u/Loose_Highlight4583

I would like to share my experience as I've recently found a few things which have really helped with my OAB problem. 

For background, I'm male, mid 40's, no underlying health conditions and pretty active (albeit carrying 7 or 8 kg more than I should be). I've experienced OAB issues for last 15-20 years but gradually getting worse. Had the various checks and nothing obvious wrong. I would definitely say it's a combination of a physical and mental issues for me. For example, if I get stuck in a situation where I know I can't pee (traffic jam, aircraft with seatbelts signs on) I almost get the sudden urge to go to the toilet, almost a panic attack, but when I get home I forget all about the need to pee, but there are situations where I definitely need to empty my bladder, especially drinking beer, which I now tend to avoid. 

Anyway, over the last month I've tried a few different things which have really helped me and making me less anxious most of the time. 

1. Switching from Solifenacin to Mirabegron. Now I can go almost 3 hours without peeing and only up once a night from 3 or 4. Also means I have the confidence to not pee before jumping in the car for a short journey etc. 
2. Bladder training when in a comfortable environment i.e. at home. Trying to wait a little longer each time you really need, the above helps with that. 
3. This one is important and I'm still experimenting. I did not know until very recently that actually being dehydrated makes things worse. If I was flying or driving long distances, I would not drink at all that day until at my destination. However, I would still get the urge to go, but actually end up peeing a very small volume. Turns out concentrated pee aggravates the bladder. So actually it's better to drink some water, but not too much (that's the difficult bit and what I'm experimenting with).

 

I'm not cured, still have episodes, but I hope one year applying of the above so I can become less anxious and train the bladder to hold enough fluid to not need to rely on drugs. Let's see. Also going to cut out coffee, or at least greatly reduce it. 

Hope that helps someone. Love to hear about your experiences and what's helped.