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Scans and tests your GP or consultant may recommend for Overactive bladder

This is information about which scans and tests may be used to assess Overactive bladder, and what each one is: not a recommendation. Your clinician decides which scan or test, if any, you need. Prices below are typical UK private ranges; enter your postcode to see the NHS wait near you.

An overactive bladder is a common pattern of bladder symptoms, where you get a sudden, strong need to pee that is hard to put off, often need to go more frequently, and sometimes have to get up in the night. About overactive bladder and NHS waits →

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Bladder diary and examination first
An overactive bladder is assessed from a bladder diary and an examination rather than a scan, with a urine test to rule out infection. These are tests, not scans.
Ultrasound
Sometimes used to check how well the bladder empties by measuring the urine left after you have been to the toilet.
An ultrasound scan uses high-frequency sound waves to produce live images, via a handheld probe on the skin. It uses no radiation.
How long: Usually 15 to 45 minutes.
Good for: Soft tissues near the surface, tendons and muscles, the abdomen and pelvis, and anything best seen moving in real time.
Typical UK private cost: £185 to £495. Usually bookable within days.
Urodynamics
A bladder-pressure test, not a scan, used selectively when symptoms are unclear or the usual treatments have not helped.

Sources: NICE (NG123), NHS.

See the wait and price near you

Enter your postcode for the NHS wait at your nearest hospital and the private price range from clinics within 25 miles.

All conditions, scans and tests →MRI waits by hospital →All NHS waiting times →

Wait or Pay is independent and is not the NHS. NHS waits are from DM01 diagnostics data. Nothing here is medical advice; your clinician decides which scan, if any, you need.

How long will you really wait, and how could you go sooner?

Your free companion dashboard compares all four paths for Overactive bladder: wait, switch to a faster NHS hospital, part-private, or fully private. It names the faster hospitals near you, shows what going private would cost, and gives you letters ready to send. You can print it or save it as a PDF. Free, and nothing is locked or paid.

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