Obesity and Diabetes Can Cause Incontinence?

How does being overweight cause overactive bladder? Get all the details on obesity, diabetes and bladder leaks.

A sensitive bladder isn't always an easy thing to figure out. It can be caused by many different conditions, and some risk factors cannot be avoided, such as blood sugar levels, natural hormonal changes and muscle loss due to aging and menopause, or nerve damage during pregnancy or childbirth.

On the other hand, being overweight or obese is a factor that can be managed with the right knowledge and resources.

Learn about how obesity and diabetes are related to incontinence, and what you can do to help manage your weight, your risk of diabetes, and the likelihood of bladder leaks due to weight aggravation.

Obesity and Incontinence

Can being overweight cause incontinence? Yes, there is a lot or connection between frequent urination or bladder leaks for overweight women.

Notice a few extra pounds in a few places? It happens to most women during pregnancy and then again at menopause. But here's how some extra pounds can affect your sensitive bladder:

• Carrying extra weight around the middle of the body can increase the chances of incontinence.

• Excess weight in the abdomen can put pressure on the bladder. This pressure can weaken or damage your pelvic floor and urethral structures, making it easier for your bladder to leak urine.

• Stress incontinence can cause stress urinary incontinence to leak urine due to everyday actions such as sneezing, coughing, or kneeling.

• It is estimated that 46% - 67% of obese women will experience incontinence. Studies have found that losing weight can help reduce or eliminate symptoms of overactive bladder.

Talk to your doctor about how to lose weight and manage sensitive bladder symptoms so you can live a healthier, more active life.

Diabetes and Incontinence

Can diabetes cause incontinence? The short answer is yes, diabetes can cause frequent urgency and even bladder leakage. That's why. Type two diabetes increases the risk and severity of bladder sensitivity, which can lead to urinary incontinence. This includes an unhealthy body weight, which is also linked to type two diabetes.

Type two diabetes can lead to incontinence because the extra weight puts pressure on your pelvic floor muscles. Similar to obesity-induced incontinence, if you are able to maintain a healthy weight, you can reduce your chances of leaking urine from your bladder. Here are some great reasons to manage your weight and have diabetes or an existing diabetic condition:

• Diabetes can cause your blood sugar levels to rise higher than normal. Elevated blood sugar can lead to thirst and frequent urination.

• Diabetes increases glucose levels, and persistently high glucose levels in the blood cause fluid to be lost from tissues, increasing thirst and the need to drink. This can lead to frequent urination in women with diabetes.

• Increased risk of bladder infection. Urinary tract infections often lead to incontinence.

• Diabetes can cause nerve damage, including the nerves that control the pelvic floor and bladder.

• Some diabetes medications can make bladder sensitivity worse by causing fluid retention or coughing.

• Diabetes during pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes, increases the risk of having a large baby and subsequently puts more pressure on the bladder.

Diagnosis

An easy way to determine whether obesity or diabetes is a factor affecting incontinence is to keep a diary for a week. Getting an accurate obesity incontinence or diabetic incontinence diagnosis from your doctor really depends on giving the right information. By answering these questions, you can help your doctor understand whether your experience is related to incontinence or another underlying condition:

• How often do you urinate or leak urine from your bladder?

• Do you experience bladder leakage during the day, night, or both?

• What happens before a bladder leak occurs? For example, do you laugh, kneel, or sneeze?

• Did you drink anything before?

• Were you moving around or standing still when things happened? What the hell are you doing?

• What medicines are you taking?

• Have your symptoms changed over time?

With the right information and your commitment to weight management, you and your doctor can manage your incontinence together.

Treatment

Incontinence usually doesn't go away overnight, but there are things women with diabetes or obesity can do today.

• Incontinence Protection. You can control bladder leaks with the right incontinence products. That doesn't necessarily mean adult diapers! Our unique Xili Hygiene Underpads Options and Xili Hygiene Disposable Underwear are specifically designed to control leaky overactive bladders. They're the size and absorbency you need for the protection you need to move around, so bladder leaks are no big deal.

• Diet and Fluid Intake. Discuss with your doctor the best diet to help control blood sugar and general fluid intake. Avoid foods and drinks that irritate your bladder. Certain foods and beverages are not recommended for people with incontinence, such as foods high in sugar, alcoholic beverages, citrus, caffeine, and carbonated beverages.

• Hydrate! While drinking too much fluid can create the urge to urinate, it's especially important to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Just make sure to limit your fluids before bed to avoid nocturia and nighttime frequency.

• Exercise. Exercise is a great way to control your weight. Start by simply walking around the house, around your neighborhood, or while running errands. Every movement helps reduce excess weight and pressure on the bladder. Kegel exercises are a great way to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, which can improve bladder control.

• Create a Bathroom Schedule. Getting into the habit of emptying your bladder on a schedule throughout the day can help improve predictability and reduce the urgency to urinate at unexpected times. You can also train your bladder by increasing the time between toilet trips.

• The link between obesity, diabetes, and incontinence, and ways to treat or reduce incontinence symptoms. Check out these other related articles to better understand the types of incontinence, common causes of bladder control problems, and ways to treat incontinence.

Hope you can get rid of the trobule with incontinence ASAP.