Get Treated for Female Urinary Incontinence in San Francisco

Over 25 Years Helping Women with Bladder Control Issues

If you’re tired of being embarrassed by unexpected bladder leaks, know that you don’t have to live life like that any longer. Urinary incontinence affects 15 million women across the United States and thousands in the Bay Area. Thanks to innovative treatments like laser therapy and bladder sling surgery you won’t have to experience urinary leaks for a lifetime.

Dr. Leslie Kardos can diagnose and treat your urinary incontinence issues to restore your quality of life! Dr. Kardos has over 25 years of experience treating female urinary incontinence in San Franciso. Learn more and call (415) 426-7859 and schedule your appointment today.

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What are the Symptoms of Urinary Incontinence in Women?

Urinary incontinence is a condition where there is loss of control in managing the flow of urine from your body. Approximately 17 million women in the U.S. encounter urinary incontinence in their lifetime. This condition can occur in women between the ages of 18 and 60 and beyond and is usually a result of the urethra not being supported properly to keep urine in the bladder.

Symptoms vary from:

• an inability to prevent leaking urine when exercising or other involuntary actions such as coughing or sneezing
• an overwhelming urge to urinate that often causes them to urinate before getting to a bathroom.

How is Female Incontinence Diagnosed?

Dr. Kardos discusses your health history and frequency of leaks to evaluate what type of incontinence issues you experience. To rule out other underlying medical conditions, she will perform a pelvic exam and may also order a urine sample and imaging tests, like ultrasounds, to identify infections or other abnormalities.

How does Dr. Kardos Treat Urinary Incontinence?

Initially, Dr. Leslie Kardos may recommend keeping a bladder diary that provides a better understanding of your symptoms. She may also suggest bladder training exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles. You can also wear absorbent pads to protect your clothing and prevent an embarrassing accident. Some non-surgical treatment options offered to women in the San Francisco area include:

• Behavior therapies – Behavior modification is used to train one’s bladder and sphincter muscles by decreasing fluid intake and by prompting or scheduling voiding.
• Pelvic muscle exercises – Called Kegel exercises, these exercises commonly are intended to strengthen weak muscles surrounding the bladder.
• Protective undergarments – Basically, these are pads undergarments designed to absorb leaked urine.
• Catheter – These tubes are inserted into the urethra to collect urine into an external drainage bag. These are generally left in place 24 hours a day.
• External devices – Called a Pessary, this device is designed to apply pressure to help reposition the urethra permitting it to close tightly. It features a stiff ring that is inserted into the vagina to exert pressure press against the wall of the vagina and urethra.
• MonaLisa Vaginal Rejuvenation – can help the tissues support the urethra lessening both urinary frequency and incontinence for mild cases.

Medications for Female Urinary Incontinence

If therapies aren’t effective, Dr. Kardos may prescribe medications to calm an overactive bladder or topical estrogens to help rejuvenate your vaginal region to better support your bladder. There are a number of medications to treat incontinence caused by urge to continually void. Where incontinence is stress related, there are no medications for to treat this. For incontinence caused by a combination of both urge and stress, drug therapy may be helpful in treating the urge component.

Surgical Treatments for Female Incontinence

There are a number of surgical approaches to strengthen, support, elevate and/or restore the urethra and bladder. If surgical intervention is necessary to control urine leakage, Dr. Kardos can utilize urethral slings in which she places a sling around your urethra. The urethral sling is effective at keeping the urethra closed, especially during sudden stressful movements, such as sneezing.