Any woman who deals with urinary incontinence knows exactly how cautious one has to be in daily life. It is an embarrassing ailment. One may probably carry an extra pair of underwear with them. Or one may wear a pad at all times, just in case. Perhaps you may limit your fluid intake when out and about. To always plan and tiptoe around your urinary issues is exhausting. Many women find it embarrassing to talk about their leaky dilemma. But if you would rather live without this embarrassment and take control of your bladder and your life, there is an ultimate solution for you. Read on to find out!
The urethra is an integral component of controlling urine. Any weakness in the urethra or the pelvic floor muscles supporting it leads to a leaky bladder. Urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine.
There are four main types of urinary incontinence:
- Stress urinary incontinence: urinary leakage occurs due to a combination of an increase in intrabdominal pressure and weak urethral sphincters. Therefore, activities such as intense workouts, coughing, laughing, climbing stairs, or even running may induce urinary leakage.
- Urge urinary incontinence: the bladder squeezes, and you will have a strong, sudden urge to urinate that it becomes difficult to hold in.
- Mix type urinary incontinence: a mix of stress and urge urinary incontinence.
- Overactive bladder: the retention of urine due to a structural or nerve pathology, over distend the bladder. This over-distention increases the pressure on the urethra, causing dribbling of the urine. Although, there won’t an urge to urinate.
Stress urinary incontinence is the most common type of urinary leakage that women experience. Life experiences such as pregnancy, vaginal delivery, and menopause weaken the pelvic floor muscles. Aging also contributes to this weakening. However, this does not mean that urinary incontinence is inevitable. There are various ways to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, thus preventing this condition.
You may have heard of the infamous Kegels, the pelvic floor exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor. They make the pelvic muscles stronger but, they wouldn’t fix the urinary issue. And how many of us remember to perform them? Or even do them correctly? You may have also come across commercials promoting various feminine products; that promise to help you regain your confidence that stress urinary incontinence has plummeted. These products may provide temporary bliss. But what these products fail to do is fix the core problem, and because of this, urinary incontinence may return.
So instead of covering it up and covertly handling a leaky bladder, why not focus on a permanent resolution? One that rids of urinary incontinence once and for all? The real solution that helps you take control of your life? The urethral sling procedure; which is an outpatient procedure that takes only 30 minutes. It is also minimally invasive, which means there will be no large incision instead, only a small incision about the size of your fingertip will be needed. And as this incision heals, it will not be visible. During this procedure, placing a mesh sling around the urethra raises it back to its original position. The placement of this sling will recruit collagen-forming cells. These cells will lay down new collagen around the sling area, reinforcing the urethra in an elevated position. Thus, the urethral sling procedure is a natural process that strengthens the slack urethral tissue.
As busy women, adding a leaky bladder on top of everything else we have to deal with makes everyday routine challenging. This fix empowers you to control your leaky bladder so that you can breeze through the day without any worries. No need to be careful about laughing or coughing. No need to wear pads or restrict your fluid intake. You can do whatever it is that you love to do, but has stopped because of urinary incontinence.
Patients of mine who have gone through the urethral sling procedure often say, Why did I wait so long?! And indeed you shouldn’t wait anymore. So do visit your gynecologist, have a discussion, and evaluate if you are a suitable candidate for this procedure. You deserve to live your best days now, as tomorrow is not a promise to any of us.
