Is Urinary Incontinence Normal?

There are many reasons why you might find yourself dealing with embarrassing urinary incontinence problems, especially as you get older. Up to one-third of Americans struggle with incontinence at some point in their lives.

The expert and compassionate care team at Gulf Coast Urology, led by John Bertini, MD, FACS, and James Harris, MD, has the years of experience you can trust when it comes to dealing with sensitive conditions like urinary incontinence. Don't delay consulting with Dr. Bertini or Dr. Harris about your urinary incontinence symptoms and concerns.

Causes of urinary incontinence

While urinary incontinence isn't “normal” in the sense of full and correct body function, it’s an extremely common type of dysfunction to experience at some point in your life, especially if you have an elevated risk for any reason.

Some of the factors that could increase your chances of dealing with urinary incontinence include:

• In women, a history of pregnancy and childbirth, due to weakening of the supportive tissues in your pelvic region
• In women, a loss of estrogen following menopause, due to decreased hormonal resources for pelvic tissues
• In men, an enlarged prostate places stress on urinary muscles

For both men and women, getting older increases the risks for urinary incontinence, but you can deal with bladder issues at any point in your life, as well.

What you can do

Just because urinary incontinence is common, you don’t have to live with the condition. Options available to you through Gulf Coast Urology can reduce or even eliminate the problem completely.

Urinary incontinence occurs due to weakness in the muscles that control your urinary flow, or nerve issues relating to bladder control. If you have stress urinary incontinence due to weakened pelvic floor muscles, you may experience leakage when you laugh, sneeze, cough, or pick up heavy objects.

If you deal with overactive bladder, or urge incontinence, you may have nerve-related issues causing your brain to release your bladder unexpectedly. You can also have both types of incontinence at once.

The team at Gulf Coast Urology tailors your treatment to your diagnosis. After performing a complete physical exam and taking a health history, we might recommend:

• Lifestyle changes, including weight loss, to treat stress incontinence
• Physical therapy, including Kegel exercises for women, to also address stress incontinence
• Urethral bulking agents and sling surgery, to support your muscles for severe stress incontinence
• Oral relaxant medications or Botox® injections to calm an overactive bladder
• Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) and InterStim®, both working to normalize an overactive bladder by stimulating your nerves

To get started addressing the causes and symptoms of your urinary incontinence, contact Gulf Coast Urology today.

Schedule your initial consultation appointment at our Nassau Bay or Houston, Texas, offices over the phone, or you can request an appointment using the online booking tool. You can also send a message to the team here on our website.