Detrusitol

What is Detrusitol?

Detrusitol is a treatment that’s used to treat both urinary urgency and urinary incontinence.

Urinary urgency is the sudden need to pass urine, which for a lot of people can result in them urinating before they have actually been able to reach the toilet. Incontinence is slightly different as this is the unwanted passage of urine triggered by a sudden surge of pressure, which is usually caused by sneezing or laughing.

There are a number of factors that can lead to urgency and incontinence, including your lifestyle, if you drink a large amount of alcohol or caffeine, or if you don’t drink enough fluids.^[1] It can also be caused by some medications or underlying conditions like urinary tract infections. There are also physical factors that could contribute such as pregnancy.

Detrusitol is able to combat the effects of urinary urgency and incontinence by relaxing the detrusor muscle around the bladder. It can be taken both as a regular film-coated tablet and also as an XL capsule. The XL capsule contains a higher dose and is not designed to be taken as regularly as the tablet.

How does Detrusitol work?

When you experience urgency or incontinence, it’s due to certain signals being transmitted from the brain to muscle walls which surround the bladder. When this happens, it can result in unpredictable bladder contractions, and this may lead to the unwanted passage of urine.

When you take Detrusitol, the active ingredient tolterodine affects these signals and blocks them from being passed from the brain to the walls of the bladder by blocking receptors called muscarinic (or cholinergic) receptors that are found on the surface of the muscle cells. In doing this, you reduce the symptoms of urgency and incontinence.

What doses of Detrusitol are there?

Detrusitol is available in 1mg, 2mg and 4mg doses. Adults tend to take 2mg each morning and 2mg every night, with a gap of 12 hours between doses.

If you experience kidney or liver disease, or if you get side effects, our clinician can bring your dose down to 1mg per day.

The 4mg dose is a modified release tablet that you take just once a day, so it’s a convenient option. It’s also a strong dosage option if you’re prone to dry mouth, which is less common with the 4mg dose than the 2mg tablet.

How to take Detrusitol

The way that you take Detrusitol will depend on the dosage prescribed to you by our clinician. Generally speaking, people usually take a 2mg tablet, twice a day. This can be reduced to 1mg a day if you have some kind of kidney or liver condition, or if you experience troublesome side effects to the treatment. The tablets are designed for oral use and should be swallowed whole.

There are also the XL capsules that contain 4mg. These should be taken orally and should be swallowed whole, not chewed. Our clinician will again prescribe you a recommended dosage, but these are usually only taken once a day.

How long does it take Detrusitol to work?

Detrusitol is an ongoing treatment, but it usually starts to have an effect within four weeks. Tolterodine can affect the amount of urine that stays in the bladder so monitoring this before you start the medication is important. It’s normal for a little bit of urine to stay in your bladder, but too much of it increases your risk of developing a urinary tract infection (UTI).

Generally, our clinician will be able to guide you on how long the treatment should last. You’re unlikely to see immediate effects from the medication because your bladder needs time to adapt. A review of how effective Detrusitol is will take place two to three months after use.

What should I do if I make a mistake when taking Detrusitol?

If you make a mistake when taking Detrusitol, for instance if you miss a dose, then you should speak to our clinician for advice. You should not make up for a missed dose by taking more the next time round.

If you accidently take too much Detrusitol then you should contact a clinician or a medical professional immediately.

Detrusitol should also not be ingested by children. If this does happen, you should seek medical assistance immediately.