Solutions for Female Stress Urinary Incontinence

Metropolitan Urological Specialists of Saint Louis, Missouri, with offices in Creve Coeur, Kirkwood, Florissant, and Washington, MO is focused on providing advanced solutions for common women’s health issues. Their objective is to give helpful, easy-to-understand facts so women, with their physicians, can weigh their options and make well-informed decisions.

What Is Stress Urinary Incontinence?

Stress Urinary Incontinence, or SUI, is the sudden, unintentional release of urine during normal, day to day activities. SUI is a different condition than Overactive Bladder (OAB), a problem characterized by urgency, frequency, getting up at night with or without having bladder seepage.  Many women have both varieties of incontinence.  You might have SUI should you lose urine when you:

• Cough, sneeze, or laugh
• Walk, exercise, or lift something
• Rise from a sitting or lying position

You may even go to the bathroom frequently throughout the day in order to prevent accidents. If you suffer from stress urinary incontinence, this means your urethra (the tube from the bladder by which urine leaves your body) does not remain closed until it’s time for you to urinate. This condition can occur as a result of:

• Pregnancy and childbearing
• Prolonged heavy-lifting or straining
• Menopause
• Obesity
• Cigarette smoking

Typical Signs and Symptoms Of Stress Urinary Incontinence

If you're experiencing urine leakage, take the time to ask yourself:

• Do you suffer from urine leakage while laughing, sneezing, coughing, or working out?
• Do you wear panti-liners or pads to soak up urine leakage?
• Do you limit or eliminate activities to avoid leakage?
• When planning a trip, outing, or event, does the availableness of bathroom facilities impact your final decision?

If you responded “yes” to even one of these basic questions, take the next move and talk with a physician or some other healthcare professional such as those at Metropolitan Urological Specialists in St. Louis, MO. Discussing the issue is the most important thing you can do to begin taking charge of your bladder symptoms. Unfortunately, for plenty of women, it is often the toughest step. It shouldn't be shameful -- urinary incontinence is a medical issue which is treatable.

Think about asking your doctor the subsequent inquiries to make that discussion a bit easier:

• What kind of urinary incontinence do I have?
• What medications are there to help me to get back urinary control? What type is appropriate for me?
• Can you manage this issue, or are you able to refer me to a doctor specializing in female urinary incontinence?

Treatments

Stress urinary incontinence is treatable at every age. But not all the methods work for every person or even for all kinds of incontinence. For SUI, a physician may encourage one or more of the following:
Behavioral/Muscle Therapy: Therapy often starts off with Kegel exercises to help you develop the pelvic floor muscles. Based on the seriousness of your condition, however, Kegels may not give suitable relief.

Biofeedback: In this method, the patient exercises the pelvic floor muscles while connected to an electrical detection device. The device gives “feedback” to help you to learn how to better control these muscle groups. Over time, biofeedback can help you utilize your pelvic muscles to diminish unforeseen impulses to urinate and minimize some kinds of pelvic pain.

Electrical stimulation: This method helps pelvic floor exercises by isolating the muscles involved.

Medication: Some patients have both SUI and OAB.  OAB symptoms are treatable with medications; but today there are not any drugs approved to help remedy SUI in the United States.

Surgery: An outpatient procedure, known as Transvaginal Tape, can be carried out to place a small piece of mesh beneath the tube you urinate through (urethra) through the vagina.

This information is presented by Metropolitan Urological Specialists. Should you have any more queries about stress urinary incontinence for women or any other urological issues, make an appointment at one of our practices' locations in Creve Coeur, Kirkwood, Florissant, or Washington, Missouri.