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How does OAB affect your relationships?

How does overactive bladder (OAB) affect your relationships?
A round table discussion with women living with overactive bladder and how it affects relationships and intimacy.
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      Updated on October 25, 2024

      Overactive bladder often affects relationships. In this video, four women living with OAB share honest details about how the condition has affected intimacy and more.

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      Transcript

      00:00
      Currently, I'm dating, and yeah, when it gets to the part where it's going to be long term, I panic.
      00:06
      And I have found myself-- I haven't done it yet. I'm embarrassed, because I know that I'll have to say, oh, I gotta stop again.
      00:13
      Can you pull over at the next exit? Hi, everyone. I'm Patricia Geraghty, nurse practitioner specialist
      00:21
      in women's health, and I'm here today with Veronica, Lynne, Nikkie, and Brynn.
      00:28
      Overactive bladder is pretty intimate. How do you introduce this discussion
      00:34
      with your spouse or partner or very good friend? Well, I've been with my husband for a while,
      00:41
      and it wasn't an issue when we were first together. It was more after I had my son. So I think he noticed that I was having to go to the bathroom
      00:50
      more often. He's supportive. He teases about it, but he just also knows
      00:56
      that I'm going to have to go before we leave the house, and we're going to have to stop frequently on road trips. My friends are super supportive.
      01:04
      I have some friends who have the same issue that I do, so a lot of times, if we're in a social situation
      01:10
      and I need to use the restroom, they also have to go. Lynne, how do you talk to intimate partners,
      01:17
      significant others, even new partners? I guess if it's somebody that you care enough about,
      01:23
      and they care enough about you, you just have to be honest. Say, hey, look. I have this issue, I have to stop a lot.
      01:30
      Sorry about that. That's it. And usually, people are OK with that. Veronica? How about you? Well, I've been in a relationship for 10 years,
      01:38
      plus. And we're both older. So we kind of both have the same situation. So it was kind of easy.
      01:44
      It's like, OK, you got to go now? I have to go now. So I didn't have that much of an issue with it. How about intimate life with your spouse or your partner?
      01:53
      Does overactive partner effect that? Nikkie, you want to take this one on? It's kind of embarrassing, because I'm a newlywed.
      02:01
      We've been married almost five years. And it's totally embarrassing, because I need to be able to enjoy being a newlywed.
      02:10
      I need to be able to really enjoy my husband and enjoy a healthy sex life, versus oh my God, hold on,
      02:20
      honey, I gotta go pee. And he's fine. You know, you're in the mood and you got the music going, and then, hold up, honey, I gotta go take this.
      02:28
      Fortunately, I have a husband that's understanding. At first, it was like, are you serious? And then, now we're on our fifth year.
      02:36
      He totally gets it. But-- It's your reality, isn't it?

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