4 tips on how to discuss incontinence with your doctor

Incontinence is a very common condition in older people. If you know what types of incontinence you are suffering from, you can discuss the issue effectively with your doctor. These tips will help.

If you have stress incontinence and are embarrassed to discuss it with your doctor, you aren’t alone. Studies show that more than half of all people with stress incontinence don't share their symptoms with their doctor, and by the time they're diagnosed, most have suffered with this condition for at least four years. This is often because you think this condition is part of aging nd nothing an be done about it. Incontinence is not necessarily part of getting older and there are ways of treating it.

Before you see your doctor about incontinence, write them a preparatory e-mail or letter outlining your concerns and your symptoms. Include a schedule of all your bathroom usage and incontinence issues over a few days then make your appointment. When you turn up, your doctor can ask you any questions not answered in your letter, and then the two of you can discuss treatment options.

If you want a doctor to solve your urinary incontinence problems, you could either take prescription drugs or have surgery, depending on the type of incontinence you have.

Stress incontinence

In women, surgery to tighten and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, followed by pelvic floor muscle exercises, can reduce incontinence episodes by between 88 and 94 percent. In men, however, surgical treatments may be less successful, with studies finding an improvement range of between 36 and 95 percent. A major study comparing a minimally invasive form of surgery (in which a sling is used to hold up the urethra) to the more traditional procedure (in which the urethra and bladder are stitched to the pelvic wall) found the sling was much more effective in relieving stress incontinence.

Urge incontinence

Several prescription drugs can prevent the bladder from contracting, keeping urine where it belongs until you deliberately choose to release it. Studies find that these medications can reduce the number of incontinence episodes by up to 70 percent, curing the condition altogether in about 20 percent of people.

Overflow incontinence

The only real treatment for overflow incontinence is to treat whatever is blocking the urethra. In men, this usually means medication for an enlarged prostate.

Once you know what kind of incontinence you suffer from, you are in a strong position to treat it effectively. These steps will help you approach the subject with your doctor and get the help you need.