Do you live in fear that a cough, a sneeze or a giggle could lead to embarrassing leakage? If so, your bladder could be controlling your life. It’s estimated as many as one in four women, over the age of 18, suffer from stress urinary incontinence, spending up to $200 a month on incontinence briefs.
It’s very common for women who are pregnant or have had children to suffer from some degree of stress urinary incontinence, however, there are other risk factors that can contribute to it including:
- Age
- Prior pelvic surgery
- Certain medications
- Some foods like caffeine, alcohol & more
- Weakened pelvic floor muscles
Unfortunately, many women may brush off stress urinary incontinence because they are either embarrassed or they think it’s normal. “If incontinence is impeding your life by restricting your activities and social interactions, that is not normal, and there are things we can do to help,” says Urology Specialist, Michelle Kim, M.D., Urology Specialist with Hackensack University Medical Center.
Dr. Kim and Debra Fromer, MD, Chief of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, are now offering patients suffering from stress urinary incontinence a new procedure that uses Bulkamid®, a "bulking agent" that is injected into the urethra under a local anesthetic. “This is safe, durable, easily administered under local anesthesia and has an initial success rate of over 80%,” said Dr. Fromer.
There’s also new options for women with overactive bladders - who feel an urgent, frequent need to urinate. Take for example, 27 year old Alexis Kronenberg, who was not responding to typical medications. “I would feel like I had to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes, it was so incredibly disruptive to my life,” said Alexis who finally found relief after undergoing a minimally invasive procedure called sacral neuromodulation. “In this procedure, a small device known as a neurotransmitter is implanted under the skin and a mild electrical current is transmitted through lead wires to stimulate the sacral nerves,” explained Dr. Fromer. “This helps regulate the functioning of the bladder and related muscles.” “This small procedure dramatically changed my life for the better,” said Alexis.
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