NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – It’s a taboo topic that nobody talks about but, almost one in six Americans suffer with urinary or bowel incontinence. That’s more than the number of people with Alzheimer’s, diabetes, or breast cancer. Lifestyle changes and medication can relieve symptoms for some, but other patients may require advanced therapies, and there’s a new electrifying treatment that’s alleviating symptoms for patients.
An Air Force Captain, a nurse, even a professor with six college degrees under her belt, 70-year-old Linda Brice has lived a unique life. But nearly 20 years ago, she started suffering from a not-so-unique problem.
“I could not feel my legs and I gushed about a quarter, or more, of urine all over the floor. That was, kind of, my introduction to incontinence,” Brice explained.
Brice suffered in silence for years.
“You don’t want to tell people that you go to the bathroom everywhere, or you can’t control it,” Brice added.
Medications were not strong enough to treat her symptoms, so, doctors suggested she have a device called the InterStim implanted to control her symptoms.
Professor of Urology at Vanderbilt University, Melissa Kaufman, explained what InterStim is and what It does for people suffering with incontinence.
“It is fundamentally a pacemaker system that helps re-regulate these abnormal signaling to the bladder that’s resulting in the overactive bladder symptoms.”
It works by providing electrical signaling to interrupt the abnormal signaling going from the nerves to the bladder. Before, these devices had implantable batteries that would need to be replaced about every five years.
“But this new rechargeable device gives us, on average, 15 years of time before it would need a replacement,” Professor Kaufman mentioned.
For patients like Brice, InterStim has made all the difference.
“It’s given me back my freedom. It’s given back my quality of life,” Brice exclaimed.
The InterStim is one of the smallest versions of the device that has been created. Professor Kaufman says it is smaller than the typical USB thumb drive. She also says patients usually feel relief of their symptoms within a week from when the device is implanted. While many women are successfully treated with the InterStim, it is designed for both men and women. The FDA just approved the InterStimX with a 10 to 15-year battery life.
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Roque Correa, Videographer, Editor.
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MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: INTERSTIM INTERRUPTS INCONTINENCE
REPORT: MB #5028
BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence is the unintentional passing of urine. According to the American Urological Association, one-quarter to one-third of men and women in the U.S. suffer from urinary incontinence. About 33 million have overactive bladder, or OAB, representing symptoms of urgency, frequency, and with or without urge incontinence. There are several types of urinary incontinence including: stress incontinence – when urine leaks out at times when your bladder is under pressure, like when you cough or sneeze; urge incontinence – when urine leaks as you feel a sudden, intense urge to pee, or soon afterwards; overflow incontinence – when you’re unable to fully empty your bladder, which causes frequent leaking; and total incontinence – when your bladder cannot store any urine at all, which causes you to pass urine constantly or have frequent leaking.
(Source: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-incontinence/
https://www.urologyhealth.org/urology-a-z/u/urinary-incontinence)
DIAGNOSING: Common symptoms of urinary incontinence include, but are not limited to, leaking urine when coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercising, frequent urination, waking up many times at night to urinate, and urinating during sleep. If you experience any of these symptoms, it is important to speak with your doctor as soon as possible. Some ways that your doctor can diagnosis you with urinary incontinence is with a pelvic or abdominal physical exam, urine samples to test for UTIs or blood in the urine, and imaging testing, like ultrasounds.
NEW TECHNOLOGY: According to the Bassett Healthcare Network, a new technology, called the Emsella® chair, can relieve patients suffering from urinary incontinence. The chair is an FDA-cleared device that provides effective treatment for stress and urge incontinence. The chair transmits electromagnetic stimulation to the pelvic muscles, producing the equivalent of 11,000 contractions in 28 minutes of treatment. The BTL Emsella® chair, available at Bassett Medical Center’s women’s health clinic in Cooperstown, NY, is not currently covered by insurance and costs $300 per treatment. Samuel S. Badalian, MD, says Emsella chair therapy can be a good option for treating urinary incontinence for women and men.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Craig Boerner
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
