According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, and 20 percent of Type II diabetics are morbidly obese. Individuals who are obese and have diabetes are at a greater risk for developing a condition called diabetic bladder. This condition causes problems with urination, and may result in an enlarged bladder.
Neuropathic Bladder Dysfunction
There is a well-established connection between obesity, diabetes and bladder problems. The bladder functions by holding urine until you are able to evacuate it. Nerves in the bladder signal when the bladder is getting full, and give you the urge to urinate. However, with diabetes, sometimes the nerves in the bladder don't work the way they should. This is called neuropathic bladder dysfunction. The nerves don't send the signal to the brain that it's time to urinate, and the body holds the urine. When this happens repeatedly, the bladder enlarges to accommodate the greater volume of urine. In fact, most of the time, you don't even know that your bladder has enlarged.
Risks
If you don't urinate frequently, you're at greater risk of bladder and urinary tract infections. Left untreated, these infections can progress to the kidneys and can become life-threatening. In addition, an enlarged bladder puts you at a greater risk for urinary incontinence, because if you don't get the urge to urinate, the bladder can become overfull and simply release on its own.
Enlarged Bladder Without Diabetes
Your bladder can become enlarged even if you're not a diabetic. Obesity often results in decreased muscle tone, and muscle weakness in the bladder and pelvic floor can cause the same kinds of problems as diabetic bladder. You may not even be aware that you have
an enlarged bladder until you get an ultrasound for another reason.
Treatment
Drink plenty of fluids and use the bathroom every two hours, whether you feel the need to urinate or not. According to the Diabetes Self Management website, the drug bethanechol increases the tone of the muscle that contracts to begin bladder emptying, and terazosin and doxazosin can relax the urinary sphincter to allow it to open and let urine pass through. As a last resort, you may need a catheter to allow the urine to pass.
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