My Incontinence Is Embarrassing: Can You Help?

Incontinence can be a challenging and embarrassing condition to deal with, but you’re not alone. About 50% of adult women experience incontinence. However, less than two-thirds of them ask for help.

Dr. Essam Taymour and the team at Gynecology and Obstetrics Medical Group in Long Beach, California, know that incontinence isn’t easy to talk about, but speaking up is the first step in correcting the problem. Whether you’re dealing with incontinence during menopause or after childbirth, know that relief is just a phone call away.

Here’s how we can help.

We conduct a comprehensive examination

Incontinence can result from various causes, including pregnancy, childbirth, aging, and even medications for certain conditions. The most common types of urinary incontinence are stress incontinence, urge incontinence, and mixed incontinence.

During your exam, Dr. Taymour can confirm the source of your symptoms and the type of incontinence you have by:

Performing an exam
Reviewing your symptoms
Ordering a urinalysis to check for bacteria or signs of infection

Keep in mind that sometimes a urinary tract infection can increase urinary frequency, so it’s important to get an accurate diagnosis because these conditions require different treatments.

We create a treatment plan

Depending on the results of your exam, Dr. Taymor creates a custom treatment plan for you. This may include:

Medication

In some cases, medications can help manage incontinence, especially when you have urge incontinence. Examples include anticholinergics such as oxybutynin, mirabegron to relax your bladder, or topical estrogen.

If your incontinence is related to menopause, you might benefit from hormone replacement therapy.

Support and education

In addition to medication or hormone therapy, you can also expect help in the form of lifestyle guidance on dietary adjustments, fluid intake, bladder training, and exercises that strengthen pelvic floor muscles.

Nonsurgical and surgical interventions

While surgery can be beneficial in extreme cases, it’s not your only option. MonaLisa Touch®, a laser-based treatment, is available here at Gynecology and Obstetrics Medical Group.

Designed to boost collagen production, address thinning vaginal tissue, and improve vaginal dryness, MonaLisa Touch treatments can also improve incontinence by tightening and increasing the tone of your vaginal walls.

This may provide some additional support to your urethra and potentially reduce the embarrassing leaks related to stress urinary incontinence. Research also indicates that women treated with laser-based treatment for incontinence were more likely to postpone or avoid surgery.

Incontinence is nothing short of embarrassing, but you don’t have to fear leaks anymore. Help is just a call or click away. To get the care you need to manage urinary incontinence, schedule your appointment online or by phone at 562-595-5331.