Women’s Urinary Incontinence: How to Be a Better Patient 5 Ways

by Find the Right DoctorOveractive BladderUrge IncontinenceUrge Urinary IncontinenceUrinary Incontinence

If you’ve got women’s urinary incontinence, then you probably know that the process of actually becoming a patient–that is, seeing a medical professional–isn’t all that easy. It takes a lot of courage to overcome embarrassment and make an appointment, not to mention show up at the appointment.

If you have already overcome the first hurdle of making an appointment, then make the most of your courageous act by following these 5 tips on how to be a better patient. What do we mean by “a better patient”? We mean an empowered patient. When you are an empowered patient, you are a powerful advocate for your health. You become a powerful force in relieving and even curing your symptoms of women’s urinary incontinence, such as urinary urgency, frequency, and leakage. You become the key to a new sense of freedom for your life.

Sound good? Then read the following tips on how to become a better patient!

How to Be a Better Patient: 5 Tips You Can Use Today
Knowledge is power, and you will discover that a lot of our tips on how to be a better patient are related to increasing your level of knowledge… or translating your doctor’s knowledge into terms that make sense to you.

Tip #1: Know Your Terminology
While most doctors will try to translate their technical medical knowledge into layman’s terms, you can help yourself by learning the terms related to your condition–women’s urinary incontinence. For instance, did you know that there are three different types of urinary incontinence? You may have stress, urge (or overactive bladder, also called OAB) or mixed urinary incontinence. Learning at least a little about each type of urinary incontinence will give you a head start when you discuss your condition with your doctor. Get an overview HERE or dig deep and learn the full details about each type of urinary incontinence HERE.

Tip #2: Insist on Having Your Questions Answered
If you take the time to research your condition, and your most probable type of urinary incontinence, then you will probably have a list of questions by the time you see your doctor. If for any reason your doctor does not seem to want to answer your questions, be politely but quietly persistent. If your doctor continues to ignore your questions, consider finding a new doctor. Getting the answers to your questions is crucial to relieving your symptoms of urinary incontinence, so a doctor who dodges your questions or will not give you a straight answer may not be the doctor for you. One way to ensure your questions are answered is to bring a buddy with you to the appointment. Your buddy’s job is to ensure that your questions are answered, and that you do not get distracted by a ton of medical jargon. Having a good gal pal at your appointment can make all the difference!

Tip #3: Ask for Clarification as Often as Necessary
Many doctors are used to using medical terminology on a regular basis. While many healthcare providers are good at explaining those terms in a way non-medical people can understand, other doctors are less skilled at this. If your doctor uses a term you don’t understand, gently stop him or her and ask for clarification. If your doctor’s explanation still leaves you confused, ask for even more clarification. Don’t worry about whether you appear “stupid.” You are paying for your doctor’s time and attention, so make the most of it without worrying about “saving face.”

Tip #4: Fire Doctors Who Don’t Respect Your Time
Healthcare providers are feeling the “crunch” of needing to see more patients in less time. The result is often that you, the patient, wait for a long time to see the doctor only to feel rushed during the appointment. One way to be a better patient is not to tolerate a doctor who disrespects your time in this way. While a certain amount of waiting is to be expected, regularly waiting 30 minutes or more to see your doctor AND routinely feeling like you are being speed-walked through your appointment is not acceptable. Like all professionals, your doctor can and should be held to a certain level of efficiency and skilled time management. If your doctor routinely makes you feel like his or her time is more valuable than yours, it’s time to fire that doctor and find a new one.

Tip #5: Don’t Tolerate an Inefficient Office Staff
Many times the receptionists, nurses, and assistants that make up the office staff act as the conduit between you and your doctor after and between appointments. If you find your doctor’s office staff inefficient or unprofessional, you might be putting your health at risk. Suppose your doctor prescribes a new medication, and you begin having side effects, you will probably call your doctor’s office. In all likelihood, your doctor’s staff will take a message to pass on. If that message does not get passed on in a timely manner–or not at all–the side effects could really affect your health. Do not tolerate members of your doctor’s office staff that fail to pass on messages or minimize your situation. One way to be a better patient is to insist on speaking with the doctor or find a new doctor.

How to Be a Better Patient–Why It Is Important
As you can see, being a better patient is really about being persistent in seeking solutions to your women’s urinary incontinence. If you are unable to easily communicate with your doctor or the office staff, even after your best efforts to clarify communications–chances are that you will need to find a new doctor. You are more likely to find the solutions you seek with a doctor who “clicks” with you. So go forth and seek your perfect doctor!
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Women’s Urinary Incontinence: What IS Normal? 7 Questions for You…

by Overactive BladderUrge IncontinenceUrge Urinary IncontinenceUrinary Incontinence

When it comes to women’s urinary incontinence, what IS normal? How do you know if you have urinary incontinence or just have to pee a lot? Is a little leakage OK?

These are common questions that women often wonder about. We have taken 7 of the most common questions regarding women’s urinary incontinence, and answered them! If you wonder… read on!

7 Questions to Ask Yourself About Women’s Urinary Incontinence
If you sometimes wonder what’s “normal” when it comes to your urinary habits, check out the answers to these 7 common questions.

How much urine can a healthy bladder hold?
If your bladder is healthy, it should be able to hold up to two cups of urine easily for two to five hours.

How often should you need to urinate?
If your urinary system is healthy, you should not experience the urge to urinate more than eight per day. In addition, you should not need to urinate shortly after you have emptied your bladder

Is urinating at night normal?
For women with a healthy urinary system, getting up at night to urinate should not be a normal occurrence. Exceptions can happen if you drink fluids too late in the day, drink excessive amounts of fluid, or have had any food or drink that irritate the bladder (including alcohol, caffeine, spicy food, or acidic food).

Is it normal for certain foods or drinks to cause you to urinate more?
Yes, certain foods and drinks are known as bladder irritants. While these classes of foods and beverages do not affect all women the same way, they can have an irritating effect on many a woman’s bladder. Which foods should you avoid? Check out the article HERE.

Is urinary leakage normal?
Urinary incontinence or leakage is not normal at any age. Acceptance of this health condition as a normal sign of aging is the second most common reason women don’t seek help from a physician. Embarrassment about talking to a doctor about urine leakage tops the list, followed by women thinking that urinary incontinence “wasn’t enough of a problem.” As a result, less than 50% of women with urinary incontinence seek medical help, and those who do get help wait almost seven years. Don’t become part of that statistic! If you leak urine, seek medical help right away!

Is defensive voiding (“urinating just in case”) normal?
If you go to the bathroom often, “just in case” you might need to later, then you are practicing what is called defensive voiding. Women practice defensive voiding so that they can sit through a movie or make it all way through dinner without jumping up to use the ladies room. Defensive voiding is a sign of overactive bladder (OAB) or urge urinary incontinence. It is not normal. If you practice defensive voiding, seek help from your doctor.

Is sudden urinary urgency normal?
If the sound of running water, sudden immersion in cold water, a change in body position, or smoking causes you to experience urinary urgency, you need to call your doctor. Chances are that you have overactive bladder or urge urinary incontinence. If your urinary system is healthy and normal–and you pay attention to your body’s needs–you should never have to run for the bathroom!

Get it? Got it? Good! If you still have questions, check out the rest of our blog or ask your question on Facebook … we will answer!

If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to check out our book, leave a comment, contact us, download our free ebook, or interact with us on Twitter and Facebook.

Is Your Urinary Urgency and Frequency Really a Health Problem?

by Overactive BladderUrge IncontinenceUrge Urinary IncontinenceUrinary Incontinence

If you have had urinary urgency or frequency all your life, does that mean that this is normal?

Good question. As you may have guessed, “normal” is difficult to define since different women have different bodies… and different schedules. So when it comes to urinary urgency or frequency, what may be ordinary for one woman may be extraordinary or troublesome to another woman.

Even so, there may be a difference between what is healthy for you, and what you consider “ordinary” when it comes to your urinary habits.

Healthy versus Ordinary
How often does a woman with good pelvic health need to urinate? Should a healthy woman ever experience urinary urgency?

While there are no hard and fast rules for what is healthy, we do have some “rules of thumb” that are good guidelines to follow. For urinary urgency and frequency, here are some guidelines to consider:

– While most of us have experienced not reaching the bathroom in time (such as when waiting in a long line at the ladies room after a few beers), regularly having to “run” for the bathroom is a sign of poor pelvic health.

– If you experience the urge to urinate eight or more times a day, or you need to urinate shortly after you have emptied your bladder, you should probably talk to your doctor.

– If you use any of the following strategies, your pelvic health may be at risk: immediately looking for bathrooms in any new locations, practicing defensive voiding (such as urinating before a movie “just in case”), limiting travel for fear of urinary urgency or leakage, fluid restriction, or waking up nightly to urinate.

If any of the above guidelines resonate with behaviors you practice in your life, chances are that you have some form of women’s urinary incontinence. The most likely culprits are overactive bladder (also called urge urinary incontinence when leakage occurs) or mixed urinary incontinence.

Normal Does Not Always Mean Healthy
In case you haven’t figured it out by now, what you may have experienced as “normal” urinary habits all of your life may not actually be healthy. For instance, if you have always needed to urinate 12 or so times a day then this is normal for you, but not necessarily healthy. This kind of urinary frequency may indicate that you have experienced poor pelvic health all your life. The same is true of urinary urgency–experiencing urgency on occasion is nothing to worry about, but having urinary urgency four or more times per month is not healthy.

If the guidelines mentioned above indicate that your urinary habits are not healthy–however normal they may be for you–we suggest you schedule an appointment with your healthcare practitioner to get a true medical diagnosis. If you do, in fact, have poor pelvic health resulting in urinary urgency or frequency, the earlier you diagnose and treat your condition the higher your likelihood of success. So don’t delay calling your doctor, just do it!

If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to check out our book, leave a comment, contact us, download our free ebook, or interact with us on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Overactive Bladder (OAB) Risk Factors You Should Know About

by Overactive BladderUrge IncontinenceUrge Urinary IncontinenceUrinary Incontinence

Do you suffer from urinary urgency the moment you sit down in a movie theater? Or maybe you have the nervous habit of looking for bathrooms everywhere you go. Or how about that track you have worn into your carpet between your bed and the bathroom–the result of getting up to urinate many times a night?

If the above description sounds like you, you likely have a form of women’s urinary incontinence called overactive bladder (OAB) or urge urinary incontinence. If you only experience urinary urgency without leakage, then your condition is most likely OAB or OAB-dry. If you do leak urine, then you probably have the more severe form of OAB, called urge urinary incontinence or OAB-wet.

Now that you know a little more about what is going on with your bladder, wouldn’t it be nice to learn more about the risk factors that cause urinary urgency and leakage? Let’s talk about them…

Risk Factors for OAB and Urge Incontinence
Before we describe the specific risk factors for OAB or urge incontinence, we first want to stress that regardless of these factors, urinary urgency, frequency, and leakage are not normal at any age. Urinary incontinence does tend to occur more frequently as we age, but it is not a normal sign of aging that should simply be ignored. Urinary incontinence can have a severely negative impact on a woman’s quality of life, and thus should be addressed as soon as symptoms appear. Symptoms can be effectively treated, especially if handled early in the process.

Now that we’ve give you our “soapbox” speech, we can get on with describing the risk factors for OAB or urge incontinence. Knowing the risk factors can help you evaluate your lifestyle, current physical condition, and other health conditions to determine whether any of these are causing or worsening your symptoms.

Risk factors that you may already know about include:
– aging
– excessive weight
– smoking
– being a woman (not fair, right?)
– urinary tract infections (especially chronic ones)
– certain medications (such as ones that act as diuretics)

Then there are these risk factors, some of which may surprise you:
– anxiety and similar nervous states
– low levels of estrogen (can cause bladder irritability)
– damage to any nerves associated with the bladder or urinary system (due to stroke, accident, or conditions such as Parkinson’s)
– health conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes

Note that the above risk factors describe more permanent lifestyle conditions that can contribute to urinary urgency and leakage due to OAB or urge incontinence. There are also temporary conditions, called “triggers,” that can aggravate symptoms. We will discuss those in an upcoming article.

In the meantime, we urge you to review the above risk factors to determine whether any of them apply to you. If any do apply, are you willing to change your lifestyle in a significant way to alleviate your bladder symptoms? While there is no way to stop the passage of time (aging) or easily change your gender, you can take action steps to lose weight, quit smoking, talk to your doctor about your medications and health conditions, or reduce the level of stress in your life.

We invite you to browse through the resources on our website to learn more about conservative lifestyle changes that can definitely improve your symptoms. Or, for the full list of possible solutions for women’s urinary incontinence, consider reading a copy of A Woman’s Guide to Pelvic Health. This book offers full descriptions of all three types of women’s urinary incontinence, plus three entire chapters chock-full of resources and solutions designed especially for you!

If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to check out our book, leave a comment, contact us, download our free ebook, or interact with us on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Women’s Urinary Incontinence: What You Gain When You Seek Medical Help

by Find the Right DoctorGeneral Urinary IncontinenceOveractive BladderPelvic Organ ProlapsePessaryPOPStress Urinary IncontinenceUrge IncontinenceUrge Urinary IncontinenceUrinary Incontinence

In our last article, we discussed all the quality of life aspects that go out the window when women with urinary incontinence fail to seek medical help for their condition. In this follow-up article, we take a look at all the benefits you gain when you seek medical help for women’s urinary incontinence. Yes, we know, seeking medical help involves having that “red-faced” embarrassing conversation with your doctor about urinary urgency, frequency, and leakage. But after you read through all the benefits you will gain once you get through that conversation, our bet is that you will be willing to ask your doctor for help (if you haven’t already)!

Benefit #1: A Medical Diagnosis
A lot of women with urinary incontinence know that they have a problem, but they don’t know exactly what the problem is. They know they suffer from urinary urgency or frequency or leakage, but may not necessarily know the causes of these symptoms. This lack of knowing “what’s up down there” can create a sense of tension and stress for many women. Therefore, one of the biggest benefits of getting help from your doctor is that you get a true and medically-correct diagnosis about your condition. You will find out if you have stress, urge, or mixed urinary incontinence … or just a mild form of urge incontinence called overactive bladder (OAB). You will discover whether your pelvic organs have “fallen” out of place, causing some of your symptoms. Whatever the cause of your urinary incontinence symptoms, you will emerge from your conversation with your doctor with the knowledge of what is happening with your body. Since “knowledge is power,” you will emerge from your appointment with a new sense of self-empowerment. That is a pretty neat benefit.

Benefit #2: Knowledge of Treatment Options
Once your healthcare provider discovers the cause of your symptoms, such as urinary urgency or leakage, the next step is obviously to discuss treatment options. Depending on the type and severity of your symptoms, your doctor may recommend either conservative or surgical treatment options. Conservative options may include lifestyle changes, such as smoking cessation, weight loss, and dietary changes. Other conservative therapies include bladder retraining, pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation, acupuncture, pessaries, and percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation.

If your condition is more severe, especially if one or more of your pelvic organs has fallen out of place (a condition called pelvic organ prolapse, or POP), then your doctor may recommend some surgical options to treat your condition. The good news is that most of the surgical procedures for women’s urinary incontinence are minimally-invasive, plus have a high rate of success.  Most healthcare providers will recommend that you start with the most conservative therapy possible, and consider surgery only if your condition is not treatable with conservative approaches.

Benefit #3: Support on the Journey Back to Health
While talking to your doctor about your urinary symptoms may be embarrassing, you will find that most medical professionals are quite knowledgeable and compassionate about women’s urinary incontinence. By seeking help from your doctor, you will not only get the help you need to restore yourself to continence, but you will gain the knowledge that you are not alone. As the baby boomer generation ages, more and more doctors are helping women with urinary incontinence issues. Your doctor will not only provide you with solutions that will treat your condition, but can also reassure you that you are not alone. Your doctor may even be able to recommend resources, both online and offline, where you can find additional support from women dealing with the same kinds of symptoms.

Big Benefits from Seeking Help
As you can probably tell, seeking help from your doctor will yield some pretty major benefits for you. Not only will you be able to address your physical symptoms, but you will also be able to ease your mind as you gain knowledge about urinary incontinence. The more you know, the more control you will have over your condition. The more control you have, the less stress you will experience. All of these are major contributors to a good quality of life. Doesn’t that make a short conversation with your doctor worthwhile?

 

If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to check out our book, leave a comment, contact us, download our free ebook, or interact with us on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Got Urinary Urgency, Leakage, or Frequency? Stick a Needle Above Your Ankle Bone!

by General Urinary IncontinenceOveractive BladderUrge IncontinenceUrge Urinary Incontinence

This blog is part 11 of an 11 article series of New Year’s resolutions that actually work and WILL improve your pelvic health. Get the full list of all 11 New Year’s resolutions HERE.

As strange as it may seem, your bladder and urinary system are linked to a nerve located just above your ankle bone–the nerve called the percutaneous tibial nerve. While this little piece of trivia may not interest the average woman, a woman suffering from urinary urgency and other symptoms of urinary incontinence may be interested in this bit of news. Why? Because there is a conservative therapy called percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation that has proven useful in helping women with overactive bladder and urge urinary incontinence.

What is Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation?
As the name suggests, percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation is a conservative therapy in which your medical provider inserts a fine needle in your percutanous tibial nerve, located just above your ankle (while your leg is elevated). Usually performed by your urologist, this conservative therapy then delivers a mild electrical current through the needle to the nerve, which contols bladder function along with other nerves. Other medical professionals who can perform this therapy include trained nurses and physician assistants.

Don’t worry if your toes or entire foot flexes gently during the treatment. Some women also report feeling a mild tingling sensation in the ankle or sole of the foot, which is perfectly normal. Treatments last for 30 to 60 minutes each, and women need to have treatments three to four times per week for 8 to 12 weeks for full effectiveness.

Does Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation Work?
Yes. Studies show that women with symptoms of overactive bladder or urge incontinence–such as, urinary urgency, frequency, and leakage–report a 20 percent reduction in frequency of urination (OrBIT trial). Women in another study, the SUMit trial, reported a 36 percent reduction in symptom severity and a 34 percent increase in quality of life.

That’s pretty good, right? The great news is that percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation is a conservative therapy, which means you get the dual benefits of symptom improvement along with a non-invasive procedure! Not sure? Ask your urologist to fill you in on the details.
If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to check out our book, leave a comment, contact us, download our free ebook, or interact with us on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Did You Know Your Ankle Bone is Connected to Your Bladder?

by Overactive BladderUrge IncontinenceUrge Urinary Incontinence

For those of you familiar with the song “Dry Bones” by the Delta Rhythm Boys, this may sound pretty funny! After all, the song never mentions the bladder. In fact, the song is all about bones and has lyrics more like this:

“Well, your toe bone connected to your foot bone
Your foot bone connected to your heel bone
Your heel bone connected to your ankle bone
Your ankle bone connected to your leg bone
Your leg bone connected to your knee bone
Your knee bone connected to your thigh bone
Your thigh bone connected to your hip bone
Your hip bone connected to your back bone”

You’ll notice that this song is all about bones … not a single mention of the bladder at all. But for women with urinary incontinence, you could say that the ankle bone is connected (sort of) to the bladder. Really!

Women’s Urinary Incontinence: The Ankle Bone and the Bladder
By now you are probably wondering what we’re talking about when we connect the ankle bone to the bladder. It turns out that there is a nerve in your body, called the percutaneous tibial nerve, that is located just above your ankle bone. This nerve is part of the nervous system that controls the action of your bladder. By using a therapy called percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation, which sends a gentle electrical current into the nerve, doctors have been able to alleviate symptoms for women with overactive bladder or urge urinary incontinence.

More About Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation
This conservative therapy is a wonderful option for women with overactive bladder or urge incontinence, especially those women who have not had much luck with behavior modification or drug therapy. Usually performed by a urologist, this therapy can also be delivered by nurses or physician assistants who have received the appropriate training.

For the procedure, your doctor will have you elevate your leg while in a sitting position. A very fine needle is then inserted just above the ankle bone into the percutaneous tibial nerve. A mild electric current is delivered via this needle for 30 to 60 minutes per session. Don’t be surprised if your toes or foot flex gently during the treatment as this is perfectly normal. You may also feel a mild tingling sensation in your foot or around your ankle. Most doctors recommend four treatments per week, with the total therapy lasting between eight and twelve weeks.

Two studies (the OrBIT trial and the SUMiT trial) have shown that tibial nerve stimulation is effective in decreasing the frequency of urination by 20% in women who need to urinate at least eight times every 24 hours. In addition, women report a 36% reduction of the severity of their symptoms, as well as a 34% improvement in the quality of life. Other improvements as a result of this therapy include reductions in urinary leakage accidents, frequency, and urge. Those are pretty solid success rates, so if you have overactive bladder or urge incontinence, you may want to ask your doctor about this form of therapy.

So you see? The ankle bone is indeed connected to the bladder!

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