Is It an Enlarged Bladder? Common Symptoms and What to Do About It
Written by TYE Medical on Feb 6th 2025
Confused by your bladder symptoms? It could be an enlarged bladder, also known as a distended bladder. This condition is commonly overlooked, and you may even be given medication for overactive bladder unnecessarily. For some women, the problem is that your bladder has become larger than its usual size. As it enlarges, the walls thicken to compensate for being overstretched. While there are several causes, and a few of them are serious, often the condition is reversible and symptoms will subside. Here’s what you need to know about enlarged bladder, including symptoms, causes, and how to treat it.
What Are Symptoms of an Enlarged Bladder?
Enlarged bladder symptoms are very similar to other bladder conditions, which is why you may be misdiagnosed or looking in the wrong direction for solutions. Doctors might also perform an ultrasound to determine the cause of your distended bladder. Symptoms can vary depending on the cause, but here is a short list of the most common ones:
- Constantly feeling like your bladder is full
- Difficulty urinating or emptying your bladder (incomplete emptying)
- Having a slow urine stream
- Leaking urine
- Abdominal pain or discomfort
- Waking at night to urinate
- Experiencing symptoms of a UTI (but tests are negative)
It’s also possible to have blood in your urine, depending on the cause of the enlargement.
Many women assume they have a UTI, because symptoms can feel similar. This causes confusion and frustration when test results show no infection.
What Are Causes of an Enlarged Bladder?
It’s important to see your doctor if you’re having any symptoms, because they must rule out a more serious cause for an enlarged bladder.
Common causes include:
- Urinary retention
- Bladder obstruction
- Born with it
- Neurological conditions
Some people are born with an enlarged bladder but don’t present with symptoms until later.
Urinary Retention and Incomplete Emptying
Urinary retention means you have difficulty getting a stream of urine going and therefore retain urine in your bladder rather than emptying it. This can become a serious situation if you’re not emptying it often enough. If you can’t urinate at all or are able to go very little, you should see your doctor immediately. Overfull bladders can backwash urine into the kidneys, causing kidney damage. Urinary retention can also cause overflow incontinence.
Urinary retention is closely associated with incomplete emptying, which is when you expel plenty of urine but aren’t emptying completely. Both incomplete emptying and urinary retention can happen if you develop a habit of holding your pee for too long. As your bladder enlarges to accommodate the additional fluid, it becomes more difficult to release urine. You may then find yourself going more frequently, because you aren’t emptying when you go. All of this can also irritate your bladder, causing burning and discomfort like a bladder infection.
Bladder Obstruction and Enlarged Bladder
A bladder obstruction commonly causes a distended bladder. When your bladder is obstructed, it has to work hard to push urine past the blockage. Over time, this additional pressure can make your bladder walls less elastic, essentially allowing it to “stretch out” or enlarge. Kidney stones and tumors. But if you can recognize and remove the obstruction early enough, you can prevent the enlarging of your bladder.
Neurological Conditions Can Cause A Distended Bladder
Conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS) and paralysis can cause your bladder to retain urine and keep you from emptying it completely. Your nervous system is what controls your bladder, signaling when to urinate and when to hold it. Disorders that disrupt never function can negatively affect bladder function.
Enlarged Bladder Treatments
The first step is to pinpoint and remove the cause of your distended bladder to prevent further bladder stretching. It’s unlikely that your bladder will return to normal size after overstretching. But it’s possible to manage your symptoms and prevent continued bladder damage.
Doctors will remove any bladder obstructions to treat your symptoms and keep your bladder from stretching further.
If your bladder is enlarged due to urinary retention caused by a habit of holding urine for long periods of time, a doctor may instruct you to start urinating as soon as you have the urge. While you retrain your bladder by going immediately, you should also practice relaxing and emptying your bladder as much as possible each time. Don’t rush. Over time, your bladder symptoms should subside, including any burning or UTI-like discomfort. Then you may hold it for reasonable amounts of time, but should not return to the habit of holding it for long periods. Continue to ensure that you are relaxed and emptying completely each time you go to prevent bladder irritation and frequent urination.
In some cases, if the underlying cause of an enlarged bladder can’t be removed and the situation is dangerous or negatively affecting your daily life, doctors may recommend surgery. This treatment, called reduction cystoplasty, will surgically reduce the size of your bladder and its capacity to hold urine.
Enlarged Bladder Takeaways
Distended bladder symptoms can be uncomfortable, inconvenient, and frustrating. But it’s not usually a life-threatening condition. While your bladder isn’t likely to return to its original size, symptoms are manageable.
Be sure to see your doctor as soon as you notice it’s more difficult to urinate. This can prevent further bladder damage and ensure there is not a more serious underlying issue.
