Our physicians and advanced practice providers know a wide variety of tips and tricks women can use at home to prevent urinary leakage and other bladder problems, and these tips are also well-known to our nurses and medical assistants in the clinic. Our physical therapists also serve as experts in these tricks when women want to have a more in-depth conversation about how to prevent leakage of urine using their habits at home.
There is a wide variety of medicines that can be used for therapy for overactive bladder, where women have frequent urinating or a strong urge to go to the bathroom. Medications include anticholinergics, and our experts choose brain-safe medications in this class not associated with dementia or brain problems, and beta-agonists such as mirabegron or vibegron. Read more about medications for this at: https://www.voicesforpfd.org/bladder-control/oab-treatment/
Our physical therapy team consists of 6 dedicated physical therapists who specialize in not only pelvic muscle strengthening to prevent or decrease going to the bathroom, but also balance of the pelvic muscles to relieve stress, strain, and pain from pelvic floor problems. Learn more about physical therapy at: https://www.voicesforpfd.org/about/physical-therapy/
This office procedure for bladder control is a small acupuncture needle placed just above your ankle in the office by a specialist nurse, who uses the needle to stimulate nerves in the legs and pelvis gently with a current. This procedure is comfortable and takes about 20 min; it is done weekly in the clinic for 12 weeks and then as needed after that once every 1-3 months. Learn more at: https://www.voicesforpfd.org/about/surgery-and-procedures/
This clinic procedure is offered to patients with urinary frequency or the sudden urge to go to the bathroom, with or without urine leakage from this problem. Read more about this simple office procedure at: https://www.voicesforpfd.org/assets/2/6/Botox.pdf
This is offered to patients with “gotta go” bladder symptoms, with or without leakage from this issue. Sacral neuromodulation is outpatient surgery 1-2 weeks apart, where the first surgery places a small wire in the buttock to stimulate nerves in the tailbone, and the patient wears the wires for 1-2 weeks at home to “test drive” how it works for urine problems. The second surgery places a small coin-like battery under the skin of the buttock if the patient likes the improvement with the stimulation. Read more about this at: https://www.voicesforpfd.org/about/surgery-and-procedures/
SNAK Trial: We are recruiting women with urine leakage due to urine frequent or “gotta go” problems to participate in a study to find out if women who are given information on good sites and resources on social media (such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) have better knowledge and control of their bladder leakage than women who do not know this information. Contact the research team at (505) 967-8428 to learn more.
INTENSE Trial: We are recruiting women with “gotta go” or urge-related leakage to be randomly assigned to either doing nerve stimulation once a week in the office for 12 weeks (posterior nerve stimulation) or doing nerve stimulation with a TENS unit at home once a day. Contact the research team at (505) 967-8428 to learn more.
BEST Trial: We are recruiting women with “gotta go” or urgency-related leakage to be randomly assigned to either doing Botox injections once in the clinic or taking 3 or more months of a daily medication, to see which women like better for treatment. Contact the research team at (505) 967-8428 to learn more.
