What could be causing my urinary frequency, extreme fatigue, and urinary incontinence, with urinalysis results showing normal parameters except for slightly elevated urobilinogen?

Evaluation for Overactive Bladder vs. Urinary Tract Infection

Based on your normal urinalysis with negative nitrites and leukocyte esterase, you do not have a urinary tract infection and should not receive antibiotics—instead, your symptoms of urinary frequency, urgency, nocturia (waking 5+ times), and new-onset incontinence strongly suggest overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome. 1

Why This Is Not a UTI

Your urinalysis results are essentially normal and specifically argue against infection:

• Negative nitrites AND negative leukocyte esterase effectively rule out UTI in the absence of systemic symptoms like fever, rigors, or delirium 1
• The 2024 European guidelines explicitly state that with negative nitrites and leukocyte esterase, antibiotics should NOT be prescribed for urinary tract infection 1
• Your symptoms (frequency, urgency, nocturia, incontinence) without dysuria, fever, or costovertebral angle tenderness do not meet criteria for UTI treatment 1

Critical pitfall to avoid: Do not treat with antibiotics when no infection is present—this is a common error that contributes to antibiotic resistance without helping your symptoms 2

Why This Appears to Be Overactive Bladder

Your symptom pattern matches the clinical definition of OAB:

• Urgency (sudden compelling desire to void that's difficult to defer) is the hallmark symptom 1
• Frequency (going to bathroom "a lot" during the day) 1
• Nocturia (waking 5+ times at night to void) 1
• Urgency incontinence ("unable to hold urine anymore") 1
• Recent onset and progressive worsening (2 weeks ago, then worse yesterday) 1

The extreme fatigue you describe is likely secondary to severe sleep disruption from waking 5+ times nightly 1

Essential Next Steps for Diagnosis

Before starting treatment, you need:

1. Post-void residual (PVR) measurement to rule out overflow incontinence—this is crucial before any treatment, especially before anticholinergic medications 2

   • PVR >250-300 mL would indicate overflow incontinence, not OAB 2
   • This must be done before prescribing antimuscarinics to avoid worsening urinary retention 2

2. Voiding diary for 3 days to document:

   • Number of voids per day (>7 during waking hours suggests frequency) 1
   • Volume of each void (small volumes typical of OAB vs. large volumes suggesting nocturnal polyuria) 1, 2
   • Number of incontinence episodes 1
   • Timing of symptoms 2

3. Assessment for pain to distinguish OAB from other conditions:

   • Pain, pressure, or discomfort in bladder/pelvis suggests Painful Bladder Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis instead of pure OAB 2
   • OAB without pain is urgency-predominant 2

Recommended Treatment Approach

Once overflow incontinence is ruled out with normal PVR, begin with behavioral therapies immediately—you do not need to wait for these to fail before considering medications. 3

First-Line Behavioral Interventions (Start Now):

• Bladder training: Scheduled voiding with gradually increasing intervals between bathroom trips 1
• Fluid management: Review total fluid intake and timing (avoid excessive fluids before bedtime) 1
• Dietary modifications: Identify and avoid bladder irritants (caffeine, alcohol, acidic foods) 2
• Urgency suppression techniques: When urgency occurs, stop and use distraction/relaxation rather than rushing to bathroom 3

Pharmacologic Treatment (Can Be Started Simultaneously):

The American College of Physicians and American Urological Association support pharmacologic treatment for urgency incontinence, especially when symptoms are severe as yours are 1:

• Anticholinergics (oxybutynin, tolterodine) or beta-3 agonists (mirabegron) are first-line options 1
• Choice should be based on tolerability, side effects, ease of use, and cost 1
• These can be combined with behavioral therapies from the start—you don't need to fail behavioral therapy first given your severe symptoms 3

Important Considerations:

• Weight loss if obese: Strong recommendation for obese women with incontinence 1
• Pelvic floor muscle training: May help, though evidence is mixed for urgency incontinence 1

What Doesn't Work

Cranberry juice has no proven benefit for OAB or urgency incontinence—it's sometimes used for UTI prevention (with limited evidence) but won't help your current symptoms 1

When to Seek Urgent Evaluation

Return immediately if you develop:

• Fever >37.8°C or rigors 1
• Acute confusion or delirium 1
• Complete inability to urinate (urinary retention) 1
• Severe suprapubic pain 1

Follow-Up Timeline

• Reassess in 2-4 weeks after starting behavioral and/or pharmacologic therapy 1
• If no improvement, consider urodynamic testing or referral to urology 1
• Symptoms typically improve within weeks to months with appropriate treatment 1