Most women know if they leak.  But many don’t understand why they are leaking and what makes it worse.  One simple way to figure this out is to journal your symptoms.  I have almost all of my patients journal their symptoms.  Most of us don’t realize how many calories we are eating until we write it down.  The same is true of the bladder- you don’t realize what you are doing until you write it down.  Many women journal their symptoms and immediately see how they have been making things worse.  They see the solution without any guidance.  So how do you journal your symptoms?

Journaling materials

The first step is to decide how you are going to track your symptoms. You can write it down on a piece of paper.  There are predesigned bladder diaries like this one by IUGA.  Apps like myfitnesspal allow to track your intake.  If you like keeping things on your phone, this may be easier for you.

Journaling details

Start by writing down how much you are drinking, what you are drinking, and when you are drinking it.  Next, track your leaking and when it happens.  Repeat for three days.  Make sure that these days are typical problem days for you.  If you have no leaking during this period, you’ll need to repeat the journaling. Look at your work to see if you can see any patterns.  Are you drinking too much?  Does it look like a type of drink (maybe sparkling water) is causing you problems?  Make any adjustments that seem reasonable to you.  Repeat the journaling and see if it made a difference. If you didn’t find journaling your liquid intake helpful, you can add in food intake.  Lots of foods are bladder irritants too.  You might find that tomatoes or even peaches are causing you problems.  Doing this takes some time, but it can make a huge difference for you.  And if you realize that peaches are a problem, you could cut them out of your diet or only eat them when you are staying at home.  Recognizing your triggers gives you the power to make the changes that suit you!  Making small changes can make a huge impact.