Urinary Incontinence Treatment

Urinary incontinence is a very common problem. Three out of ten women develop incontinence. The majority are active middle-aged women and not older ones as we would expect.

If you have this problem, there are treatments that can help you. There are also things you can do by yourself to stop or reduce urine leakage, so you don’t have to “just live with it.”

In our office we are offering you the specific treatment for incontinence with TESLA Care using the special technology of Functional Magnetic Stimulation (FMS), as well as the latest laser technology Fotona IncontiLase.

Questions and answers about Urinary Incontinence Treatment

What is urinary incontinence?

— “Urinary incontinence” is the medical term for when a person leaks urine or loses bladder control. It is a common and often annoying problem for women that can range from the occasional loss of urine when you cough or sneeze to the sudden and intense need to urinate to a point where you do not get to the toilet on time.

What are the symptoms of incontinence?

— There are different types of incontinence. Each causes different symptoms. The 3 most common types are:

• Stress incontinence– People with stress incontinence leak urine when they laugh, cough, sneeze, or do anything that “stresses” the belly. Physical changes, as a result of pregnancy, childbirth and menopause, also often cause stress incontinence. This type of incontinence is most common in women and now is easily treated.
• Urge incontinence– People with urge incontinence feel a strong need to urinate all of a sudden. Often the urge is so strong that they can’t make it to the bathroom in time. Compulsive incontinence can usually occur after certain stimuli, such as when you hear water running. Anxiety and some medical conditions can make this condition worse. “Overactive bladder” is another term for having a sudden, frequent urge to urinate. An overactive bladder occurs when nerves send signals to the bladder at the wrong time, causing the bladder to contract without warning. Women with this problem urinate 8 or more times during the day or 2 or more times during the night. They might or might not actually leak urine.
• Mixed incontinence– People with mixed incontinence have symptoms of both stress and urgency incontinence.

Other, less common urinary incontinences are:  Overfilling incontinence occurs when the bladder does not empty normally resulting in some involuntary leakage. Medical problems that affect the nervous system (e.g. movement and communication problems) may cause an incontinence problem. Transient incontinence is a type of temporary incontinence and can be caused by medications, urinary tract infections, mental retardation, but also by a severe constipation. There is also an incontinence caused by the existence of a urinary fistula, ectopic ureter, urinary diverticula, or in conditions and diseases of the urogenital tract that are associated with anatomical malformation.

Is there anything I can do on my own to feel better?

— Yes. Here are some advices that can help reduce urine leaks:

• Reduce the amount of liquid you drink, especially a few hours before bedtime.
• Avoid any foods or drinks that make your symptoms worse. Some people find that alcohol, caffeine, or spicy or acidic foods irritate the bladder.
• If you are overweight, you should lose weight.
• If you have diabetes, keep your blood sugar as close to normal as possible.
• If you take medicines called diuretics, plan their taking ahead. These medications increase the need to urinate. Take them when you know you will be near a bathroom for a few hours.

These techniques can also help improve bladder control:

• Bladder retraining– During bladder retraining, you go to the bathroom at scheduled times. For instance, let say you decide that you will go every hour. Then you should make yourself go every hour, even if you don’t feel like to and also wait until a whole hour pass in case you need to go sooner. Then, once you get used to go every hour, you could increase the time you wait between bathroom visits. Over time, you might be able to “retrain” your bladder to wait 3 or 4 hours between bathroom visits.
• Pelvic muscle exercises (Kegel Exercises)– Pelvic muscle exercises strengthen the muscles that control the flow of urine. These exercises can help, but people often do not perform them correctly.

How is incontinence treated?

— The treatment options differ depending on what type of incontinence you have. Some of the treatment options include:

• Conservative treatment of incontinence with TESLA Care, using the special Functional Magnetic Stimulation (FMS) technology
• Fotona IncontiLase, the latest laser technology for treatment of stress incontinence
• Medicines to relax the bladder
• Surgery to repair the tissues that support the bladder or to improve the flow of urine
• Electrical stimulation of the nerves that relax the bladder

Many people with incontinence can regain bladder control or at least reduce the amount of leakage they have. The key is to speak up about it to your gynecologist. Then work with her to find an approach that helps you.