Energy and a good night’s sleep are harder to come by, memory lapses are laughingly excused as ‘senior moments, and you may be on the verge of graduating – to bifocals.
It’s all par for the course as we age. Even that crop of wiry grey or white hair.
But there’s one thing that not on that Typical Signs of Aging list: incontinence
Loss of control over your bladder and/or bowel function is not one of the standard changes you’re to expect as you grow older. Nor is it one of those ‘private matters’ dealing with your ‘private parts’ that must be endured in silence with a stiff upper lip.
Forget private.
When you can’t make it to the bathroom on time, it’s a health issue that should not be ignored. The good news is that involuntary leakage is very treatable, sometimes curable. Although the prevalence of incontinence does increase considerable with age, it’s not strictly an age issue, nor is it a disease.
In fact, urinary incontinence (UI) is a symptom of something else going on in your body – and it’s a symptom you want to get checked by a health-care professional. Don’t let shame or embarrassment get in the way of taking care of yourself.
Whether the root cause in an enlarged prostate, loss of estrogen, weakened pelvic floor muscles, weakness of the urinary sphincter or side effects of surgery, you need to know what’s going on and what you can do about it.
Don’t waste time crossing your legs and hoping for the best. Incontinence is treatable, manageable, and even curable in some cases.
There’s plenty. After all, an estimated 3.3 million Canadians are coping with incontinence, ranging from mild issues – where people experience some leakage each month – to severe cases, where people cope with many episodes of leakage each day. In all too many cases, they don’t seek treatment. There are consequences.
Wherever you fit in that range, it’s a fact that incontinence has a negative emotional impact on quality of life. According to the Canadian Continence Foundation (TCCF), ‘Women living with incontinence are more likely to suffer from depression than their continent peers. In one study, ordinary incontinence, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke were the three chronic conditions found to most adversely affect an individual’s health-related quality of life.’
Not only that, incontinence is one of the main reasons seniors are placed in institutions.
However, if you are experiencing incontinence, there’s a lot you can do, right now, to help yourself. For starters, pay attention. Start keeping track of what’s going on with your body.
Consider these questions:
- How often are you incontinent? Certain medications, constipation, hormone imbalance, vaginal infection or urinary tract infection may cause temporary incontinence. You need to rule that out.
- What are the circumstances? Does leakage happen when you laugh or sneeze or run? Do you have a sudden, strong urge to urinate but you can’t make it to the bathroom?
- How much urine is lost?
- Is the incontinence impacting your ability to do things, such as work, play or socialize?
- How much fluid do you drink and when during the day?
- What’s your bathroom schedule?
- What medications are you taking and what’s your health status?
Consider all these factors, write everything down and make an appointment to see your regular health-care professional. Ask if she or he has expertise and interest in treating incontinence. If necessary, get a referral. Professionals who can be of help range from nurse continence advisors and physiotherapists to urogynecologists and urologists.
Find an expert who knows and cares about incontinence issues and treatments.
There are a number of tests that may be recommended in order to get more detailed medical information. Once the type and cause of your incontinence is determined, you’ll have some appropriate options to deal with it.
In many cases, bladder retraining, Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and lifestyle changes help the situation considerably. Modifications to bathroom routines and diet/fluid intake, plus the exercise, sometimes with biofeedback or stimulation equipment, are non-invasive and can be effective.
In terms of the exercise, Biofeedback and electrical stimulation may be required to help you identify the right muscles to contract.
As for diet and intake, you’ll learn what foods and fluids to avoid because they irritate the bladder. For instance, caffeine is an irritant. Maintaining a healthy weight, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol intake also carry benefits.
Bladder training and retraining teaches you to resist the urge to go to the bathroom and to gradually lengthen the interval between urinating.
There are medications available that can relax the bladder and lessen urgency, tighten the sphincter or improve the bladder’s ability to empty. Incontinence management products, collection devices, injections and surgery are other possibilities.
A number of surgical options are also available. The procedure most often performed is repositioning the bladder neck. Surgery can also be used to correct pelvic floor muscles, remove tissue causing a blockage, or implant a sacral nerve stimulation device. For men dealing with incontinence after prostate cancer surgery, an artificial sphincter implant may be helpful.
For more information about incontinence and what to do about it, call the Canadian Continence Foundation at 1-800-265-9575 and check www.canadiancontinence.ca.