Try bladder training

People with bladders that are overly active get used to urinating often or at the slightest urge. Some might visit the toilet to keep from having an accident even when there's no need to use the toilet.

After a while, the bladder signals the brain it's full when it's not. That creates the urge to urinate.

Bladder training involves changing habits. It means going to the toilet at set times, even when there's no urge to urinate. If the times between urinating increase little by little, the bladder fills more fully. This helps control the urge to urinate.

A bladder-training program often follows these basic steps:

• Find the pattern. Keep a diary for a few days. Jot down every time you urinate. A health care provider can use this diary to help you make a schedule for bladder training.

• Wait longer before urinating. Your bladder diary can tell you how long you wait between urinating. Add on 15 minutes. If you usually urinate every hour, try to wait for an hour and 15 minutes.

  Little by little, increase the time between trips to the toilet until you can wait 2 to 4 hours between trips. Increasing the time slowly gives the best chance for success.

• Stick to the schedule. Once you've made a schedule, do your best to stick to it. Urinate right after waking up in the morning. And urinate each scheduled time even if you have no urge to go.

  If you have an urge but it's not time to go, try to wait. Distract yourself or use ways to relax, such as deep breathing. If you feel you're going to have an accident, go to the toilet. But then return to the schedule.

Don't give up if you don't succeed the first few times. Keep trying. Your control is likely to increase.