The condition is characterized by thicker bladder walls that become larger from overstretching. An enlarged urinary bladder may occur from birth, while other enlarged bladder causes are the result of an obstruction of some sort, most likely post-renal or in the bladder itself.
What are the possible causes of an enlarged bladder?
- Being unable to urinate
- Lower back pain on one side
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Feeling tired or weak
- Swelling in the feet
- Bone pain
What is the best treatment for enlarged ovaries?
While enlarged ovaries do not always cause symptoms, people with this condition may experience:
- changes in bowel habits
- increased urinary urgency
- irregular menstrual cycle
- pelvic pain or pressure
- pelvic swelling or feelings of fullness
- persistent abdominal discomfort, such as bloating or nausea
- thinning hair on the head
- excess hair elsewhere on the body
- unexplained fatigue
- weight gain or weight loss
What is the best overactive bladder treatment?
What Are the Best Medications for an Overactive Bladder?
- Medications for unspecified OAB. If your doctor can’t find a cause for your OAB, don’t worry. ...
- Anticholinergic drugs for OAB. The largest class of drugs used to treat OAB is anticholinergic drugs. ...
- Beta-3 adrenergic drugs for OAB. ...
- Antidepressants for OAB. ...
- Hormones for OAB. ...
- OnabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) for OAB. ...
- Takeaway. ...
What is the standard bladder cancer treatment?
When chemo is used without radiation, the most common combinations include:
- Gemcitabine and cisplatin
- Dose-dense methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and cisplatin (DDMVAC)
- Cisplatin, methotrexate, and vinblastine (CMV)
- Gemcitabine and paclitaxel
What happens if your bladder expands?
If the bladder becomes stretched too far or for long periods, the muscles may be permanently damaged and lose their ability to contract. Kidney damage. In some people, urinary retention causes urine to ffow backward into the kidneys. This backward ffow, called reffux, may damage or scar the kidneys.
How do you reduce a swollen bladder?
Lifestyle and home remediesUse a heating pad. A heating pad placed on your lower abdomen can soothe and possibly minimize feelings of bladder pressure or pain.Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids to keep yourself hydrated. ... Take a sitz bath.
How long does it take for a stretched bladder to return to normal?
You will probably be able to go back to work and most of your usual activities in 4 to 6 weeks. But you may need up to 3 months to fully recover. Try to avoid heavy lifting and strenuous activities that might put extra pressure on your bladder while you recover.
What does an enlarged bladder feel like?
Symptoms of an enlarged bladder Feeling the bladder is full constantly. Difficulty urinating. Possibly abdominal pain. Urinary incontinence.
Can an enlarged bladder be repaired?
As an enlarged bladder cannot currently be corrected, it's important that you see your doctor as soon as possible if you develop any trouble with urination. Most causes of an enlarged bladder will present symptoms before the bladder has become enlarged.
How painful is a cystoscopy?
People often worry that a cystoscopy will be painful, but it does not usually hurt. Tell your doctor or nurse if you feel any pain during it. It can be a bit uncomfortable and you may feel like you need to pee during the procedure, but this will only last a few minutes.
What foods heal the bladder?
These foods won't cure your bladder problems, but they can help keep your bladder soothed and irritation-free.Berries. Berries are a great source of a compound known as flavanol, which has been shown to help fight bacterial infection. ... Yogurt. ... Garlic. ... Pears. ... Bananas. ... Winter Squash. ... Potatoes. ... Lean proteins.More items...•
Is it possible for your bladder to shrink?
Summary: University of Pittsburgh researchers compared data taken from women between the ages of 22 and 90 and found that although the bladder does deteriorate as women age, it may not shrink, as has been commonly believed.
Does a man empty his bladder better standing or sitting?
Sitting was no better than standing for urinary health. However, the meta-analysis showed that men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) were able to empty their bladders more completely (see figure below), leaving 25 fewer milliliters of urine in their bladders.
How can you tell if your bladder is swollen?
These symptoms can include:Frequent urination: You may feel the need to urinate more often. Some people also experience urgency (sudden desire to pee).Pain/ burning with urination: During an infection, you may experience discomfort in pain in the suprapubic area and burning during urination.Dark or foul-smelling pee.
Can you live without a bladder?
It can affect your body image, and you may worry about its impact on your relationships and sex life. With enough time, you should be able to do almost everything you did before. Even if you now use a urostomy bag (to collect your urine), you can go back to work, exercise, and swim.
Does bladder inflammation go away?
There is no cure for bladder pain syndrome. But your doctor will try different treatments to figure out how to improve your symptoms. The first treatment many people try includes steps you can take at home. Sometimes, by changing what you eat, you can make your symptoms go away.
What causes a large bladder?
blockage of the bladder outlet. failure of the bladder to contract enough to push out the urine. The treatment options depend upon the underlying cause of your large bladder. For example, a blockage may require a surgical procedure to open it. Other causes of a large bladder might be treated with medication.
What happens if your bladder doesn't empty?
If the bladder does not empty fully, urine may build up and cause the bladder to become enlarged. The distended bladder may leak, a condition called overflow incontinence. The treatment depends on the cause, which generally fall into two categories: blockage of the bladder outlet.
What muscle relaxes to open the bladder outlet?
The sphincter muscle relaxes to open the bladder outlet and the bladder wall contracts to squeeze out the urine. In infants, this reflex occurs automatically. After toilet training, we are able to control the reflex so the bladder empties only when we "give it permission.".
What muscle is responsible for releasing urine?
When the bladder becomes full, a reflex reaction occurs to empty the bladder. The sphincter muscle relaxes to open the bladder outlet and the bladder wall contracts to squeeze out the urine.
Do people take bladder control for granted?
Most people take bladder and bowel control for granted until something goes wrong. Then, unexpectedly, they find themselves hurrying to get to a bathroom on time, avoiding certain situations for fear...
How to stop a leaky bladder?
Dietary Changes: Decreasing water consumption throughout the day can help reduce leakage, as can avoiding substances that irritate the bladder, such as caffeine, fruit juices, and spicy foods. Bladder Retraining: This method uses a set schedule for urination throughout the day.
What are the best medications for overactive bladder?
These drugs can be used alone or in combination, and include: Anticholinergics such as trospium (Sanctura), darifenacin (Enablex) and oxybutynin (Oxytrol, Ditrpoan) relax bladder muscles. They are the most commonly prescribed ...
What is the cause of bladder leakage?
Overactive bladder occurs when sudden or frequent urges to urinate become hard to control, and can often lead to leakage ( urinary incontinence ). In order to best treat overactive bladder, a urologist must pinpoint the underlying cause.
Is bladder overactive a chronic problem?
Prognosis following treatment will depend on the severity of the patient's symptoms and the treatment itself. Overactive bladder is typically a chronic or long-term problem and may require ongoing treatment to control symptoms and reduce incontinence.
What is enlarged bladder?
An enlarged bladder is a medical condition where the sac involved in holding urine becomes larger than normal. It is referred to in the medical community as bladder hypertrophy. The condition is characterized by thicker bladder walls that become larger from overstretching. An enlarged urinary bladder may occur from birth, ...
Why does my bladder thicken?
Urinary obstruction in itself may be the cause of bladder wall thickening over time. When this occurs, the whole organ becomes larger than normal. Chronic cases trouble urinating, where by the bladder becomes larger due to an abnormally large volume of urine output, can lead to an enlarged bladder. These people have trouble urinating ...
Why does my urine flow backwards?
Urine may even flow backward into your kidneys, exposing you to even more complication and urinary tract damage.
How to treat an unborn child in the womb?
Treatment of unborn children in the womb involves the use of a shunt to drain the child’s bladder into the amniotic sac.
Why can't I empty my bladder?
These are neurological problem which include multiple sclerosis and paralysis. Because of neurological damage preventing the travel of electrical signals to allow the bladder to release urine, the bladder becomes enlarged. ...
Where is the bladder located?
The bladder is a muscular sac located in the pelvis above the pubis bone. When empty, it resembles the shape of a pear and is not visible from outside the body. However, if it were to become enlarged, it may protrude past its typical resting area, sitting outside its normal position.
Can obesity cause a bladder to enlarge?
Diabetes and obesity are two conditions that, when present together, are closely linked to an enlarged bladder. Obesity often precedes the development of diabetes, which makes weight management the best preventative management for reducing the risk of developing an enlarged bladder.
How to stop bladder involuntary contractions?
Pelvic floor muscle exercises. Kegel exercises strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and urinary sphincter. These strengthened muscles can help you stop the bladder's involuntary contractions. Your doctor or a physical therapist can help you learn how to do Kegel exercises correctly.
What to do if you have an urge to urinate?
Diagnosis. If you have an abnormal urge to urinate, your doctor will check to make sure that you don't have an infection or blood in your urine. Your doctor may also want to make sure that you're emptying your bladder completely when you urinate. Your doctor will look for clues that might also indicate contributing factors.
What is a urodynamic test?
Urodynamic tests include: Measuring urine left in the bladder. This test is important if there's concern about your ability to empty your bladder completely when you urinate. Remaining urine in the bladder (post-void residual urine) may cause symptoms identical to those of an overactive bladder.
How to measure voiding?
To measure the volume and speed of your voiding, you may be asked to urinate into a device (uroflowmeter). A uroflowmeter catches and measures the urine, and translates the data into a graph of changes in your flow rate. Testing bladder pressures.
What is a cystometry test?
Cystometry is a test that measures pressure in your bladder and in the surrounding region as your bladder fills. During this test, your doctor uses a thin tube (catheter) to fill your bladder slowly with warm fluid. Another catheter with a pressure-measuring sensor is placed in the rectum or, for women, inthe vagina.
Can surgery help with bladder pain?
The goal is to improve the bladder's ability to store urine and reduce pressure in the bladder. However, these procedures won't help relieve bladder pain. These procedures include:
Where is the needle placed for bladder stimulation?
This procedure uses a thin needle that is placed through the skin near your ankle to send electrical stimulation from a nerve in your leg (tibial nerve) to your spine, where it connects with the nerves that control the bladder.
What tests are done after bladder surgery?
These tests may include blood tests , x-rays , and bladder pressure studies ( urodynamics ). The same tests may be done after surgery to make sure the bladder is healing. During surgery, a section of the bowel or stomach is used to make the bladder larger.
How do you know if your bladder is full?
When it isn't full, the bladder is relaxed. Nerve signals in your brain let you know that your bladder is getting full. When full, you feel the need to urinate. The brain tells the bladder muscles to squeeze (or “contract”).
What muscles are used to keep urine out of the body?
This forces the urine out of your body through your urethra . Your urethra has muscles called sphincters. They help keep the urethra closed so urine doesn't leak out before you're ready to go to the bathroom. These sphincters open up when the bladder contracts.
What is it called when you have to pass a catheter through the urethra?
This catheter allows the bladder to empty completely. This is called "clean intermittent catheterization" (CIC). After surgery, it's important to do CIC regularly so the bladder doesn't stretch too much or tear.
Where is the bladder located?
The bladder's job is to store urine and release it when it's full. It is one of the many organs located in the lower part of your abdomen. Sometimes the bladder isn't large enough to hold the usual amount of urine made by the kidneys, so a bladder enlargement or augmentation may help.
Can bladder muscle leak?
Urine may leak from the bladder. In others, the bladder muscle may lose its ability to stretch ("exp and"). If this happens, pressure in the bladder can build up. This can keep urine from draining properly. Sometimes the pressure can push the urine back up through the ureters into the kidneys ("reflux").
Can a bladder augmentation cause wetting?
Sometimes the pressure can push the urine back up through the ureters into the kidneys ("reflux"). Either of these conditions can cause wetting (" incontinence " ), urinary tract infections, or kidney damage. Bladder augmentation is an operation to make the bladder larger. It can also lower the pressure in the bladder and make it more elastic.
What is the best treatment for urinary incontinence?
tricyclic antidepressants. A doctor may use botulinum toxin A, or Botox. NIH external link. , to treat urinary incontinence when other medicines or self-care treatments don’t work. Injecting Botox into the bladder relaxes it, which makes more room for urine and lowers the chances of developing UI.
What is bladder training?
Bladder training is when you urinate on a schedule to help reduce leaking. Based on a bladder diary (PDF, 487.59 KB) , your doctor may suggest using the bathroom on a regular schedule, called timed voiding. Gradually lengthening the time between trips to the bathroom can help stretch your bladder so it can hold more urine. Record your daily bathroom habits so you and your doctor can review your diary.
What is a pessary catheter?
For women. A pessary is a soft plastic ring used for stress incontinence that you or your doctor insert into your vagina.
How to treat stress incontinence?
During a short office visit, a doctor can inject a bulking gel or paste near your urinary sphincter to treat stress incontinence. The injected material “bulks” or helps thicken the area around the urethra and helps close your bladder opening so you have less leaking.
How to make your pelvic floor stronger?
Strong pelvic floor muscles hold in urine better than weak muscles. You can make your pelvic floor muscles stronger by doing Kegel exercises. These exercises involve tightening and relaxing the muscles that control urine flow.
How to stop urinate?
You may be able to suppress, or control, the strong urge to urinate, called urge or urgency suppression. With this type of bladder training, you can worry less about finding a bathroom in a hurry. Some people distract themselves to take their mind off needing to urinate. Other people find that long, relaxing breaths or holding still can help. Doing pelvic floor exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor also can help control the urge to urinate. Quick, strong squeezes of the pelvic floor muscles can help suppress urgency when it occurs, which may help you get to the toilet before you leak.
How to treat UI?
to treat UI, but they can cause constipation. Stop smoking. If you smoke, get help to stop smoking. External link. . Quitting smoking at any age is good for your bladder health and overall health. Smoking raises your chances of developing stress incontinence, because smoking causes chronic, or long-lasting, coughing.
What is the treatment for enlarged prostate?
transurethral water vapor therapy, or Rezum —therapy that uses water vapor, or steam, to shrink an enlarged prostate. urethral dilation —gradually increasing the size of the urethral opening by stretching the scar tissue, to help treat urethral stricture.
What is the best treatment for urinary retention?
A combination of a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor and an alpha-blocker, such as finasteride and doxazosin or dutasteride and tamsulosin, may work better than an individual medicine alone. treat infections that may cause urinary retention, such as urinary tract infections and prostatitis.
Why do you need to remove urine from your bladder?
Removing the urine from the bladder eases your pain and helps prevent your bladder and kidneys from being damaged. If you have chronic urinary retention, your health care professional will first try to diagnose and treat the cause of your retention. However, your health care professional may need to use a catheter to drain ...
How to get rid of urinary retention?
The physical therapist will work to stretch tight pelvic floor muscles and help you keep them relaxed. Pelvic floor muscle exercises , also called Kegel exercises, help the nerves and muscles that you use to empty your bladder work better. Physical therapy can help you gain control over your urinary retention symptoms.
How to make sure your bladder is empty after you urinate?
Another bladder training technique that your health care professional may recommend is double voiding—waiting a short time after you urinate to try and go again—to help make sure your bladder is completely empty after you urinate. Take extra time in the bathroom to relax and empty the bladder completely.
What to do if you have an intermittent catheter?
If you have to use an intermittent catheter, a health care professional can teach you how to use the catheter. If your bladder becomes too full, a health care professional may use a catheter to drain the urine from your bladder.
Can a medicine cause urinary retention?
In some people, certain medicines may cause urinary retention. If your health care professional thinks that a medicine is causing your urinary retention, you may be asked to lower the dose or stop using the medicine. All medicines, even over-the-counter medicines, have side effects.
What is the storage tank in the bladder?
Your bladder is like a storage tank for urine . Urine is made up of waste that’s filtered out of your blood by your kidneys. Once filtered, the urine moves to your bladder where it waits till it’s time to move through the urethra and out of the body. When you have urinary retention, it can be acute (sudden) or chronic (long-term).
Why does my bladder keep retaining urine?
The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of your body. In men, a blockage can be caused when the prostate gland gets so big that it presses on the urethra.
Why does my bladder pass through my urine?
Nerve issues. Passing your urine happens when the brain tells the bladder muscle to tighten. This squeezes urine from the bladder. The brain then tells the sphincter muscles surrounding the urethra to relax. This lets the flow of urine go through the urethra and out of the body.
What is a cystoscopy?
Cystoscopy: Cystoscopy is a test in which a thin tube with a tiny camera on one end is put into your urethra. This lets the doctor look at pictures of the lining of your urethra and bladder. This test may show a stricture (scar) of the urethra, blockage caused by a stone, an enlarged prostate or a tumor.
What medications cause urinary retention?
Drugs like antihistamines (Benadryl®), antispasmodics (like Detrol®), opiates (like Vicodin®) and tricyclic antidepressants (like Elavil®) can change the way the bladder muscle works.
Why does my urine stop coming out?
These causes can include: A blockage to the way urine leaves your body. Medications you’re taking for other conditions. Nerve issues that interrupt the way your brain and urinary system communicate. Infections and swelling that prevent urine from leaving your body.
What tests are needed to check the size of prostate?
After this, certain tests may be needed. Men may have a rectal exam to check the size of their prostate. Your urine may be saved and checked to look for infection. Ultrasound of the bladder: The amount of urine that stays in your bladder after urinating may be measured by doing an ultrasound test of the bladder.
Diagnosis
Treatment
- A combination of treatment strategies may be the best approach to relieve overactive bladder symptoms.
Clinical Trials
- Explore Mayo Clinic studiestesting new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.
Lifestyle and Home Remedies
- These lifestyle strategies may reduce overactive bladder symptoms: 1. Maintain a healthy weight.If you're overweight, losing weight may ease your symptoms. Heavier people are also at greater risk of stress urinary incontinence, which may improve with weight loss. 2. Drink adequate amounts of fluid.Ask your doctor how much fluid you need daily. Drin...
Alternative Medicine
- No complementary or alternative therapies have been proved to successfully treat overactive bladder. Research has suggested that acupuncture might help ease the symptoms of overactive bladder. Acupuncture practitioners treat you using extremely thin, disposable needles. Complementary treatments may not be covered by insurance, so check with your insurance com…
Coping and Support
- Living with overactive bladder can be difficult. Consumer education and advocacy support groups such as the National Association for Continence can provide you with online resources and information, connecting you with people who experience overactive bladder and urge incontinence. Support groups offer the opportunity to voice concerns, learn new coping strategi…
Preparing For Your Appointment
- For overactive bladder, you're likely to start by seeing your primary doctor. After your initial appointment, you may be referred to a specialist in urinary disorders in men and women (urologist), a specialist in urinary disorders in women (urogynecologist), or a specialist in physical therapy for diagnosis and treatment. Here's some information to help you get ready for your app…