Anxiety and incontinence

[newmercies]

Something I've been struggling with for a while now is incontinence linked to anxiety. I have a hard time knowing what triggers the (mainly urinary) incontinence and how to manage it. Does anyone else have a similar struggle? I feel a lot of shame about it, and it impacts my life in a large way. Any tips/advice/personal experiences would be much appreciated.

[Hoping_to_Heal]

Hi,

I have suffered horribly from severe Overactive Bladder & urge incontinence from around the time my OCD started at about age 26 (I'm 44 now). What an absolute **nightmare** -- as if having VERY severe OCD wasn't enough! You are certainly not alone with this. Overactive Bladder & incontinence are often caused by anxiety --especially chronic and intense anxiety, such as with OCD.

The medication Oxybutinin (Ditropan) helps me, and a natural supplement, pumpkin seed oil, also seems to reduce symptoms a bit. I take the capsules by Micro Ingredients, which are quite reasonably priced. I'm also prone to frequent urinary tract infections -- which make Overactive Bladder so much WORSE -- and I take another natural supplement called D-Mannose to prevent these and to treat any flare-ups.

I really hope you can find some relief soon.