson. Dr. Erik Kramer is a Primary Care Physician at the University of Colorado, specializing in internal medicine, diabetes, and weight management. He received his Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine from the Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2012. Dr. Kramer is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine and is board certified.There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 57,313 times.

You might want to think of your kidneys as the filters of your body. In addition to other important functions, your kidneys and nephrons remove waste from your blood and maintain minerals like electrolytes. Imbalances in the filtering process can cause protein, waste, or extra minerals to pass into your urine. When this happens, several kidney problems can arise like kidney stones, kidney infection, or chronic kidney disease.XResearch source Sometimes, in the early stages of kidney disease, a patient can be completely asymptomatic.

Botulinum Toxin A Injections

Botulinum toxin A can be injected into the sides of your bladder to treat urge incontinence and overactive bladder syndrome .

This medication can sometimes help relieve these problems by relaxing your bladder. This effect can last for several months and the injections can be repeated if they help.

Although the symptoms of incontinence may improve after the injections, you may find it difficult to fully empty your bladder. If this happens, you will need to be taught how to insert a catheter into your urethra to drain the urine from your bladder.

Botulinum toxin A is not currently licensed to treat urge incontinence or OAB, so you should be made aware of any risks before deciding to have the treatment. The long-term effects of this treatment are not yet known.

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What Can Go Wrong

Some common gallbladder problems include:

Gallstones This is a condition in which small stones, or sometimes larger ones, develop inside the gallbladder.

These stones form from substances found in bile, including cholesterol and a pigment called bilirubin.

Gallstones may cause pain known as biliary colic , but about 90 percent of people with gallstones will have no symptoms.

Most symptomatic gallstones will have been present for a number of years.

For unknown reasons, if you have gallstones for more than 10 years, they are less likely to cause symptoms.

Biliary colic This term is often used to describe severe episodes of pain that can occur when gallstones block the flow of bile to the small intestine.

The gallbladder contracts vigorously against the blockage, causing severe pain in spasms, or sometimes constant pain.

Biliary colic episodes usually last one to five hours, with mild pain lingering for up to 24 hours. Theyre especially common after large or fatty meals, particularly if youve been fasting beforehand.

Inflamed gallbladder Inflammation of the gallbladder can be caused by gallstones, excessive alcohol use, infections, or even tumors that cause bile buildup.

But the most common cause of cholecystitis is gallstones.

In this case, irritation by gallstones causes the gallbladder walls to become swollen and painful.

An episode of inflammation can last for several hours, or even a few days. Fever is not unusual.

What Are The Symptoms Of Bladder Control Problems

Signs and symptoms of urinary incontinence can include

• leaking urine during everyday activities, such as lifting, bending, coughing, or exercising
• being unable to hold in urine after feeling a sudden, strong urge to urinate
• leaking urine without any warning or urge
• being unable to reach a toilet in time
• wetting your bed during sleep
• leaking during sexual activity

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What Bladder Control Problems Can Men Have

The way men urinate changes slowly as they get older, so at first men may not notice there is a problem. The usual changes include:

• Difficulty or delay in starting to urinate. This is common with ageing, and with prostate problems. It can also be due to shyness when using a public toilet this affects about 3 in every 10 men, who have no problems passing urine in private.
• Stopping and starting in the middle of urinating.
• After finishing, a bit more urine trickles out. After the flow stops and the man has adjusted his clothes, a few more drops can come out and can cause a wet patch on the trousers. This is due to urine pooling in the urethra . It can be prevented by making sure there is nothing pressing on the genital area, like tight clothing or zips. The drips can be helped by carrying out 2 or 3 pelvic floor muscle contractions after you have finished. This will help ensure that your urethra is emptied.
• A feeling of not quite having emptied the bladder.
• Men may experience the need to urinate more often than usual or the sudden urge to urinate

Diagnosis Of Urinary Diseases

If your doctor suspects either a UTI or incontinence, the diagnosis begins with the collection of your urine sample after a preliminary check-up.

For urinary incontinence, the urine sample will be checked for blood traces, abnormalities and also infection. The doctor will also ask you to maintain a detailed record of your fluid intake, amount of urine you produce when you urinate, occurrences of incontinence and your urge to urinate.

Next step is to measure the post-voidal urine in your bladder. That is, after you urinate, the remaining urine in your bladder is measured to see if there is any urine blockage that is creating the problem and if so, what is the cause. A muscular weakness or nervous problem could also result in a large amount of urine remaining in the bladder even after you urinate.

Once these tests have been done, the doctor is in a position to tell you more about what is wrong with your urinary system and what is causing the issues.

In case the physician suspects a urinary tract infection or UTI, the diagnosis starts with the urine analysis again after a check-up. The sample will be tested for the presence of bacteria as well as for red blood cells or white blood cells. The next step may be a urine culture that will tell the doctor what kind of bacteria you are infected with. This allows him/ her to identify the right course of medicines to treat you with.

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Surgery And Procedures For Urinary Incontinence

If other treatments for urinary incontinence are unsuccessful or unsuitable, surgery or other procedures may be recommended.

Before making a decision, discuss the risks and benefits with a specialist, as well as any possible alternative treatments.

If you are a woman and plan to have children, this will affect your decision, because the physical strain of pregnancy and childbirth can sometimes cause surgical treatments to fail. Therefore, you may wish to wait until you no longer want to have any more children before having surgery.

The various surgical treatments for urinary incontinence are outlined below.

How Can You Tell If Your Bladder Has Dropped

The urinary bladder is a hollow organ in the pelvis that stores urine. During urination, urine leaves the bladder and exits the body through the urethra. The vagina supports the front of the bladder in women. This wall can weaken with age or get damaged during vaginal childbirth. If weakness is significant, the bladder can prolapse , and this is called bladder prolapse or cystocele.

Many patients may be asymptomatic in the early stages. Signs and symptoms of a prolapsed bladder depend on the extent and grade of prolapse. Patients can usually tell if their bladder has dropped when they face difficulty urinating, pain or discomfort, and stressincontinence , which are the most common symptoms of a prolapsed bladder. One of the early symptoms of a prolapsed bladder is the presence of tissue that feels like a ball in the vagina. Some common signs and symptoms of a prolapsed bladder include:

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Causes Of Overflow Incontinence

Overflow incontinence, also called chronic urinary retention, is often caused by a blockage or obstruction to your bladder. Your bladder may fill up as usual, but as it is obstructed you will not be able to empty it completely, even when you try.

At the same time, pressure from the urine that is still in your bladder builds up behind the obstruction, causing frequent leaks.

Your bladder can become obstructed as a result of:

• an enlarged prostate gland
• bladder stones
• constipation

Overflow incontinence may also be caused by your detrusor muscle not fully contracting, which means that your bladder does not completely empty when you go to the toilet. As a result, the bladder becomes stretched. Your detrusor muscles may not fully contract if:

• there is damage to your nerves, for example as a result of surgery to part of your bowel or a spinal cord injury
• you are taking certain medications

When Should Someone Seek Medical Care For A Prolapsed Bladder

• Any woman who notices symptoms of a prolapsed bladder should contact her doctor.
• A prolapsed bladder is commonly associated with prolapses of other organs within in a woman’s pelvis. Thus, timely medical care is recommended to evaluate for and to prevent problematic symptoms and complications caused by weakening tissue and muscle in the vagina.
• Prolapsed organs cannot heal themselves, and may worsen over time.
• Several treatments are available to correct a prolapsed bladder.

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What Medications Can I Use For Overactive Bladder

Your doctor may suggest trying behavioral techniques before having you use a medication to treat overactive bladder. However, medications can work very well to return normal function to the bladder. Ask your doctor about the risks and benefits of using the following commonly prescribed medications:

Anticholinergic medications

These medications control muscle spasms in the bladder:

• Oxybutynin , oxybutynin XL , oxybutynin TDDS .
• Tolterodine .

• Mirabegron .

Posterior Tibial Nerve Stimulation

Your posterior tibial nerve runs down your leg to your ankle. It contains nerve fibres that start from the same place as nerves that run to your bladder and pelvic floor. It is thought that stimulating the tibial nerve will affect these other nerves and help control bladder symptoms, such as the urge to pass urine.

During the procedure, a very thin needle is inserted through the skin of your ankle and a mild electric current is sent through it, causing a tingling feeling and causing your foot to move. You may need 12 sessions of stimulation, each lasting around half an hour, one week apart.

Some studies have shown that this treatment can offer relief from OAB and urge incontinence for some people, although there is not yet enough evidence to recommend tibial nerve stimulation as a routine treatment.

Tibial nerve stimulation is only recommended in a few cases where urge incontinence has not improved with medication and you don’t want to have botulinum toxin A injections or sacral nerve stimulation.

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