Overactive Bladder Treatment in Northern Virginia
Overactive Bladder or urge incontinence is a common condition in men and women in the Northern Virginia area. Potomac Urology located in Alexandria and Woodbridge, Virginia are the area experts when it comes to helping patients get back to normal life.
How is an Overactive Bladder Diagnosed?
Bladder Diary You may be asked to keep a bladder diary, where you will note how often you go to the bathroom and any time you leak urine. Other Tests
- Urine culture: test for infection or blood.
- Bladder scan: office ultrasound that shows how much urine is still in the bladder after you go to the bathroom.
- Cystoscopy: office procedure using a small camera to view the inside of the bladder.
- Urodynamic testing: office procedure to see how well your lower urinary tract stores and releases urine.
- Symptom Questionnaire: written quiz to ask questions about your bladder problems and what causes you the most bother.
What Treatments are Available for Overactive Bladder?
- Non-surgical therapy
- Lifestyle changes: limit food/drinks that may irritate the bladder
- Medications: aimed to decrease the bladder contractions
- Bladder training: double-voiding and timed voiding
- Tibial nerve stimulation: indirectly stimulate and retrain the nerves controlling the bladder
- Surgical Therapy
- (1) Botox bladder injection - Relaxes the bladder, may last up to 9 months
- (2) Sacral nerve stimulation - Directly stimulate the nerves controlling the bladder
Treatment Options
There are many ways to manage bladder control problems. Remember, if conservative treatments don’t deliver the results you need, you have more options.
Lifestyle Changes1
Conservative treatments can help some people but may not work very well (or at all) for others. All of these are relatively simple behavioral changes that you may already be doing.
- Diet and exercise: Changes may include decreasing your caffeine intake and getting more exercise.
- Bladder retraining: Also called biofeedback, this involves delaying going to the bathroom and sticking to a strict schedule.
- Pelvic floor strengthening: This can be accomplished through Kegel exercises, which involve repeatedly contracting and relaxing the muscles of the pelvic floor.
Oral Medications
When lifestyle changes fail to deliver the results you want, oral medications are the next step. These medications can help control symptoms but may cause other issues.
You have to remember to take these medications every day. Some side effects can be unpleasant, such as dry mouth, blurry vision, constipation, and hypertension.2 Other side effects are more serious. In fact, data suggests that one class of drugs for OAB (anticholinergics) may increase risk of dementia in elderly people.3 Even more important, these medications don't always work. In one survey, 72% of people said they stopped taking their medication after just six months.4
Advanced Therapies
If conservative treatments don’t deliver the results you want, you have more options.
Medtronic Bladder Control Therapy Delivered by The InterStim™ System
- Try it during an evaluation
- Proven long-term relief5
Implanting an InterStim™ system has risks similar to any surgical procedure, including swelling, bruising, bleeding, and infection. Talk with your doctor about ways to minimize these risks. Complications can occur with the evaluation, including movement of the wire, technical problems with the device, and some temporary pain. Your doctor or nurse will provide you with the information regarding how to operate the test device and inform you of other precautions related to the evaluation and activity restrictions.
Learn More About Medtronic Bladder Control Therapy Delivered by the InterStim System
Information on this site should not be used as a substitute for talking with your doctor. Always talk with your doctor about diagnosis and treatment information.
*Medtronic Bladder Control Therapies do not treat obstructive urinary retention.
1. American Urological Association. Diagnosis and treatment of non-neurogenic overactive bladder (OAB) in adults: an AUA/SUFU guideline. www.auanet.org/guidelines/overactive-bladder-(oab)-guideline. Accessed August 5, 2020.
2. Haab F, Castro‐Diaz D. (2005), Persistence with antimuscarinic therapy in patients with overactive bladder. Int J Clin Prac, 59: 931-937.
3. Gray S, Anderson M, Dublin S et al. Cumulative use of strong anticholinergics and incident dementia. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(3):401-407.
4. Yeaw J, Benner J, Walt JG et al. Comparing adherence and persistence across 6 chronic medication classes. J Manag Care Pharm. 2009:15(9): 724-736.
5. Siegel S, Noblett K, Mangel J, et al. Five year follow-up results of a prospective, multicenter study in overactive bladder subjects treated with sacral neuromodulation. 2018; 199(1), 229-236.
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