This ailment, although not life threatening, forces 76 percent sick with far-reaching changes to his regimen. There are no support groups for these patients because they are ashamed to talk. Even with a doctor.
Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) affects approximately 3 million Poles. It is more or less equally distributed between the sexes, but men with this problem are less visible. They do not go to the doctor, assuming that this must be the case in old age – this disease occurs more often in men after the age of 65.
What is it all about? Sudden, strong urge to urinate, which may or may not be accompanied by a leakage of urine, the so-called popularly letting go. Another version of the disease is the need to urinate frequently, day and night.
These extremely distressing symptoms are caused by the uncontrolled contractions of the smooth muscles as the bladder fills up. Why this is so is not entirely clear. In men, this may be the result of an obstacle under the bladder in the form of prostate hyperplasia, but this is only one of the possibilities.
Sometimes OAB is associated with erectile dysfunction. But there are many more nuisances associated with this disease. Overactive bladder syndrome prevents professional, family and social activity. How to be productive at work if you got to the toilet eight times a night? How to participate in family celebrations when you constantly have to go to the bathroom? Go to the cinema or theater with your partner and repeatedly trample on the legs of other viewers, pushing your way to the exit? Few women will withstand such behavior from a husband or friend.
As research shows, 27 percent. men with OAB resign from work or seek early retirement. More often than women, men with this problem fear social gatherings, feeling the fear of being ridiculed.
As a result, patients live in isolation, preferring to stay at home for fear of moving away from the toilet. They do not keep up – especially the elderly – with washing and changing linen, spreading the unpleasant smell around. They significantly reduce fluid intake, which leads to harmful dehydration.
And it’s a shame to go to the doctor, because it’s not masculine. The case is dragging on, the patient becomes depressed.
Meanwhile, OAB can be successfully treated. The rescue is either intravesical injection of botulinum toxin (under anesthesia), which, however, is only enough for a few months, or taking medications. They act on specific nerve receptors, preventing the bladder from contracting.
So far, the so-called anticholinergic preparations containing substances such as oxybutynin, darifenacin, solifenacin, tolterodine, trospium, fesotedarin. A substance called mirabegron is now available that acts more precisely on the bladder and has fewer side effects targeting beta-3 adrenergic receptors. However, it is not reimbursed from public funds so far, so patients have to buy it themselves.
So let’s look for help, ask for help from a doctor. Realize that overactive bladder is like any other disease. It can and must be treated instead of suffering in silence.