Why Do I Feel Like Peeing After I’ve Already Peed?

Urinating (peeing) frequently can be distracting and seriously interfere with your everyday life. It can also sometimes be a sign of a bigger problem. Frequent urination can happen for many reasons, including an infection and more serious underlying health issues. If you’re struggling with a constant urge to pee, read on to learn about the potential causes and what you can do about it.

How many times a day should you pee?

Most adults pee between around five and seven times a day. But this is just an average, so it’s completely normal to pee a bit more or less than that. How often you pee depends on your age and what you eat and drink. Certain medical conditions, like chronic kidney disease, can also affect how often you pee. Most people know what’s normal for them.  

Why am I peeing so much?

The urge to urinate is triggered by nerves stretching in the bladder when the bladder fills. The muscles in the pelvic floor relax, and the bladder muscles contract. A healthy flow of urine is continuous, strong, and painless. 

SPECIAL OFFER

Get Lantus For Less

With GoodRx, pay no more than $35 for a 30 day supply of Lantus.

Get exclusive discount

GoodRx is NOT insurance. GoodRx Health information and resources are reviewed by our editorial staff with medical and healthcare policy and pricing experience. See our editorial policy for more detail. We also provide access to services offered by GoodRx and our partners when we think these services might be useful to our visitors. We may receive compensation when a user decides to leverage these services, but making them available does not influence the medical content our editorial staff provides.

Sometimes, urination can happen too frequently. There are many different causes of frequent urination. Some are everyday changes, like after drinking a lot of water.

But health changes can also cause urinary frequency, and there are a lot of possible causes, including:

• Urinary tract infection (UTI)

• Use of diuretics (“water pills”)

• Enlarged prostate

• Pregnancy

• Overactive bladder

• Bladder irritation

• Pelvic floor problems

• Diabetes

• Anxiety

It’s a good idea to keep track of your urinary patterns and any other symptoms, including how often you go and in what situations. You and a healthcare professional can then figure out the cause and best treatment.

Do you have a urinary tract infection?

UTIs can commonly cause urinary frequency. You may urinate small amounts and then feel like you have to urinate right after you’ve gone. These can also cause pain with urination, and your urine may have a different odor and color. 

UTIs can be treated with antibiotics. So, if you think you have a UTI, it’s important to talk with a healthcare professional to be evaluated and treated. If untreated, these can lead to more serious kidney infections.

EXPERT PICKS: WHAT TO READ NEXT

• How many times a day do people pee? Paying attention to how much and how often you pee is a helpful way to check in with your body. Most adults pee at least four times a day.

• Can medications make you pee? Yes, diuretics, or “water pills,” are well known to cause more frequent urination. Learn about other meds that can have this effect. 

• Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH): BPH is a common prostate problem. It can lead to an enlarged prostate, which can result in more frequent and urgent urination.

Is the urge to pee related to medications?

Sometimes, medications can cause frequent urination. A common culprit is diuretics, such as hydrochlorothiazide or spironolactone. These are often used to treat things like high blood pressure or heart failure. 

But other medications can have this effect, too, including some medications for diabetes, called SGLT2 inhibitors. These increase the amount of sugar in your urine and can also increase your risk of UTIs. 

If you recently started a new medication and have noted new urinary symptoms, tell a healthcare professional.

Is something pushing on your bladder? 

Urinary frequency can also be related to anything putting pressure on the bladder. This could be an enlarged prostate, uterine fibroids, or pregnancy. Pregnancy can increase urinary frequency due to the pressure on the bladder. But it can also be due to hormone changes, including increased progesterone. 

A healthcare professional can evaluate whether there’s increased pressure in your pelvic area and may do additional testing and imaging.

Does increased urination mean you have diabetes?

Diabetes can cause increased urinary frequency. Generally, there will be other symptoms of diabetes, such as increased thirst, fatigue, headaches, or blurred vision. If you have any of these symptoms or other concerns about diabetes, it’s important to see a healthcare professional.

Do you have an overactive bladder or a pelvic floor problem?

The pelvic floor is a complex group of muscles. They can be damaged or weakened, commonly due to pregnancy or aging. The weakening of these muscles can lead to increased urinary frequency or urinary incontinence. Treatment for pelvic floor disorders often includes physical therapy or surgical interventions. 

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common cause of urinary frequency. Having a pelvic floor problem can be a risk factor for OAB. OAB leads to bladder spasms, which happens when the bladder contracts when it shouldn’t. This causes a sudden urge to urinate, increased urination frequency and, sometimes, urinary incontinence. Treatment for OAB often includes lifestyle changes, medication, or surgical intervention.

Should you be concerned about peeing a lot?

Frequent urination may not cause problems on its own, but it can lower your quality of life. It may affect what you do on a day-to-day basis. It can be uncomfortable. It can lead to worry or anxiety. 

If frequent urination is normal for you, it’s likely not a cause for concern. However, if the frequent urge to urinate is new or comes along with other symptoms, it could be a sign of something else going on that should be checked out.

When should you go see a doctor for a constant urge to pee?

Make an appointment with a healthcare professional if you have new urinary frequency that persists or if you have any of the following:

• Fevers or chills

• Pain with urination

• Urine color changes

• Abdominal or back pain

• Nausea or vomiting

• Inability to pass urine

• Urinary frequency that interferes with your quality of life

Can you treat frequent urination on your own?

The treatment will depend on the cause. So the first step is to identify the cause of your symptoms. Some UTIs go away on their own without antibiotics, but prescription antibiotics are recommended.

If your urinary frequency is related to a pelvic floor disorder or overactive bladder, there may be some behavioral or lifestyle changes you can make to help, including:

• Reducing drinks that may irritate the bladder, like coffee, tea, or alcohol

• Following a schedule to urinate regularly

• Doing bladder training to help your bladder hold urine for longer

• Doing pelvic floor exercises, like Kegel exercises

Frequently asked questions 

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Christina Palmer, MD

Christina Palmer, MD, is a board-certified family physician with a special interest in chronic care management, women’s health, mental health, and preventive care. She has over 10 years of experience in primary care research, innovation, and practice.

Edited by:

Alex Eastman, PhD, RN

Alex Eastman, PhD, RN, is a California-based registered nurse and staff medical editor at GoodRx, where he focuses on clinical updates and Latino health.

Reviewed by:

Farzon A. Nahvi, MD

Dr. Nahvi is an emergency medicine physician and author of “Code Gray: Death, Life, and Uncertainty in the ER.” He works clinically at Concord Hospital in Concord, New Hampshire, and is a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Prior to this, he worked as an ER physician and clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System, NYU Langone Health, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, and the Manhattan VA. He is a graduate of Cornell University and NYU School of Medicine.

Our editorial standards

Meet our experts