Urology & Incontinence

What it means

Urinary leakage and urgency are common and treatable medical problems. SEVA Healthcare offers urology and incontinence care at its Dallas-Fort Worth clinics in Lewisville and Rowlett. This topic collects our coverage of bladder health.

Symptoms and warning signs

• Stress incontinence: leaking when you cough, sneeze, laugh, lift or exercise
• Urge incontinence: a sudden strong need to go, with leakage before reaching the toilet; often part of overactive bladder
• Going very often, or waking several times a night to urinate (nocturia)
• Overflow: dribbling because the bladder does not empty fully (more common in men)
• Urgent warning signs: not being able to pass urine at all, blood in the urine, fever with back pain, or new leakage together with leg weakness or numbness

Causes and risk factors

• Weak pelvic-floor muscles, often after childbirth, surgery or with age
• An overactive bladder muscle; sometimes a urinary tract infection or a neurological condition
• In men, an enlarged prostate or problems after prostate treatment
• Medicines, caffeine and alcohol, constipation and excess weight can all make symptoms worse
• Functional causes — difficulty reaching the toilet in time because of mobility, pain or other conditions

Conditions in this group

As listed by SEVA Healthcare on its urology & incontinence page.

• Overactive Bladder (OAB)
• Urinary urgency
• Frequent urination
• Urge incontinence
• Stress urinary incontinence
• Mixed urinary incontinence
• Nocturia (waking up at night to urinate)
• Urinary retention
• Fecal incontinence

How clinicians evaluate it

Evaluation usually starts with a history of symptoms, a bladder diary and a urine test, then an examination. Further tests depend on the type of incontinence.

Treatments SEVA Healthcare lists

Copied from the official page. Listing a treatment does not mean it suits every patient or is available at every clinic — a doctor decides after an evaluation.

• Peripheral Nerve Evaluation (PNE)
• Sacral Neuromodulation (InterStim® Therapy)
• Botox for Overactive Bladder
• Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS)
• Pelvic Floor Therapy Coordination

How SEVA Healthcare treats urology & incontinence

Everyday self-management

General education, not a plan for you. Check with your clinician before changing activity or medicines.

• Bladder leakage is a medical condition, not an inevitable part of ageing or childbirth, and it usually improves with treatment — it is worth raising with a clinician
• A bladder diary (times, volumes, leaks, drinks) for three days is one of the most useful things to bring to an appointment
• Pelvic-floor exercises help many people with stress and urge symptoms when done correctly and consistently; a pelvic-floor physical therapist can teach them
• Spacing fluids through the day, limiting caffeine and alcohol, and treating constipation often reduce urgency
• Timed voiding — going on a schedule rather than waiting for urgency — is a common first step for overactive bladder

Questions to discuss with a clinician

• Which type of incontinence do I have, and what is the likely cause?
• Would pelvic-floor therapy help me, and how do I find a therapist?
• What are the next options if lifestyle changes and exercises are not enough?
• If nerve stimulation or bladder Botox is suggested, what does it involve and how long does the effect last?
• Are any of my current medicines making this worse?