Know For Sure Health Article

Frequent urination can simply be an overactive bladder disorder (OAB), but it can also be a sign for many other urinary conditions. To know for sure, see your doctor for a proper diagnosis. Once properly diagnosed, you can begin the right medication and treatment.

To separate your symptoms from other possible causes, your doctor will do specific tests called urodynamic tests that are used to measure the function of the bladder. Some tests may be done by a specialist. A doctor who specializes in urinary disorders in men and women is known as an urologist. A urologist who only sees female patients – as they are more prone to different types of urinary problems – is called an urogynecologist.

Here are some of the more commonly used tests to check for OAB and other urinary problems:

• Urinalysis: A simple urine collection that is examined – can tell a doctor a great deal about the health of your urinary tract and kidneys. The tests will look for casts, cells, crystals and bacteria in the urine. This can include: blood, protein and glucose in the urine, which could signify problems like a urinary tract infection, kidney problems, or diabetes.
• Postvoid residual urine measurement: When the bladder doesn't empty completely, it can create problems and that little extra urine can show symptoms like an overactive bladder disorder. During this test, a catheter (a thin tube) is gently passed into your urethra to drain and measure the remaining urine.
• Uroflowmetry: Urinating into an uroflowmeter allows a doctor to measure the speed and volume of your urination to check how fast your urine comes out – the "flow rate."
• Pressure flow and cystometry studies: These two tests measure the pressure at filling and the pressure needed to urinate along with the rate of flow. During the test, one smaller catheter is used to gently fill the bladder with water, while another is either placed in the rectum (men) or vagina (women). The second catheter has a pressure measuring device called a manometer that records involuntary bladder contractions, how much pressure builds up inside your bladder as it stores urine. The volume of water – how much your bladder can hold, how much bladder pressure builds in your bladder as it stores urine, and how full it is when you feel the urge to urinate are recorded.
• Electromyography: During this procedure your doctor will place sensors on your skin near the urethra and rectum or pelvic floor to measure you nerve impulses the muscles' coordination in the bladder and urinary sphincter.
• Bladder stress test: This test involves filling the bladder and asking you to cough to test if you're leaking urine under simple stress on the bladder. A similar test, the Bonney test, involves the doctor lifting the bladder neck slightly with a finger or instrument inserted into the vagina while bladder stress is applied (coughing).
• Cystoscopy: A cystoscope is like a catheter with a lens on the end. Your doctor uses this to examine the inside of your bladder and urethra while checking for abnormalities like tumors, stones, or other problems.
• Video urodynamics: Your doctor uses X-ray or ultrasound to create a picture of your bladder during filling and emptying. Used with cystometry and pressure-flow studies, a special dye is used for detection by the X-ray. Otherwise, warm water is used for the sound waves in the ultrasound.

While none of the tests sound particularly pleasant, they are very informative to your doctor in determining what is causing your symptoms.

To know what questions your doctor might ask at your first visit, see Healthline's OAB Doctor Discussion Guide here.