A person with paruresis (shy bladder syndrome) finds it difficult or impossible to urinate (pee) when other people are around. Paruresis is believed to be a common type of social phobia, ranking second only to the fear of public speaking.
When you're anxious, the muscles tense up and your body puts pressure on areas like your bladder and your abdomen. This pressure may also cause you to need to urinate more often. Those with anxiety may also feel more physically tired from all of their anxiety symptoms, and this too may lead to more frequent urination.
Stress and anxiety affect the bladder in several ways. Both cause muscles in your body to tense up (mostly due to increased adrenaline), and the bladder is essentially a muscular sac that also tightens with stress. Additionally, your pelvic floor is comprised of muscles that can tighten, compressing your bladder.
Feel a sudden urge to urinate that's difficult to control. Experience unintentional loss of urine immediately after an urgent need to urinate (urgency incontinence) Urinate frequently, usually eight or more times in 24 hours. Wake up more than two times in the night to urinate (nocturia)
There are two types of anxiety urination. There is instant urination that genuinely occurs during moments of complete terror, and there is frequent urination, which is the sensation of needing to urinate often without necessarily drinking excess water/liquid.
Imipramine (Tofranil) is a tricyclic antidepressant. It makes the bladder muscle relax, while causing the smooth muscles at the bladder neck to contract. It may be used to treat mixed incontinence, which is a combination of urge and stress incontinence. Imipramine can cause drowsiness, so it's often taken at night.
-Drinking plenty of fluids: This will help to keep the urine diluted and reduce irritation. -Taking over-the-counter pain medication: This can help to relieve pain and inflammation. Tylenol is better than Motrin or Advil. -Using a heating pad: This can help to soothe pain and cramping.
Psychological Causes
Your emotional and psychological state can have some effect on the physical systems that maintain bladder control, which worsens as bladder control problems worsen. Some women who suffer trauma or surgery to the pelvic region are more likely to keep their pelvic muscles chronically tense.
Unfortunately, overactive bladder is linked to mental health issues like depression and anxiety. Women with this condition may therefore want to seek out professional help for both their physical and emotional symptoms related to OAB.
The stress response can trigger other reactions in the body too. For example, stress can cause the muscles to tighten. This will help protect the body against any injury the potential threat may cause. However, the abdomen muscles can also tighten in this process, leading to an increased urge to urinate or defecate.
Mirabegron works by relaxing the muscles around your bladder. This means your bladder can hold more liquid and reduces your need to pee as often or as urgently. This medicine is only available on prescription. It comes as slow-release tablets (called "modified release" or "prolonged release").
These behaviors may be driven by anxiety and stress related to urinary urgency and incontinence episodes as well as ensuing distress and embarrassment. Prior research has linked anxiety and OAB: up to 40% of women and 30% of men with OAB also have generalized anxiety disorder.
For those with intense phobias, encountering the object that they fear can lead to a moment of pure panic. It's when that occurs that the person becomes most likely to experience a loss of bladder control, as their limbic system reacts so strongly that it simply cannot manage your bladder anymore.
Red-flag symptoms/signs
Urethral/bladder pain. Recurrent urinary tract infection. Difficulty with bladder emptying. Constant leak suspicious for a urogenital fistula.
Treatment for Overactive Bladder
Our urologists treat patients with OAB with combinations of behavioral therapy, medication, and in severe cases, a therapy called Interstim, to treat overactive bladder. Another option is the injection of Botox into the bladder to relax and paralyze the overactive muscle.
How is overactive bladder diagnosed? In most cases OAB can be diagnosed by history and physical exam and a urine analysis to rule out infection or blood in the urine. An abnormal urine analysis may prompt treatment (if infection is found) or further testing (if blood is found).
Purpose: Overactive bladder imposes a significant socioeconomic burden on the health care system. It is a commonly held belief that increased fluid intake (8 glasses of water per day) is beneficial for health. However, increased fluid intake exacerbates overactive bladder symptoms.
stress affects urinary bladder function and has been reported to exacerbate signs/symptoms of urinary bladder dysfunction in overactive bladder, interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, bladder outlet obstruction, and spinal cord injury-induced bladder dysfunction.