Overactive Bladder Diet
The ultimate goal of any alteration to diet or drinking habits is to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of overactive bladder and to improve quality of life.
Most medical practitioners will initially commence a treatment programme by starting with the least invasive and surgery free options. One of these is to look carefully at the diet and drinking habits of sufferers. I have used the word habits deliberately at this point, as it may simply be a change of habitual actions that facilitates an improvement in symptoms.
Drink
Many people think that by reducing the intake of fluid, then less urine will be passed and their condition will improve. Drinking less does result in a reduction of urine volume, but the urine that is produced is highly concentrated. This can actually cause further problems as the bladder lining may be irritated. It is believed that highly concentrated urine can actually make you wish to go to the toilet more.
Limiting fluid intake can, in some cases make you constipated, which in turn can lead to further problems.
Having said that of course drinking too much, it is claimed can cause overactive bladder. It is extremely confusing and a frequent question is how much should I drink? This should be discussed with your medical practitioner who will advise you. It may be a good idea at this meeting to have a completed bladder diary so that patterns of voiding may be seen.
The time of day, when you drink may also be significant. If you drink large quantities at the same time, for example with a meal, your bladder may not be able to cope. It is best not to drink large quantities at one time e.g. meals, but to spread the intake over the course of the day.
It has been suggested that to reduce nocturia the following should be tried:
- Decrease the intake of fluids by drinking the majority before 6pm
- Try to eliminate alcohol and caffeine, particularly in the evening
- Caffeine has 3 components that all act as a diuretic, (increasing the production of urine) and can increase bladder pressure.
Certain types of food are known to irritate or trigger overactive bladder. Generally it is felt that tomato based foods, highly spiced foods, fruit and fruit juices can irritants. It is worth modifying your diet to see if it helps. The results could be recorded on a bladder diary for use in discussions with your medical practitioner.