Urinary Issues

What is urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence is the term for leaking urine. Incontinence has many causes depending on your gender, age, and medical history. Different types of incontinence cause urine to leak under specific circumstances, creating urinary issues in men and women.

Types of incontinence include:

Stress incontinence

With stress incontinence, the muscles in your bladder spasm under stress, causing urine to leak. Common stressors are coughing, sneezing, and laughing.

Urge incontinence

With urge incontinence, the bladder muscles spasm at unpredictable times, making it difficult to get to the bathroom in time. This is also called overactive bladder.

Overflow incontinence

With overflow incontinence, the bladder muscles don’t relax properly, so your bladder retains urine until it overflows and begins leaking.

Functional incontinence

Functional incontinence occurs when you have another medical condition that makes it hard to get to the bathroom in time, like arthritis.

Mixed incontinence

Mixed incontinence means you experience multiple types of incontinence.

Your Flagstaff Surgical Associates doctor asks about your symptoms and medical history to determine what type of incontinence you have and narrow down potential causes, like a urinary tract infection (UTI), pelvic muscle weakness, neurological issues, or medication side effects.

What are the symptoms of a UTI?

Symptoms of a urinary tract infection include:

• Burning sensation when urinating
• A strong, frequent need to urinate
• Passing small amounts of urine
• Urine that is cloudy, pink, red, or brown
• Urine with a strong odor
• Pelvic pain in women

Testing for a UTI is done quickly by providing a urine sample to your doctor. Once your doctor determines what type of bacteria is causing the infection, you’re given a prescription for antibiotics to clear up the infection.

How are urinary issues treated?

There are numerous treatment options for urinary incontinence and overactive bladder. Some options include:

• Medications
• Physical therapy
• Bladder training
• Electrical stimulation
• MonaLisa Touch® laser treatment to tighten vaginal tissues
• Lifestyle changes, like scheduling bathroom trips or wearing pads to absorb urine that’s leaked

Some of the more advanced treatments for urinary issues include:

Intravesical Botox®

Intravesical Botox can reduce bladder leaks that nerve damage causes and help improve problems like severe urge incontinence or frequent urination that an underlying urinary system condition does not cause. Botox stops signals from your nerves getting through to your muscles, preventing muscular contractions.

Urgent PC®

Urgent PC is a non-surgical treatment that uses percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) to improve symptoms for people who have an overactive bladder and problems like urge incontinence, urinary urgency, and urinary frequency.

InterStim®

InterStim is a device similar in size to a pacemaker that goes under your skin in the hip area. The device sends electrical impulses to your sacral nerves. These impulses stimulate the sacral nerves, so they reduce bladder contractions, which helps relieve symptoms of overactive bladder.

Dr. Jon Rumohr at Flagstaff Surgical Associates offers in-office testing and surgical treatment for urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, and retention issues using Medtronic equipment that can help you regain your quality of life and put a stop to embarrassing leaks.

Find out how the Flagstaff Surgical Associates can help you avoid accidents by scheduling a urinary issues exam online or by phone now.