Medications for OAB

Medications for unspecified OAB

If your doctor can’t find a cause for your OAB, don’t worry. Drugs can still help ease your symptoms. Some of these drugs work by relaxing your bladder. They stop involuntary contractions that bring on the urge to urinate. Other drugs help strengthen the tissues around your bladder that may have become weak. The stronger tissue can help improve your bladder control.

Anticholinergic drugs for OAB

The largest class of drugs used to treat OAB is anticholinergic drugs. They work by blocking a chemical in your body called acetylcholine. This chemical sends a message to your bladder to contract. By blocking this chemical, these drugs reduce the contractions that cause you to release urine. In studies that compared the drugs, all anticholinergics worked equally well in treating OAB.

Beta-3 adrenergic drugs for OAB

The only drug in this class is mirabegron (Myrbetriq). It works by relaxing the smooth muscle in the walls of your bladder. This effect helps your bladder hold more urine.

This drug is available as a tablet that you take by mouth once per day. It interacts with several other drugs. Make sure you tell your doctor about all medications you’re taking.

The most common side effect of this drug is high blood pressure.

Antispasmodic drugs for OAB | Antispasmodic drugs

Flavoxate is the only drug in this class. It’s an oral drug that reduces bladder spasms. This is an older drug. Some studies show that it doesn’t work as well as newer drugs to treat symptoms of OAB.