Vesicare

What is Vesicare?

Vesicare is an effective medication for preventing or reducing symptoms of urinary urgency and urinary incontinence.

Urinary incontinence is when there is pressure placed on the bladder which is stronger than the urethral sphincter. The urethral sphincter is the muscle that’s responsible for stopping urine from seeping out of the bladder. Physical factors can cause this, such as the urethral sphincter being damaged or weakened as a result of childbirth. It could also occur indirectly following a surgical procedure, if you’re obese, or if you have a condition that affects the spasms of the muscles.

People with this condition are likely to experience unwanted urinary leakage when they laugh, sneeze, cough or experience any other kind of muscular contraction that affects the area which surrounds the urinary tract.

Urinary urgency is slightly different as this causes the muscles in the bladder to contract with excessive force. This makes you feel a sudden urge to urinate, and you may pass urine before you’re able to get to the toilet.

Incontinence and urgency can be treated in different ways. Certain training motions like Kegel exercises can help, and not drinking any liquids before going to bed or driving. Vesicare is another option, which can be taken as either a tablet or a fluid, and helps the muscles that line the bladder obstruct, causing them to tense up. This means that they don’t let unwanted urine pass.

How does Vesicare work?

Vesicare is an anticholinergic and contains an active ingredient known as solifenacin succinate. This reduces symptoms of incontinence and urgency by helping the muscarinic receptors contained within the muscles that line the bladder.

By doing this, they’re able to block out the signals that make them tense up, and stop you from leaking urine. By relaxing the muscular wall lining, they cannot contract as strongly, which means they’re unable to place pressure on the urethral sphincter. This reduces both your urge to pass urine and the frequency of urination.

How to take Vesicare

The way that you should take Vesicare depends on whether you’re using the tablet or the suspension fluid. We don’t offer the oral suspension fluid right now, so check the patient information leaflet if that’s what you’re using.

If you’re taking Vesicare as a tablet:

• swallow the tablet whole with some liquid (preferably water)
• take it with or without food (personal preference)
• don’t crush the tablet

Normally, our clinician will prescribe you with 5mg of Vesicare a day, which is a single dose each day. But you may be prescribed a different dose depending on your health background.

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

If you have taken too much Vesicare or if a child has accidentally ingested it, you’ll need to contact a clinician or medical professional right away. Symptoms of an overdose include:

• headache
• dry mouth
• dizziness
• drowsiness
• blurred vision
• hallucinations
• over-excitability
• seizures
• difficulty breathing
• elevated heart rate
• a build-up of urine in your bladder
• dilated pupils

It should be noted though that if you have taken too much and don’t have any of the above symptoms, you should still contact a clinician.

If you accidentally miss a dose of Vesicare then you should not take a double dose to make up for it. Instead, if you miss a dose, you should speak to our clinician. Sign in to your account and send them a message.

Medically reviewed by

Dr Daniel Atkinson

GP Clinical Lead

on August 02, 2022.

Meet Daniel