4 Best Urinary Incontinence Treatments for Women

If you’ve ever had to tinkle when you just went 20 minutes ago, or have failed to fully empty your bladder despite trying, don’t worry – you’re not alone!

Urinary incontinence is more common than you think, especially in women post-pregnancy and in old age.

Those involuntary leaks can be embarrassing at times when you’re in public. But let me tell you that there’s a lot you can do to fix it, and there are a variety of invasive and non-invasive urinary incontinence treatments available.

Types of incontinence

Urinary incontinence is a common condition that affects millions of people of all ages.

While it is often thought of as a problem that only affects older women, urinary incontinence can actually occur in both men and women of any age.

There are several different types of urinary incontinence, including stress urinary incontinence and mixed urinary incontinence.

Stress urinary incontinence is the most common type, affecting up to 70% of women.

It occurs when the muscles that support the bladder become weak or damaged, causing urine to leak when coughing, sneezing or laughing.

Mixed urinary incontinence is less common, affecting up to 20% of women. It occurs when both stress and urge urinary incontinence are present.

Urge urinary incontinence occurs when the muscle that controls urination becomes overactive, causing a sudden and uncontrollable urge to urinate.

While urinary incontinence can be a nuisance, there are treatments available that can help to manage the condition and improve quality of life.

Causes of incontinence

It is a common problem, affecting both men and women of all ages. There are many possible causes of urinary incontinence, including weakness of pelvic floor muscles, pregnancy and childbirth, menopause, a history of bladder or pelvic surgery, and certain medications.

Urinary incontinence can also be a symptom of a more serious underlying condition, such as a urinary tract infection or bladder cancer.

If you are experiencing urinary incontinence, it is important to see your doctor for evaluation and treatment.

Depending on the cause, there are many effective treatments available that can significantly improve your quality of life.

Behavioral changes

This is the first line of treatment recommended by doctors. Before putting you on any medication for urinary incontinence, the doctor will try suggesting some lifestyle changes.

These habits help with both types of incontinence, i.e., Stress incontinence (triggers include sneezing, coughing, or lifting something heavy that leads to leaking) and Urge incontinence (caused due to overactive bladder and unable to suppress the urge to urinate).

• Bladder training — Maintaining a diary about fluid intake and jotting the symptoms you feel just before you leak will help your doctor design a schedule for you. This will help expand your bladder and reduce the frequency of your bathroom visits.
• Pelvic floor muscle exercises — Ever heard of Kegels? This exercise involves tightening and relaxing the pelvic muscles alternatively, which helps control your urine flow. This pelvic floor muscle training can have significant results
• Urgency suppression — Trying to distract your mind using deep breathing techniques can also be helpful.
• Quit smoking — Gradually decreasing the smoking frequency can help you if you’re trying to keep your pants dry. Smoking can make your urinary incontinence worse! Coughing constantly can increase the pressure on your bladder and trigger stress incontinence.

Reducing your alcohol and caffeine intake is also advised by a lot of doctors.

Bulking agents and medication

Urethral bulking agents, commonly known as fillers, can be injected into your bladder to plump the surrounding tissues (increase the size of urethral walls and keep it closed with more force) and help retain the urine and thus prevent those disappointing spills.

Fillers like carbon beads or collagen need to be injected at your doctor’s office. These are highly effective, especially for stress-induced urinary incontinence but need to be injected at intervals as they are dissolvable.

Medications for urinary incontinence include a combination of drugs and hormone replacement therapy.

Pseudoephedrine is used to tone the muscles in the urethra, thus making it stronger. It helps greatly to avoid unwanted leaks and is recommended for stress incontinence.

Hormone replacement therapy involves using estrogen cream or a ring that swells the area around the urethral opening, thus restricting the flow.

Did you know that Botox can also be helpful to manage incontinence? Weird as it may sound, injecting Botox can help relax the muscles in the bladder, thus making it stronger and preventing unwanted discharges.

The effects last for a reasonable amount of time, and the injections need to be repeated. However, some people complain of the inefficiency to void the bladder completely post Botox injections, and this is where using a catheter helps.

Inserting a catheter can effectively drain the bladder at intervals.

There are many other commonly prescribed drugs for urge incontinence. The mode of action requires calming the muscles and relaxing the bladder, decreasing sudden urgency episodes.

You will need to try different medications before finding the one that suits you best.

Use of medical devices

If the combination of behavioral changes and medication doesn’t help you manage urinary continence, medical devices can be of great help. They are of two types – Urethral insert and vaginal pessary.

As the name suggests, the urethral insert has a tube-like structure and is absorbent like a tampon which, when inserted in the urethra, controls unwanted leaks throughout the day. These are helpful when you have to stay out for the day for longer periods.

A vaginal pessary is a ring-like device that is fitted inside the urethra and acts as a support. It is one of the widely recommended treatments for urinary incontinence in women with prolapsed (dropped) uteruses.

The procedure for inserting a vaginal pessary is done in your doctor’s office and helps you avoid any surgery. The device needs to be removed and cleaned regularly.

Procedures

Many urinary continence treatments are practiced for the more severe cases of loss of bladder control.

It’s important to know that these procedures can have high success rates and can help treat any type of urinary incontinence.

Retropubic colposuspension

• This procedure involves lifting the neck of your bladder by making an incision in your lower abdomen and stitching it in a raised position.
• Both types of colposuspension surgeries – open (making a large open cut during the procedure) and laparoscopic (making one or more small incisions using small surgical instruments) – are effective long-term treatments for stress incontinence.

Sling surgery

• The doctor will cut your lower abdomen and vagina and fasten the neck of the bladder to support it and avoid undesirable dribbling. The sling can be made using tissue from another part of your body, known as an autologous sling.
• It can also be made from donated human tissue known as an allograft sling or from an animal known as a xenograft sling. An autologous sling is preferred and recommended widely. 

Electrical nerve stimulation

• This is highly helpful in patients with urge continence. As the name suggests, electrical impulses are used to stimulate and train your bladder to resist the urge to pee frequently.
• These nerve stimulations are of two types – Sacral nerve stimulation and tibial nerve stimulation.
• Sacral nerve stimulation involves planting a pacemaker-like stimulator under your sacral nerve. These impulses train your brain to ignore the messages from your brain that you need to pee. These impulses are painless and strengthen your pelvic muscles over time.
• Tibial nerve stimulation uses the insertion of a small stimulator near the tibial nerve (near your ankle) that controls the nerves related to your bladder.

Emsella

• A newer device called Emsella uses high-frequency electromagnetic stimulation and may be the easiest and most effective non-surgical treatment for urinary incontinence.
• This is a non-invasive treatment that can be done in 30 minutes and is equivalent to doing 20,000 kegel exercises
• Clothes remain on and you can get significant results in just 4 sessions with no downtime

How Prime MD Plus can help

If you’re one of the many people who suffer from incontinence, you know how frustrating and embarrassing it can be.

The good news is that there are treatments available that can help.

Prime MD Plus is a medical clinic with a board-certified geriatrician who specializes in the treatment of urinary incontinence.

We offer a variety of options to treat urge incontinence and to treat stress incontinence including medications, lifestyle changes, and Emsella.

We also offer a full range of support services to help you manage your condition and improve your quality of life.

If you’re ready to take control of your incontinence, we’re here to help. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

Conclusion 

Urinary incontinence can be overwhelming and distressing at times, but it can be treated and managed effectively. The key to treating any illness or condition is noting symptoms and seeking medical help as soon as possible.

If you are suffering from urinary incontinence, why wait? Prime MD Plus provides professional medical help in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for urinary incontinence, non-invasively (no surgery), with or without medication.

To learn more about urinary incontinence treatments and the conditions we treat, check out primemdplus.com to request an appointment.