Diabetes? Infection? 7 conditions that share OAB symptoms, and what you should do about them (9 Photos)
Laura Flynn McCarthy on Dec 22, 2011 at 1:32PM
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If you need to pee more than eight times a day or often rush to the bathroom but sometimes don’t quite make it (common symptoms of overactive bladder or OAB), make an appointment with your doctor. In most cases, OAB is treatable, and can be improved and possibly cured. “You don’t have to ‘just live with’ your symptoms,” says Cheryl Iglesia, M.D., associate professor of ob/gyn and urology at Georgetown University School of Medicine and section director of female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.
And you might have something more serious. “OAB symptoms can sometimes signal another health problem -- infections, nerve problems, diabetes, even cancer -- that needs treatment,” says Dr. Iglesia. With a few simple tests, your doctor may be able to rule out these or other conditions -- or discover a problem early enough to cure it -- and by treating your underlying problem, possibly clear up your OAB symptoms, too. If you have any of the following symptoms, together with an urgent or frequent need to urinate, here’s what it may signal and what you can do about it.
