Dietary Restrictions for Patients with an overactive bladder (OAB)

These foods and drinks cause increased bladder sensitivity and symptoms among patient who have OAB. They should be limited or avoided:

• All alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, etc.)
• All caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, etc.). You may have Kava instant coffee however.
• All sodas and carbonated beverages (even diet sodas)
• Acid fruits -- lemons, limes, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, tomatoes (particularly anything with tomato paste or concentrate)
• Vinegar, orange juice or cranberry juice
• Vitamin C tablets -- no more than 250 mg per day

Record how much water and fluids you drink in a day as well as when you drink your daily fluids. Try to drink most of your fluids before 6 P.M. to reduce the frequency of waking to void at night.

Bladder Training Drills:

Bladder training drills are a very effective way to improve or control the urge to void without drugs. Start by voiding once an hour by the clock. This means go whether you need to or not. It is very important that you set a watch, alarm or timer and go to the toilet to empty your bladder when an hour has passed. Once you are comfortable at this level (can go an hour without urgency or leaking) increase the interval to an hour and fifteen minutes.

Continue to increase your interval by 15 minutes every few days or every time you get comfortable at a particular level, until you are going every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. You should not go longer than this without emptying your bladder.