GynoFiles

Jumping Jack (Jane) Dribble? Wet from a few leaks every time you go to the gym, and feel like you can't keep up with the pounding and zumba or cumbia and salsa moves? Lose the 5K race because you stopped for a bathroom break? Terrible! Unfortunately those with bladder issues of leaking with coughing and sneezing, find it's even worse at the gym. And that sort of leaking is what gynos mean when they say you have "stress incontinence" the stress is the rumba, the incontinence, the dribble! Bearing down to strain is a medical maneuver called a valsalva, and the strain of the forces of valsalva go directly to the neck of the bladder and affect if we can hold the urine in our bladder or if it leaks. Basic strategies like peeing before you bounce should help a bit, but often more has to happen, like lots of Kegel's, eating a bladder healthy diet, and otherwise trying medical interventions like pessary devices, medication, biofeedback, neuromodulation therapy, PRP the...

Women who run to the bathroom too often might think they have an infection or perhaps an Over Active Bladder, but they may have another gynecologic reason. Medications to treat Over Active Bladder can be very effective, but is not the only answer for many women. But women who void too frequently may also have uterine fibroids ! If you also have pelvic pressure, discomfort with intercourse, heavy periods, there may be other reasons. We are currently recruiting for a uterine fibroid study that utilizes medication rather than surgery as the treatment . Call 217-356-3736 or contact us through Women's Health Practice if interested.

If you run to the bathroom and do make it, the symptom is called “urgency.” If you run to the bathroom and don’t make it when you have a few dribbles, the symptom is called “urge incontinence.” As opposed to leaking when you jump which is called stress incontinence. And if you just are constantly going to the bathroom, even if you have just gone, whether or not you actually leak, the term is called Over Active Bladder (OAB). And OAB can be very annoying, mostly because we are busy, and it’s very disruptive to one’s life to make all plans around bathrooms or bathroom breaks. The quickest fix is to always pause, and don't just run to the bathroom, but let that sensation pass. Gynos will usually suggest giving it 15 minutes before you actually get up and rush. Other fixes are possible. So if this is a symptom that you have, and it’s been weeks or months, it is probably time to see your gyno and get a diagnosis, as there are medications that can treat the condition.

Tsting the function of one's bladder may be as unsophisticated as a yearly check up with your gyno. But for many women bladder problems extend beyond the rare leak and need sophisticated testing. Multichannel urodynaic studies and a systematic examination of your vaginal support when there are additional problems. Reasons for more complex testing: 1.If you think you may actually have nerve damage to the area or be suffering from conditions which can affect the nerves such as diabetes 2. If you are planning invasive surgery 3. When there has been failure to correct an issue with prior surgery 4. When there is both a pelvic floor defect and incontinence If you wear pads daily, if you go to the bathroom significantly more than your friends or than you used to, and if you notice odors that might mean you are leaking urine, these are all reasons to get your bladder checked. 

I advise diary writing. For lots of reasons. Need hints from your gyno on what to write in your diary, well that line alone should give you some thoughts. Are you buying a lock and key for these diary pages? Should you write the verses that would launch a thousand ships? Or the start of the Great American Novel. Absolutely, go for it, but my actual advice to patients is more of a clinical gynecological issue. First keep track (a week or two is plenty for any of these projects!) of the calcium and vitamin D you consume.  It's tough to know whether you need a supplement unless you really know what is in your food. Don't assume that last year's calculations are accurate. more foods are fortified, and the amounts are not what they were, so read the labels: Read the labels AGAIN this year! Another type of diary I like is the voiding diary. How often do you urinate, any leaks, etc. If you have a problem, knowing the scope of the problem is important! And of course then the mens...

If you had bladder issues: running to the bathroom, leaking when you cough and sneeze, there's one proof of function: tracking your symptoms. What you want to know is what is really cured after bladder surgery? What can you expect, what might you not expect, what does your gyno expect? These are questions for all types of bladder issues. And the simplest way isto determine what your bladder function is for you to keep what is called a bladder diary. And you just keep track of all peeing, and many will keep track of their fluid intake as well, so they can gauge how much you would have expected to void. If you were treated, for instance a surgery, and now keep track of your symptoms after the surgery, and  have not leaked AND are not getting retreated in a three day stretch, that's called  the cure in terms of your bladder. Not that you will never have any future symptoms, and not all three day stretches strung together will even be as dry or functional as you want, but a goo...

Bladder disconnect is also called overactive bladder, and it is fairly common and there can be a lot of signs of this problem. You sit on the toilet. You pee. But did you really pee all that was there? Normally when we are busy, or at work we don't want to pee frequently so we get in the habit of not going until we are quite full! On the other hand sometimes we don't want to pee until we finish the phone call or unload the groceries, so we just cannot stand it if the ability to hold the urine for more than moments after the signal that you may have to go occurs, Sometimes the physiologic adaptations that allow us to work around our busy lives can work a bit against us. WE have a bladder that holds our urine and a urethra that is the tube that funnels the urine out of our system. The bladder and the urethra are coordinated, but in a funny sort of discordant way! We are designed to hold that urine in and at the time the urethra will contract the bladder will actually, paradoxica...