Risk Factors for Stress Incontinence

Risk factors that Metropolitan Urological Specialists in St. Louis, Missouri specialize in include childbirth, menopause, and pelvic surgery (such as a prostatectomy or hysterectomy).

Having A Baby

Pregnancy and childbirth can flatten, stretch, and weaken the pelvic floor muscles which support the bladder neck and urethra. The position of the bladder and urethra might change, bladder control nerves can be damaged, or an episiotomy (incision of the perineum and vagina) may be performed to prevent tearing during vaginal delivery. These kinds of issues will damage the pelvic floor muscle groups.

If urinary control is lost right after giving birth, the pelvic floor muscles may recover within about 6 weeks. If continency isn't restored, treatment may be required. Sometimes incontinency develops months or years after the birth. Ladies who work out the pelvic floor muscle groups (Kegel exercises) are less likely to develop incontinence.
 
Menopause

At menopause, the ovaries quit producing estrogen. Insufficient estrogen brings about thinned tissues that line the urethra, a weakened sphincter mechanism that opens up and closes the urethra, and weak bladder muscles. These factors can cause the urethral sphincter to open during physical exercise.

Pelvic surgery

Pelvic surgery can weaken and damage the pelvic floor muscles, causing the bladder neck and urethra to drop when abdominal pressure is applied (hypermobility) during the course of physical exercise.

Surgical operations which can affect the pelvic floor muscles include the following:
Abdominal resection for colorectal cancer
Total or partial hysterectomy (removal of the uterus)
Failed surgery to correct stress incontinence

Causes of Stress Incontinence

Stress incontinence is a result of the following:
Thinning of the urethral lining
Vaginal prolapse (e.g., cystocele, enterocele, rectocele, uterine prolapse, vaginal vault prolapse)
Weakened bladder and/or pelvic floor muscle groups
Damaged urethral sphincter

Sign and Symptom of Stress Incontinence

Urine leaks throughout strenuous physical activity are a symptom of stress incontinence.

If you are living in St. Louis, Washington, Creve Couer, Florissant, or Kirkwood, Missouri and think that you may have stress urinary incontinence, give a call to Metropolitan Urological Specialists at 314-315-9911.

What are Bladder Stones?

Metropolitan Urological Specialists, serving Washington, Creve Couer, Florissant, and St. Louis, MO want to offer a couple of tips on identifying and treating bladder stones. Bladder stones develop whenever substances (like calcium oxalate) in the urine concentrate and coalesce into hard, solid lumps that lodge in the bladder. Often, several stones form at once. Generally, they're pretty small and are excreted in the urine without complications, but on occasion stones become trapped in the neck of the bladder and—as residues in the urine continue to accumulate—grow large enough to cause discomfort, urinary blockage, or infections, thus necessitating surgical intervention. Bladder stones almost exclusively impact middle-aged and older men, but, for unknown reasons, are becoming progressively more rare.

What Causes Bladder Stones?

Most commonly, stones come to be problematic whenever the neck of the bladder is hindered due to prostate growth, a benign growth (adenoma) inside the prostate, or unnatural contraction or stricture of the bladder neck. Stones often arise elsewhere in the urinary tract (such as the kidneys), or perhaps in the bladder itself. Hereditary factors may be involved.

Other causes include the long-term usage of a urinary catheter, chronic urinary tract infections, or a nerve injury that impairs bladder function.

Moderate, chronic dehydration concentrates the urine, which could promote stone formation.
A diet high in oxalic acid (found in rhubarb, leafy vegetables, and coffee) may lead to stones.
Weakened area of the bladder caused by a bulging pouch within the organ (called bladder diverticulum)

Damage to the nerves that carry signals to the bladder muscles from the brain (known as neurogenic bladder)

Symptoms of Bladder Stones

• Disruption of the urine stream, lack of ability to urinate except in specific positions, frequent urge to urinate but with only small amounts of urine passed
• Blood in the urine, often only apparent within the last few drops
• Dark urine
• Pain—sometimes severe—in the pelvic region, genitals, lower abdomen, or lower back
• Low-grade fever (under 102°F)

Bladder Stones Avoidance

• Drink no less than eight glasses of water a day.
• Get prompt treatment for urinary tract infections.
• Potassium citrate can increase urine levels of citrate, which is a substance that suppresses calcium stone formation.
• Avoid meat, eggs, and animal fats, as well as processed and fried foods.
• Dietary changes and treatment for any underlying condition may be helpful.

Bladder Stones Diagnosis

• A thorough medical record and physical examination (including a rectal exam) and lower abdominal check to look for bladder distention are performed.
• Urine samples are taken and analyzed (urinalysis).
• Stones can be found with x-rays or ultrasound.
• Bladder stones diagnosis may be confirmed with x-rays, ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) scan, cystoscopy (inspection of the inside of the bladder using a scope) and intravenous pyelogram (x-rays are taken after dye is used to highlight the urinary organs).

How to Deal with Bladder Stones

Your physician may prescribe narcotic analgesics to relieve pain and antibiotics to treat an infection.
Smaller stones can be removed with a cystoscope, a tube inserted through the urethra that allows the physician to view the stones. The scope can also be outfitted with a device that crushes the stones, after which the fragments are washed away.

Larger stones are treatable with extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy, which aims focused bursts of sound waves that powderize the stones.

In rare occasions, very large stones may necessitate surgical removal (suprapubic lithotomy).
The root problem (such as prostate enlargement) causing stones to be caught in the bladder must be identified and treated to avoid recurrence.

For additional information about identifying and treating bladder stones, contact Metropolitan Urological Specialists in St. Louis, Missouri.

Keep Your Kidneys Healthy!

The following strategies can help keep acute kidney injury and other risks to your kidneys at bay. Common-sense steps that shield against heart disease, diabetes, and other major health risks can safeguard your kidneys, too.

• Get some exercise regularly.
• Reduce your consumption of high sodium foods; take in at the most one thousand five hundred milligrams of sodium each day.
• Keep a healthy weight.
• If you've got high cholesterol or diabetes, take all medicines as advised.
• Don't smoke cigarettes.
• Get your blood pressure tested regularly. If you are administered blood pressure–lowering medications, take them as instructed.
• Speak with your physician about your usage of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve).
• Consume alcohol only in moderate amounts or not at all.
• Visit your physician for routine physical exams.

Metropolitan Urological Specialists hopes that you recognize the necessity of healthy kidneys. If you feel you are having kidney-related trouble, visit one of their offices in St. Louis, Washington, or Florissant, MO.

Bladder Control Problems? Great Tips on Getting Yourself Ready For Your Doctor Visit

If urinary urgency is curbing your regular activities, talk to your physician. Speaking up can change your life.

Your bladder needs your kidneys, nerve signals, and muscles to all be in sync with one another. When they're not, you might experience overactive bladder and incontinence, leaving you with symptoms that can lessen quality of life.

Your primary physician (or gynecologist, urologist or urogynecologist) like those at Metropolitan Urological Specialists in St. Louis, MO should be able to pinpoint the root of your condition and determine a treatment plan. Here's what you need to get the dialogue started.

Before Your Doctor Visit

Your physician may have asked you to maintain a bladder diary for several days prior to your appointment. In it, you'd detail fluids you ingest and when you urinate, feel an urge, and experience leakages.

Right Now

No bladder diary? Not a problem. Take a couple of minutes and make a mental list of the times and situations whenever you felt urgency or experienced leakage. It will give your doctor hints about factors that might be bringing about your condition.

During the Visit

Your physician will ask questions regarding your urinary control issues, take your medical history and provide you with a physical evaluation. During or in the days after the visit, you'll also have diagnostic tests.

If You Need More

Some OAB symptoms, such as urgency to urinate, might be caused by other medical issues. So you may initially be diagnosed with another urinary disorder, like the bladder condition interstitial cystitis. A thorough exam and tests should determine the exact cause of symptoms. Yet, if your doctor seems stumped, you might want to see a urologist or a urogynecologist who specializes in urinary tract disorders. The doctors at Metropolitan Urological Specialists have years of experience and are well-equipped to diagnose you correctly the first time.

7 Questions The Doctor May Ask You

1.   What meds are you taking? Some prescription and non-prescription drugs can dull the nerves and muscles involved.
2.   What fluids do you consume regularly? Alcohol, for example, interferes with signals from your brain to your bladder about when to release.
3.   How much fluid do you consume on a typical day? Drinking too much water before going to bed may cause overnight accidents.
4.   What recent surgeries or illnesses have you had? Trauma coming from pelvic or back surgery, for example, can spur leakage problems.
5.   How many kids have you had? Pregnancy and childbirth can deteriorate pelvic muscles.
6.   Can you recall when you began to first notice bladder symptoms? Even if it was years ago, you can find some relief.
7.   How many times per day are you feeling the need to urinate? Going more than eight times a day may mean OAB.

Your Health Background

A number of health conditions send nerve signals to the bladder at the incorrect time, which may cause urine leakages.

Take a glance at this list of diseases and conditions and check off all that apply to you. This often helps your physician better identify the source of your bladder problem and create the very best treatment plan.

•   Bladder tumors or polyps
•   Brain or spinal cord tumor
•   Diabetes
•   Herniated disc
•   Lead, mercury, or arsenic poisoning
•   Multiple sclerosis (MS)
•   Myelodysplasia
•   Parkinson's disease
•   Radiation treatment for cancer
•   Spinal cord injury
•   Stroke

Some study also indicates that individuals with particular conditions might be susceptible to OAB, especially these below. Check all that apply.
 
•   Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
•   Depression or anxiety
•   Fibromyalgia
•   Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Are there any other medical situations that you find could be influencing your bladder function? If that's the case, tell your doctor. The doctors at Metropolitan Urological Specialists, serving individuals living in St. Louis, Creve Couer, Florissant, and Kirkwood, would love the opportunity to have an appointment with you so that you can find solutions to your bladder control problems.