Alternative medicine (2)
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- Bladder control problems in women: Lifestyle strategies for relief
- Kegel exercises for men: Understand the benefits
- Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet
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- Kegel exercises: A how-to guide for women
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- Bladder control problems: Medications for treating urinary incontinence
- Urinary incontinence surgery: When other treatments aren't enough
- Urinary incontinence: Incontinence products to help keep you dry
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continued:
Bladder control problems in women: Seek treatment
The bladder diary: A detailed symptom record
Whether you see a primary care provider or a specialist, keep a bladder diary for several consecutive days before your visit. This diary is a detailed, day-to-day record of your symptoms and other information related to your urinary habits. It can help you and your doctor determine the causes of bladder control problems.
Record what, what time and how much you drink, when you urinate, the amount of urine you produce, whether you had an urge to urinate, and the number of times you leaked urine. If you leak urine, note the approximate amount and what you were doing when it happened. Don't worry about getting exact measurements of urine output. Just describe the quantity in general terms, such as small, medium or large. If a more precise measurement is needed, your doctor may give you a pan that fits over your toilet rim. The pan has markings like a measuring cup.
The diary should cover a period in which you stick to your normal routine — not a vacation. If you're premenopausal, don't start the diary during your menstrual period. Increased trips to the bathroom to change your sanitary protection during this time may distort the findings.
Sample Bladder Diary (PDF file requiring Adobe Reader )
Medical history review
Your visit will be more productive if you can provide a detailed medical history. If necessary, make a list of:
- Surgeries, births, illnesses, injuries and medical procedures, along with approximate dates
- Current health problems — such as diabetes or arthritis — for which you're seeing a doctor or taking medication
- The approximate date or your age when you stopped having menstrual periods, if you've been through menopause
- Past and current problems with your urinary system
- Medications you're taking, including each drug's brand and generic name, dosage, when you take it, and what you take it for
Medications are among the most common causes of bladder control problems, so list everything — prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, minerals and other supplements. If you're not sure whether something counts as a medication, put it on the list anyway.
Finally, if you want a report of your consultation with your new doctor sent to other health care providers, be sure to take their names and office phone numbers to your appointment.
What to expect from treatment
Treatments for bladder control problems vary from learning special exercises to taking medications to having surgery. What's best for you depends on the type of bladder control problem you have. Nearly all women with bladder control problems can be helped through some form of treatment.
Your bladder function could be greatly improved after treatment. Any improvement, however, counts as a success, as long as it frees you to do what you like and enhances your quality of life.
Previous page(2 of 2)
- Fong E, et al. Urinary incontinence. Primary Care Clinics in Office Practice. 2010; 37:599.
- Nitti VW, et al. Urinary incontinence: Epidemiology, pathophysiology, evaluation, and management overview. In: Wein AJ. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/214316744-4/1038180294/1445/63.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-7216-0798-6..50062-5--cesec2_4438. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Loss of bladder control. FDA Office of Women's Health. http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ByAudience/ForWomen/UCM121894.pdf. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Urinary incontinence. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health. http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/urinary-incontinence.cfm. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- DuBeau C. Clinical presentation and diagnosis of urinary incontinence. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Gallenberg MM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 23, 2010.
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