My options
There are a number of different ways to deal with bladder problems, from
simple exercises through to surgery. What your doctor recommends will depend
on the type of problems you are experiencing and their frequency.
Exercises
If you have an overactive bladder, your doctor, nurse, or continence
advisor may suggest bladder retraining which involves keeping a diary or
completing a pre-printed chart to record the number of times you go to
the toilet and the amount of urine you pass each time. Once you know how
frequently you go to the toilet in a day and how much urine you pass, your
aim is then to 'hold on' for as long as possible before each time you go
to the toilet and passing more urine each time. For example, it you normally
go to the toilet every hour, your nurse or continence advisor will suggest
that you try and last one hour and five minutes between toilet trips.
The idea is to gradually increase the amount of time between visits to the
toilet and to train your bladder to stretch more easily and hold more urine.
It can take several weeks, but the idea is that you should aim to pass urine
up to 8 times in 24 hours.
If you are experiencing stress incontinence, your doctor may suggest that you
try to bring it under control with the help of pelvic floor exercises.
Medicines
There are a number of different medicines available for overactive bladder.
Your doctor will discuss your symptoms with you, to decide which option is
best for you. He or she may even recommend that you treat your incontinence
with
diet and
exercise
instead.
Find out more about medicines.
Surgery
In extreme cases of stress urinary incontinence, your doctor may suggest surgery.
There are a number of different options, including various procedures to raise
or support the neck of your bladder. Discuss this with your GP or specialist.
Find out more about surgery by clicking on the links below.
http://www.incontact.org/fact-file/stress-incontinence.html
http://www.incontact.org/fact-file/urgency-and-urge-incontinence.html