For some women, the signs of perimenopause begin to edge their way into everyday life as early as their 40s. Then comes menopause, complete with a long list of life-disrupting symptoms of its own, including incontinence. If you regularly leak urine when sneezing, coughing or laughing, or when simply standing from a sitting position, know that you’re not alone.
As many as 40% of women in the U.S. live with Overactive Bladder symptoms. Incontinence might feel like an embarrassing topic to bring up, but it is common, even for those not experiencing menopause, and can be improved through treatment.
Incontinence and bladder control issues don’t have to be a normal and accepted part of your life. The first step to getting the right treatment is finding a specialist who addresses female bladder control.
Because not all incontinence is the same, the causes and symptoms can vary:
- Stress Incontinence
When urine leakage occurs with increases in abdominal pressure it is known as stress incontinence. Weak or stretched muscles in the pelvic floor fail to provide the support needed to hold in urine.
- Urge Incontinence/ Overactive Bladder
With urge incontinence, urine leaks occur when the bladder muscles contract at the wrong time, day or night.
- Overflow Incontinence
When you are unable to completely empty your bladder, it may result in overflow, with unexpected or even continuous leakage.
- Mixed Incontinence
Women often experience a combination of symptoms associated with both urge and stress incontinence. When this occurs, our doctors treat each symptom to help improve quality of life.
At Nore Women’s Heath, we create specific treatment plans for each individual to help alleviate these symptoms. While the symptoms may be common, we want each woman to “Be Their Most” by reducing the disturbances caused by Incontinence on your everyday life.
This National Bladder Health Awareness, we encourage you to learn more about bladder health, signs of bladder problems, and tips to know, and give us a call or come in for a one-on-one consultation.