Overview:

Urinary Incontinence is defined as the involuntary loss of urine which is objectively demonstrable and a social or hygienic problem. Urinary incontinence has been reported to:

• Affect 10-25% of women under age 65 and 15-30% of women over age 60.
• 13 million Americans are incontinent; 11 million are women

Urinary Incontinence has been shown to affect a person’s social, clinical, and psychological well-being. It is estimated that less than half of incontinent women seek medical care. Often, incontinent women rely on absorbent pads or changes in their life style to cope with this condition. Incontinent individuals have been reported to be more likely to be depressed; they may be fearful and embarrassed about their appearance or the color of urine. Sexual relationships are often affected. Recent estimates regarding the direct financial costs of urinary incontinence were $10.3 billion per year. Unfortunately, only 1% of this amount was spent on the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder, while 60% was spent on palliative measures.

Quite simply, there are 2 basic types of incontinence.

• Stress Incontinence: is the involuntary loss of urine during physical activity. One of the causes of Stress Incontinence is the loss of anatomic support of the bladder and its surrounding tissue. This damage may be the result of pregnancy and vaginal delivery or due to tissue atrophy that result from advancing age.
• Urge Incontinence: is the involuntary loss of urine associated with an abrupt and strong desire to void (urgency).

There are other less common forms, including:

• Mixed incontinence is a combination of both stress and urge incontinence, as is most common in older women.
• Overflow Incontinence, in which the bladder becomes too full because it cannot be emptied, is rarer and is the result of bladder obstruction or injury.

We can perform Cystometrics in our office rather than being sent to the Urologists. Cystometrics allows us to evaluate the cause of your incontinence using very simple and painless techniques. A treatment plan is created using a Gynecologic point of reference including life style changes rather than promoting surgery as an immediate remedy to your problem. Faith is our coordinator for Cystometrics. She can be reached at (609) 261 6701.