Overactive Annoyance. The dilemma of having an overactive bladder is the constant urge to urinate, which no doubt is very unsettling and frustrating. Your spirit is disheartened because you have no control over this aspect of your body, and you feel imprisoned because you now must structure your life around your bladder. You count your blessings because you know that things could be a lot worse, but on the other hand, you also know that things could be a lot better.
Where is all the liquid coming from you ask yourself because you moderate your liquid intake as a measure to lessen your need to use the toilet. Yet, even with an aggressive reduction in liquid intake, the urge to urinate is ever present. So where is all the liquid coming from if you are not actively putting it into your system?
Of course, the straightforward and obvious way that liquid gets into the body is by drinking it, and there is moisture in the air that is absorbed into the skin. Also, certain types of foods may produce more liquid waste than other types of food. According to the Kidney & Urology Foundation of America, INC., “Adults eliminate about a quart and a half of urine each day.” You can read more at NORD.
The article that is given by the Kidney & Urology Foundation of America, INC., gives some good insights about how the urinary system works, but this knowledge of how the urinary system is supposed to properly work does not ease the nuisance of having to get up twenty times a night to use the john. Now when you combine an overactive bladder with an enlarged prostate you have certainly entered an area where you do not want to be.
My overactive bladder (OAB) trouble came about after a serious on-the-job accident and my enlarged prostate (Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)) is simply due to aging. In either case, I hate them both because they have taken control of my life and the medications that I have taken to combat this twin assault on my quality of life (prescription drugs and over the counter herbal supplements) have thus far been to no avail.
Since all the medications received from the VA Hospital and that I have bought over the counter to bring my overactive bladder (OAB) under control and reduce my enlarged prostate (BPH) have been a complete flop, what next?
I learned of exercises that can be done to retrain the bladder and for a while I did them. I guess that I should go back to these exercises because taking medications and dietary supplements to help me take control of my urinary functions again have not produced any positive results at all.
I don’t ask for much. I would be happy with just four straight hours of uninterrupted sleep during any given night and to be able to make it through a day without feeling the constant need to urinate. I have some bad habits that I need to eliminate that I have read to be no-no’s for urinary health, but my irritation and frustration with my unruly bladder and enlarged prostate fuel some of these bad habits just as those bad habits fuel my constant urinary discomfort.
So, finding working alternatives to medications that will improve my urinary system is what I am searching for. Doing bladder exercises is a practical approach to gaining control of my bladder but is hampered by my being a little lazy about exercising. So, what do I do? I can’t go to bed and think about a solution to my health problem because I must get up every fifteen or twenty minutes to pee during the day and even more so at night.
When I hold out for very long the strong urge to pee makes it seem as if I am going to splinter the toilet into pieces when I get into the bathroom, but alas, because of my BPH, my urination comes in arduous spurs that last for more time than is proper to get such a natural task done.
When I got home after my accident this difficulty to flush my bladder in a normal steady stream almost made me want to cry because of how laborious this simple act was, especially for a body that was twisted and broken and racked in pain from the injuries. However, I never once cried, I just toughed it out until what I had to do was finished for a few moments before I had to start the agony all over again.
I hate my condition but I count my blessings because as difficult, and as exhausting, and as arduous that it is, I can pee under my own power, have no undue problems with incontinence, and do not have to use any type of specialized medical equipment to help me expel body waste. However, peeing the way that I do is a little too much of a good thing and needs to be brought under manageable checks and balances.
Well, I am going to have to end this because I have been fighting the urge all the while and I can’t put it off any longer. Now, don’t call me by my given name just call me pissy Maccabee, or urinary tract will travel, all the time.