Don’t Let Your Bladder Control Your Life

Many women live with urinary incontinence, but Radhika Ailawadi, MD, Chief, Division of Urogynecology, LVHN, says you don’t have to. She has some solutions to regain control of your bladder and your life.

Urinary incontinence is often considered a taboo subject, but according to Radhika Ailawadi, MD, Chief, Division of Urogynecology, LVHN, it’s more common than you may think. “Although it can be embarrassing, incontinence affects millions of women and becomes more common as you age,” she says.

Urinary incontinence can range in severity from leaking just small amounts of urine due to coughing, sneezing or sudden movement to having a strong urge to urinate that comes on so suddenly you aren’t able to make it to the bathroom in time.

It’s very common for women who are pregnant or have had children to suffer from some degree of urinary incontinence, however, Ailawadi says there are other risk factors that can contribute to incontinence including:

• Age
• Prior pelvic surgery
• Certain medications
• Some foods
• Weakened pelvic floor muscles

Ailawadi says that while many people brush off urinary incontinence because they are either too embarrassed to talk to their doctor about it or because they assume that it is normal, it’s an important topic.

“If incontinence is restricting your activities, your social interactions or you are leaking urine in your sleep, you should really talk to your doctor. It’s not something to be ashamed of and we can help,” she says.

Ailawadi says that there are several options available to treat incontinence conservatively that can be done without the need for medical intervention.

“Some of the more conservative treatment options for urinary incontinence are avoidance of specific foods and drink, especially those with alcohol and caffeine, Kegel exercises to strengthen bladder muscles and managing fluid intake throughout the day and at night,” says Ailawadi.

In some cases, Ailawadi says a physical therapist might be able to help make sure you are performing Kegel exercises correctly. If other conservative treatments don’t work, there are medications that may be appropriate as well.

If conservative methods don’t work, another option to treat urinary incontinence is a procedure called InterStim therapy. Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery recently had the honor of being named the only InterStim Center of Excellence in the Pocono region by Medtronic, the world’s largest medical device manufacturer.

InterStim Therapy is an implantable device that sends mild electrical pulses to the sacral nerves to reduce symptoms of bladder control issues. The device is placed during two outpatient surgeries. The first implant is placed as a trial with an external battery. If it is successful in the resolution of symptoms, a permanent battery that lasts 10 years is placed in a second outpatient procedure.

Ailawdi says she has seen a lot of success with this procedure. “I have been performing InterStim Therapy for the Pocono community for the past 13 years and we’ve expanded our practice to become a comprehensive center to provide even more options, including office-based technology,” she says.