“Why Am I Peeing So Much All of a Sudden”
Diving into urinary urgency and frequency.
One of the top questions that we as pelvic floor PTs get asked by patients is: “Why am I peeing so much all of a sudden”. When a patient is peeing more than 8 times per day, and more than 1 time at night (for anyone that isn’t pregnant or over the age of 65), we consider that urinary frequency.
When someone is asking about “peeing so much all of a sudden”, we really have to understand if they are truly peeing more than normal, or if they are actually peeing more than is considered normal. If they are truly peeing more, especially all of a sudden, we need to investigate a few things.
This includes: diet and beverage changes, increase in stress, change in activity, and whether any other pelvic symptoms are present.
Diet and beverage changes.
If you are peeing so much all of a sudden, we have to see if there have been any dietary or beverage consumption changes. If you are drinking more water than normal, drinking water at a faster rate, or have increased your consumption of things like alcohol, caffeine, or sparkling beverages. These types of beverages can irritate the bladder in some people which may contribute to feeling like you have to pee more.
Increase in stress.
Stress tenses the pelvic floor muscles. This can irritate the bladder, making you have the sensation that you have to pee more. Also, when the pelvic floor muscles are tight, this can affect how much the bladder empties. This can therefore give you the sensation that you have to pee more, especially all of a sudden.
Change in activity.
If you have increased your activity, especially in terms of a workout, you could be putting more tightness and pressure through the pelvic floor. Either way, this can cause irritation to the pelvic floor muscles and muscles that sit around the pelvis and thus give rise to increased feeling that you have to pee.
Whether other urinary symptoms are present.
If you have other symptoms like pelvic heaviness, leakage, pain with bladder filling, or other pelvic floor symptoms, your urgency might be related to something else going on. Things like hormonal changes, other conditions like interstitial cystitis, and constipation can all cause urinary urgency and are often related to other pelvic health symptoms.
Likely, the sensation that you are “peeing so much all of a sudden” is not out of the blue. It is likely that something that might have been hovering below the surface for a while, or there actually have been a shift in your activities or behavior that could explain why you are getting the urge to pee more frequently.
Working with a good pelvic floor physical therapist is a key part of improving urinary frequency. If you feel like you have been “peeing so much all of a sudden”, a pelvic floor physical therapist can not only help you figure out why, but can also give you a successful treatment plan to resolve your urinary frequency.
If you are struggling with the urge to pee, this is something that can be addressed virtually or in person. If you our local to the Bucks County, PA area we can see you in the clinic. Otherwise, we can do virtual sessions to help you overcome urinary urgency. Click here to find out more.
