Ditropan and Ditropan XL, the extended-release form of the drug, treat symptoms of overactive bladder, including frequent urination, urgency, and urge incontinence. The drug works by blocking the nerve impulses that prompt the bladder to contract. Ditropan is also used to treat the urgency, frequency, leakage, incontinence, and painful or difficult urination caused by a neurogenic bladder.
Ditropan XL can also be prescribed for children 6 years of age and older who are suffering from urinary urge incontinence due to a neurological condition such as spina bifida.
Ditropan tablets and elixir contain the active ingredient Ditropan hydrochloride, which is a type of drug called an anticholinergic muscle relaxant. Ditropan tablets are also available without a brand name, ie as the generic drug. Ditropan works by relaxing the involuntary muscle that is found in the wall of the bladder.
The muscle in the wall of the bladder is called the detrusor muscle. It can sometimes contract in uncontrollable spasms, and this is often referred to as having an overactive or unstable bladder. The overactive detrusor muscle can cause an increase in the number of times you need to pass urine, uncontrollable urges to pass urine, or involuntary leakage of urine.
Ditropan works by relaxing the detrusor muscle in the wall of the bladder. It does this by blocking receptors called cholinergic receptors that are found on the surface of the muscle cells. This prevents a natural body chemical called acetylcholine from acting on these receptors.
Normally when acetylcholine acts on these receptors, it causes the detrusor muscle to contract and the bladder to empty. By blocking acetylcholine, Ditropan helps the muscle in the bladder wall to relax. This reduces unstable, involuntary contractions of the bladder, and thereby increases the capacity of the bladder to hold urine. In turn, this reduces the need to pass urine.
Ditropan is used to treat urinary frequency, urinary urgency and incontinence in people with unstable bladders. The condition may have no known cause, or may be due to problems with the nerve supply to the bladder, for example following a spinal cord injury, or as a result of conditions affecting the nervous system such as spina bifida or multiple sclerosis.
Ditropan can also be used to treat bedwetting in children over five years of age. In these cases the drug is used in combination with other non-drug therapy, and only when other approaches have failed.
Why is this drug prescribed?
- bedwetting in children over five years of age in conjunction with non-drug approaches when these have been unsuccessful.;
- improving bladder control in children over five years of age with diseases of the nervous system that cause problems with the nerve supply to the bladder.;
- urinary incontinence urgency and frequency in adults and elderly people with unstable bladder conditions.;
- weakness;
- suppression of milk production;
- rash restlessness;
- rapid heartbeat;
- palpitations;
- nausea;
- inability to urinate;
- impotence;
- hallucinations;
- eye paralysis;
- dry mouth;
- drowsiness;
- dizziness;
- dim vision;
- dilation of the pupil of the eye;
- difficulty falling or staying asleep;
- decreased sweating;
- decreased production of tears;
- thirst;
- skin reactions such as rash or itching;
- restlessness;
- loss of appetite;
- increased blood flow to the skin on the face;
- headache;
- false perceptions of things that are not really there;
- dry mouth skin or eyes;
- drowsiness;
- dizziness;
- disturbances of the gut such as constipation diarrhoea nausea indigestion abdominal pain flatulence acid reflux;
- difficulty in passing urine;
- confusion;
- blurred vision;
- awareness of your heartbeat;
- abnormal heart beats;
- constipation;
Adults
The usual dose is one 5-mg tablet or 1 teaspoonful of syrup taken 2 to 3 times a day, but not more than 4 times a day.
Children over 5 Years of Age
The usual dose is one 5-mg tablet or 1 teaspoonful of syrup taken 2 times a day, but not more than 3 times a day. Ditropan is not recommended for children under 5.
DITROPAN XL
Adults
The recommended starting dose is 5 or 10 mg once a day. If this proves insufficient, the doctor may increase the dose by 5 mg at weekly intervals, up to a maximum of 30 mg a day.
Children 6 Years of Age and Older
The recommended starting dose is 5 mg once a day. If this proves insufficient, the doctor may increase the dose by 5-mg increments, up to a maximum of 20 mg a day.
