Bladder disorders can be painful, inconvenient, and downright embarrassing. Fortunately, Fort Worth Center for Pelvic Medicine can provide patients with the care they need to improve their bladder disorders and lead healthy, flourishing lives.

What are Bladder Disorders?

Bladder disorders are any difficulties that patients have with the functioning of their bladders. The four most common bladder disorders that we treat at Fort Worth Center for Pelvic Medicine include overactive bladder, urinary incontinence, urinary retention, and interstitial cystitis.

Overactive Bladder

Overactive bladder is characterized by problems with bladder-storage function that cause affected individuals to feel the sudden urge to urinate. This urge can be difficult to stop and may lead to an involuntary loss of urine.

Symptoms of overactive bladder syndrome include:

• The frequent, sudden urge to urinate
• The involuntary loss of urine
• Urinating eight or more times in a 24-hour period
• Waking up two or more times to urinate at night

Urinary Incontinence

This is the involuntary loss of urine.  There are three types; urge incontinence, stress incontinence, and mixed incontinence.  Urge incontinence is the loss of urine with the sensation of urgency.  Stree incontinence is the loss of urine with physical activity such as; exercise, coughing, sneezing, intercourse, and any other activity which puts pressure on the bladder neck.  Mixed incontinence is a combination of both urge and stress.  This is the most common type of urinary incontinence.

 

Urinary Retention

Individuals affected by urinary retention suffer from the inability to fully empty their bladders. This condition either be acute or chronic and is caused when the bladder sags or moves out of its normal position.  Urinary retention also can be caused by a spinal cord injury or other neurological diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Muscle Dystophies.

Symptoms of urinary retention include:

• Severe discomfort or pain in the lower abdomen
• Inability to start urine stream
• Pelvic Pressure
• The feeling of still needing to urinate after urinating, incomplete empting

Interstitial Cystitis

Also referred to as painful bladder syndrome, interstitial cystitis is a chronic condition that causes pressure and pain in the bladder and pelvis. This condition is characterized by the frequent urge to urinate small amounts of urine, bladder spasms, lower back pain, and abdominal bloating.

Symptoms of interstitial cystitis include:

• The persistent, frequency and urgency to urinate
• Pelvic pain
• Pain or discomfort while the bladder fills
• Pain during intercourse
• Chronic microscopic blood in the urine, hematuria
• Chronic symptoms of urinary tract infection, with or without positive urine cuture

 

 

What Treatments are Available to Address Bladder Disorders?

Our practice’s certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP), Elizabeth Weaver, is responsible for evaluating, diagnosing, and treating the bladder disorders of female patients at Fort Worth Center for Pelvic Medicine.

Before beginning treatment, Elizabeth may administer urine tests and diagnostic testing to determine the exact cause of your bladder disorder. Using this information, she creates a combination-based treatment plan that may include:

• Medication
• Lifestyle changes
• Physical therapy
• Diet changes
• Stress reduction
• Surgery
• Bladder instillation

 

Do you suspect that you might be suffering from a bladder disorder? Don’t live in pain or discomfort any longer — contact our practice today to schedule a consultation appointment at our Fort Worth, Texas office. We look forward to hearing from you!