Basic lifestyle changes can make all the different in the world for women who have loss of urine. Treatment options include the following depending on how disruptive your loss of urine is in your everyday life routine.
- Limit fluid intake especially after dinner!
- Pelvic Floor Muscle Training is taught by a trained physical therapist.
- Kegel exercises are an easy and helpful tool in flexing your pelvic floor muscles.
- Biofeedback helps identify your pelvic floor muscles if you are contraction them correctly.
- Bladder training-allows you to empty your bladder regularly and avoid “holding it in” too long!
- Pelvic Floor Muscle Training
- Controlling asthma and other lung problems with the right medications.
- Avoid food triggers
- Stop smoking!
- Control your BMI to <30
Some women have to resort to using incontinence products such as absorbent pads, adult diapers and hand-help urinals to prevent embarrassing accidents. Wearing incontinence pad may be part of a person’s daily attire but are especially needed while exercising-even walking-, during pregnancy and postpartum, going out during the day when bathroom access could be limited and while sleeping.
There are safe medications you can use to treat incontinence that can be discussed with a Urologist. A special ring, called a vaginal pessary, is sometimes used to keep the bladder in its normal anatomical position which can improve symptoms. Women may often use a vaginal pessary to avoid surgical procedures.
Treating urge incontinence can be done with Botox which can improve symptoms by 90% over a one-year period. Just be sure you get that Botox injection form a trained Urologist and not your neighborhood beauty salon!
When loss of urine is really annoying and disruptive, surgery is often a last resort. Sling procedures and colpo-suspension are commonly performed surgery to help support the urethra and bladder neck improving symptoms of loss of urine. Sling procedures are the most common surgery perform to strengthen and support the muscles responsibly for urination.
Injecting urethral ‘bulking agents’ is done to help strengthen the muscles supporting the urethra which is the long tube that leaves the bladder carrying urine and is often damaged with aging and vaginal deliveries.
For more complicated types of urinary incontinence, there are other more advanced surgical treatment options that should be discussed with a Urologist.
Teaching women how to do Kegel exercises and encouraging healthy life choices including weight control, are easy behavioral options that may help avoid bladder incontinence in the future. Keep track of how often you are peeing and how much liquid you are consuming is helpful in identifying if you are just drinking a ton of water or if you have problem with a weak bladder. Are you losing urine with exercise, laughing or sex? How often are you getting up in the middle of the night to pee? How much liquid are you consuming during the day? After dinner? Do you feel like your insides are coming out of your vagina? Are you avoiding social interactions as result of loss of urine?
This may not be the ideal journal you had always wanted to keep but it certainly can help let you know if you are destine to be wearing diapers later in life. No one should ever be embarrassed about their bladder incontinence; trust me you are in good company!
If urinary incontinence becomes persistent or bothersome, it’s advisable to consult a healthcare provider. They can offer a thorough evaluation and personalized treatment options tailored to your situation. Addressing this issue can greatly improve quality of life and overall well-being during perimenopause and menopause.