Individuals with urinary urgency and frequency, in particular those with a weak bladder, quite often comment about the caffeine in coffee and tea making their weak bladder condition worse. To ascertain if caffeine intake really is responsible for such patterns, analysts out of a hospital in London examined the specific impact of a level of caffeine on bladder processes for females who have been diagnosed with weak bladder and compared it to the effect on females in a control group that did not have a diagnosed weak bladder.

20 females who had verified weak bladder as well as 10 non-symptomatic controls ingested two hundred milligrams of caffeine and went through urodynamic analysis half an hour after ingestion. The weak bladder sufferers were additionally analyzed during a second time period after abstaining from caffeine containing drinks and foods all day and night for a full 24 hours.

Within the group of sufferers, there was clearly a considerable surge in the amount of pressure in the bladder following caffeinated drinks in comparison to when they had zero caffeine containing drinks. The controls reported simply no problems with frequency and urgency after drinking caffeinated drinks.

The results mean that caffeine intake often leads to a reduction in the bladder’s ability to store urine for individuals having a weak bladder.

When we do bladder training for people with a weak bladder, one of the first things we want to establish is whether or not caffeine makes their weak bladder symptoms worse. Typically, we record their bladder activity for a few days when they are avoiding bladder irritants, including caffeine.

After gathering that data to determine a baseline of bladder activity, the person will reintroduce caffeine into their diet while they continue to record bladder activity. If they document an increase in urinary frequency and/or urinary urgency after ingesting caffeine, they then make a decision either to use caffeine-free teas and coffee substitutes or at least to reduce their usual consumption of caffeine until they have more control over their weak bladders.

Bladder training then proceeds to retrain some of the bladder habits that have developed in response to the weak bladder symptoms. People usually regain bladder control within 8 weeks of a bladder training program like the one offered at http://www.bladderfitness.com.