You confide in your closest friend about so many things -- career stress, worries about your child’s grades, and an argument with your husband. But if you’re like most women, there’s one thing you would never admit to her, or to anyone else -- bladder control issues. Your problem is that lately, you have to run to the bathroom more and more -- and you don’t always make it.
One out of every four women over the age of 18 experiences episodes of leaking urine involuntarily, but most of them aren’t talking about it.
Reluctance to admit to overactive bladder or continence issues affects women in all age groups. “The woman who’s just delivered a child and finds she isn’t getting bladder control back -- she runs to pick up her copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, and this isn’t there," says Linda Brubaker, MD, professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Urology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and director of the Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at Loyola University Health System (LUHS).
"A woman who’s growing older sees men on television talking about erectile dysfunction -- but not women sharing their stories about continence,” she adds.
OAB: Emotional Challenges
On average, women wait more than six years from the time they first have bladder problems until they get a diagnosis, and during that time, they face a lot of emotional challenges.
“Especially as overactive bladder and other continence problems become more severe, it can be very distressing, embarrassing, and ultimately isolating,” says Ross Rames, MD, associate professor of urology at the Medical University of South Carolina, who works with MUSC’s multidisciplinary Bladder and Pelvic Health Center.
As people lose control over their bladders, they tend to withdraw socially. That means missing out on things they enjoy in life, which could be anything from regular church attendance to movies, ball games, and concerts. “They won’t go to events because they can’t sit through them without rushing out multiple times to go to the bathroom,” Rames says.
Restricting yourself that way can have an impact on your physical health as well. “Women may stop going for walks because they’re afraid to be that far from the bathroom,” says Brubaker. “Or they may stop playing sports -- even ‘grandma soccer’ with the kids -- because they’re afraid of leakage accidents. So their lives become more sedentary.”
OAB can also cause problems at work. “Imagine if you’re a schoolteacher and you have to stand up in front of a classroom of fourth-graders for an hour or more without a break,” Rames says. What if you're an executive who has to make a long presentation to colleagues -- or a physician who can’t just rush out to the bathroom in the middle of surgery? In so many ways, OAB can make it difficult to do your job due to the emotional stress caused by worrying about sudden, strong urges to go.
