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Posts Tagged ‘prostate’

Making Sense of Mixed Urinary Incontinence

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

There are many different variables to consider when you are considering the underlying causes of incontinence. Most common in elderly men and women, incontinence is by no means isolated to this age group. It can also be found in younger people, and might even be more common than you think. Women tend to suffer from the symptoms of incontinence more frequently than men, because of toll that pregnancy and childbirth take on the body. However, incontinence can also be caused by infection, disease, injuries and surgery in both women and men of all ages.

Sometimes the manifestation of incontinence is a little fuzzy in that it is not clearly one type or another. Rather it seems to be a combination of two different types. For example, there are three main types of urinary incontinence, which are stress, urge and overflow incontinence. Stress incontinence happens when a sudden pressure is inflicted on the area of the abdomen affecting the bladder. Something like a sneeze, laugh, cough, or straining when lifting a heavy object is enough to cause stress incontinence. Weak or damaged pelvic floor muscles are usually the culprit of stress incontinence. This type of incontinence is very common after pregnancy and childbirth or prostate surgery.

The problems associated with urge incontinence appear seemingly out of nowhere, and if you cannot find a restroom immediately, you are very likely to have an accident. Since this type of incontinence is marked with a sudden and uncontrollable bladder contraction, it is frequently managed with medication to quiet the spasm of the bladder. This type of incontinence most frequently occurs in older men and women.

When you have the symptoms of two types of incontinence intertwined and manifesting themselves in concert, the condition is known as mixed incontinence. While mixed incontinence can be a combination of any of the three types of incontinence, it is most often stress incontinence mixed with urge incontinence. When a doctor is treating a case of mixed incontinence he or she will first treat the dominant symptoms, and then address the less dominant symptoms.

Then treatments for mixed incontinence are the same as they are for each individual type of incontinence, and your medical professional can help you define whether behavior modification, physical therapy, medication or surgery is the appropriate course of action for your specific case of incontinence. The treatment recommendation will change depending on the underlying cause of your incontinence.

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Incontinence Underwear for Men Help when Recovering from Prostate Surgery

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Urinary incontinence in men can be caused by a number of different factors, and the likelihood of incontinence increases as a man ages. One of the things that happens as a man ages is that his prostate begins to enlarge, and it may require that he use incontinence underwear for men for a time to help manage his situation. As the prostate becomes enlarged it interferes with the proper functioning of the urinary tract, and that is how the prostate contributes to men’s incontinence.

The prostate is about the size and shape of a walnut, and it is sandwiched in between the penis and the bladder with the urethra running right through it. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. During a man’s reproductive process the prostate releases a fluid that is nourishing and protective to sperm. Around the age of 50 most men’s prostate glands begin to enlarge causing a condition known as benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), which manifests itself as difficulty urinating.

To treat an enlarged prostate medication or surgery are the normal course of treatment. Alpha-blockers, which relax the muscles around the urethra, help to allow the urine to pass freely through the urethra. Another medication, which is sometimes used to treat this condition, is 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, which reduce DHT, a type of testosterone, causing the prostate to shrink relieving pressure on the urethra. If medication does not solve the problem, then some men may need surgery to improve their symptoms, however one of the risks of surgery is that a man may be left dealing with urinary incontinence.

Another problem that can occur with the prostate is cancer. Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer found in men, next to skin cancer, and it is highly treatable using chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Surgery for prostate cancer is called a prostatectomy, which removes the entire prostate with the hopes of removing all of the cancer cells with it. When radiation is warranted, it kills all of the cancer cells in the prostate and minimizes damage to surrounding healthy cells. Other solutions that attempt to kill cancer cells and minimize damage to healthy cells are radioactive seed implants, chemotherapy, cryotherapy, hormone therapy and various clinical trials.

Unfortunately all of these treatments have the risk of urinary incontinence for at least several months after the treatment has ended. However, in the grand scheme of things, if you have cancer, it is much better to be cancer free and deal with the inconvenience of incontinence for a time than the alternative. There are many different incontinence products that are available to help manage your incontinence symptoms as you find your way back to good health including incontinence underwear for men and protective mattress covers. At DryForLife we are happy to discreetly answer any questions that you may have regarding the best products to help manage your situation.

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More About Mens Incontinence

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Urinary incontinence happens in both men and women, and it becomes increasingly common with advancing age. Incontinence itself, which is the accidental release of urine, is not a disease. Rather it is a symptom, and the problems that cause mens incontinence can be very different than the causes for women.

Since the urinary tract is very different for a man than it is for a woman, it only makes sense that many of the causes for incontinence would be different as well. The form and function of the bladder is essentially the same for a woman and a man, however the urethra, which is the tube that leads from the bladder, down through the prostate gland, traveling through the penis and finally reaching the outside of the body, is where there are distinct anatomical differences.

Generally any problem with the bladder itself is largely the same between the sexes. For example, when the bladder contracts prematurely or too forcefully; if surrounding muscles are weak or injured; or if the bladder does not empty completely incontinence can occur, and these same problems may happen to women and men. However, as problems move to the the area of the urethra, these incontinence issues become more gender specific.

While urinary incontinence is certainly more commonly found in older men, it is not necessarily restricted to older men. Incontinence can be a chronic problem, or it can be a short lived problem, and there are several different types of incontinence. Stress incontinence generally happens when you put pressure on your bladder such as with a cough or sneeze. Urge incontinence happens when the bladder prematurely contracts not leaving time to reach the bathroom. Overflow incontinence happens when bladder muscles are weak so that the bladder does not fully empty. This problem can be exacerbated by an enlarged prostate that then partially blocks the urethra.

Most often the symptoms of urinary incontinence manifest themselves as urine leaking from the bladder, but they can differ slightly depending on the incontinence’s cause. With stress incontinence this leak can occur when you strain to lift a heavy object or simply sneeze. With urge incontinence, you experience the sudden urge to urinate, and you cannot reach a toilet in time. With overflow incontinence you always feel like you need to go to the bathroom, but when you go only a small amount of urine is released and continues to dribble.

Your health care professional can help determine the cause of mens incontinence, and as you are working through your treatments, it is important to use quality incontinence products. At DryForLife we are ready to assist with answers to your questions, and we can provide you with the best mix of incontinence management products to support your lifestyle.

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Treatment for Frequent Urination

Friday, April 9th, 2010

The symptom of frequent urination can be caused by any number of things ranging from an enlarged prostate in men to a growing fetus exerting pressure on a woman’s bladder. It can also be an early warning sign for diabetes, or it may indicate the onset of a urinary tract infection.

After ruling out some of the major health issues connected with frequent urination, one of the more common causes of this problem is an overactive bladder. When an overactive bladder is diagnosed, medications like Detrol, which reduces the urge to go to the bathroom and Ditropan can be a very effective treatment for frequent urination. Sometimes, rather than truly having a physical malformation, the urge to go to the bathroom can be the result of a behavioral compulsion. Anyone who has had to deal with urinary incontinence at any level may have developed a frequent urination problem as a way to deal with their incontinence issues. For these people the idea of having an accident in public is so disturbing, that they would far prefer to make frequent trips to the bathroom.

Especially for these compulsive people using cognitive therapy to make behavioral changes helps them retrain their bladders to be quiet. However, when medication and behavioral therapy do not solve the problem of frequent urination in a patient, there are a couple of surgical options available as a last line of treatment. The first surgical option involves implanting a sacral nerve stimulator, which is a tiny, mechanical device that is placed in the abdomen of the patient, and it connects to the sacral nerves under the tailbone. It works kind of like a heart’s pacemaker and helps regulate nerve messages sent to the bladder.

The second surgical selection is augmentation cytoplasty, which borrows from the bowel using the tissue to increase bladder size. This surgery usually requires cathetertization after surgery, which can increase the risk of kidney and bladder infections, not to mention that it is probably even more inconvenient that the original problem or frequent urination.

While many people chalk up the problem of frequent urination as an eventual and inevitable byproduct of ageing, it is not. By eating a diet rich in fiber and getting adequate exercise, you can help stave off the problem of frequent urination. Also staying away from foods that aggravate the bladder or act as diuretics can keep frequent urination symptoms at bay. However, if you do notice the onset of frequent urination problems, let your doctor know, so that he or she can find and treat the underlying cause of the problem.

While you are working with your physician to find the most appropriate treatment for frequent urination problems, make sure that you have access to quality, absorbent pads to help protect from any embarrassing mishaps. At DryForLife we have been helping people find just the right products to complement their lifestyles and manage their problems for over forty years, and we are here to help. With discreet ordering and delivery available, we can help make your frequent urination problem just a little less of a problem.

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Disposable Incontinence Products to the Rescue

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

It’s funny, well not really funny probably more ironic really, that what you think will be your biggest fear when you are younger turns out to be little more than an inconvenience, and what life has to throw at you is something that you never saw coming. Not even in your wildest, young dream did you ever imagine that you would be happy to discover disposable incontinence products.

For a healthy, young woman thinking about battling cancer, fearful thoughts emerge about losing her hair or maybe needing to have a mastectomy. For a healthy, young man thinking about battling cancer thoughts may focus on interfering with his sex life. It’s funny how the world works though, because by the time you actually are battling cancer, you really don’t care about your hair or having sex, you really just want to be alive.

Then once you determine that you treatments are working thoughts may turn towards vanity, but it will not carry the same weight as it did in your younger years, because you are simply thankful to be living another day. For a man dealing with prostate cancer, while flirting with impotence may not have been your choice, you too are grateful to be alive. Then life throws another curve ball at you, and you emerge from your cancer treatments with a full case of urinary incontinence. Of course sexual function is very important, but it can be shelved until you are ready to deal with it, while incontinence cannot. You have to deal with it right now, today, and this is where you find yourself thankful that you discovered all levels of disposable incontinence products.

So there you are as a full grown man wetting yourself. At your core you are depressed, distressed and uncomfortable, and you have every right to be. Learning at your mother’s knee, continence is a huge developmental milestone in a young child’s life, and here you are on the wrong side of the milestone. While incontinence is normal after prostate surgery, there are some things that you can do to improve the situation long before it happens.

Your doctor will tell you about Kegel exercises, and this may very well be the first that you have heard of them. However, just about any woman who has had a baby is all too familiar with the drill. These exercises strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor, which are responsible for supporting all of your internal organs, including your bladder. So the more fit these muscles are, the more quickly you can return to normal function everywhere.

Studies have shown that prostate surgery patients who begin practicing Kegel exercises before their surgery and continue practicing them after their surgery recover their continence in three quarters of the
time that it normally takes to recover continence after prostate surgery.

The causes of urinary incontinence after prostate surgery can happen for a variety of reasons. For example, radiation can decrease the capacity of the bladder or cause bladder spasms, and surgery may damage the nerves that control bladder function. So your incontinence may have causes other than weak muscles to contend with, but Kegel exercises help to keep the pelvic area strong, which makes your eventual recovery that much easier even with other issues.

As you step through your experience dealing with prostate surgery, you may be surprised to find that you appreciate the world in a whole, new way. Keep doing your Kegel exercises even as you regain continence, because they will help you maintain a healthy functioning urinary tract. As your condition improves, you will be able to use lighter and lighter disposable incontinence products with the hopes that one day you will not need them at all.

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Nocturia Treatment with an Enlarged Prostate

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Frequent night urination, or nocturia, can be caused by many different things; so nocturia treatment is varied depending on the underlying cause. One of the most common causes of nocturia occurs in older men, and it is an enlarged prostate. The prostate gland is normally about the size of a walnut, and it is situated right beside the urethra. When this gland grows larger it exerts pressure on the urethra causing any number of problems, not the least of which is nocturia. Other problems that an enlarged prostate can cause are urinary incontinence and repeated infections in the urinary tract. Just to confuse things, it is possible to have an enlarged prostate and not have any symptoms, or to have a regular sized prostate and suffer from nocturia.

There are a couple of key factors that determine how much the prostate size affects the number of times that you have to go to the bathroom. The prostate consists of two different types of cells, spongy and rigid. The thought is that nocturia is more affected by the proportion of rigid cells in the prostate rather than simply its size. Unfortunately these rigid cells do not respond as well to drugs as they are more resilient than their spongy counterparts. Because of this a patient is frequently faced with surgery, often minimally invasive, for treatment of the problem.

The other piece of the puzzle has to do with a man’s bladder elasticity and capacity. So men with smaller more rigid bladders are more likely to suffer from nocturia than men with larger more resilient bladders. Another variable that is frequently thrown into the mix is the prostate specific antigen or PSA, which is the measure of a prostate protein. This protein is measured in a blood test, and it is used as a cancer screening tool. An elevated PSA may indicate that cancer is present, but the test is not 100% conclusive.

If you are just beginning to experience problems with nocturia, you may want to keep track of your fluid intake. Try to cut back on any liquid consumption within two hours of bedtime, and stay away from alcohol and caffeine later in the day as they have a diuretic effect causing the body to shed even more fluid. If you are taking a diuretic medication try to schedule it early in the day so that its effects will be completed during waking hours.

If you are suffering from nocturia and suspect that an enlarged prostate may be at the root of the problem, have your doctor assess the situation and offer you nocturia treatment solutions. If you are worried about any type of urine leakage during the night there are many different types of incontinence products that can help alleviate your worries. DryForLife can offer you helpful advice on which products might work for your situation, and they can be ordered by phone or online and delivered directly to your home.

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Frequent Night Urination Deserves a Closer Look

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

If you have noticed a pattern of frequent night urination developing, you should probably pay attention to it. Since it can frequently be caused by lifestyle habits, that is probably the first thing that you should consider. The problem is, though, that it can also be caused by medical conditions, and it is frequently the harbinger of kidney, liver and other serious medical problems. So if you notice that your nighttime bathroom trips are increasing, take a look at the amount of fluid that you are consuming later in the day, and consider making adjustments to see if that alleviates the symptoms.

Begin by not drinking any liquids within two hours of when you go to bed. Especially stay away from beverages containing alcohol or caffeine, because they tend to act like a diuretic and cause the body to get rid of even more fluids in your system.

However, if you change your behavior, and you are still having the problem, it is a good idea to consult with your doctor, because frequent nighttime urination, or nocturia, can be caused by any number of underlying conditions from prostate problems to diabetes. By consulting with a doctor, you may head off a serious problem by handling a developing situation in its early stages.

Notice how your nighttime bathroom pattern has changed, and take note of how frequently you do go to the bathroom. Also take note of how you feel as you are getting up yet again to relieve yourself. Does you bladder feel full? Does it feel like you kind of have to go? When you go to the bathroom are you pretty sure you will be up again for another bathroom trip, because it feels like you did not quite empty your bladder? All of this information will be very helpful pointing your doctor in the right direction as he or she sets about finding a solution for your frequent night urination problem.

This problem is actually serious even if you do not have an underlying medical condition, because it begins to affect your quality of life. When you do not sleep well at night, you will not feel rested the next day, which can affect your performance at work, your reflexes and your concentration. You may step away from any social plans that involve traveling overnight. While the topic is pretty uncomfortable for most people to talk about, it is worth talking to your health care professional about it to get to the cause of the problem.

In the case of diabetes, the high sugar levels cause more urine to be produced which causes frequent urination, and this is a problem that needs to be contained for a multitude of health reasons. Certain medications can have a diuretic effect, or in men an enlarged prostate can cause these symptoms as well. Frequently your doctor can cure or help you manage the situation so that it does not interfere with your lifestyle.

If your frequent night urination has you concerned about nighttime continence, then you may want to protect your mattress with a protective mattress pad. DryForLife can provide discreet advice and help you manage your problem as you and your doctor pinpoint its cause. You can order your products, which are available online and have them conveniently delivered to your home.

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Frequent Urination in Men May Indicate an Underlying Problem

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

As men age many of them notice that they feel the need to urinate far more frequently then they did when they were younger. While frequent urination in men is associated with ageing, you should never just assume that your increased frequency is simply due to getting older. If you notice an increase in your bathroom visits, it is a good idea to discuss this change with your health care professional, because there are various causes for frequent urination in men, many of which can be relieved.

If you are unable to sleep through the night without getting up to go to the bathroom, you are suffering from nocturia, which is simply frequent urination during sleeping hours. Normally, you should be able to sleep six to eight hours without waking to go to the bathroom. So if you notice that you are getting up several times during the night to relieve yourself, this is reason enough to have a talk with your doctor.

Sometimes a frequent or urgent need to relieve yourself can be a symptom of a urinary tract infection. The inflammation from the infection affects the bladder reducing its urine holding capacity, and this translates into more frequent bathroom visits. Caffeine in beverages can also irritate your bladder and cause the urge for more frequent urination.

Frequent urination in men can also be a harbinger of diabetes or cancer, or it can occur as the side effect of drugs like diuretics. Another problem that could be occurring is an actual dysfunction of the bladder. One of the more common causes of frequent urination in men is an enlarged prostate gland. This gland surrounds the urethra and functions to secrete seminal fluid. As the prostate grows, it begins applying pressure on the urethra, which carries urine from the bladder to be voided. As the pressure increases, the need to urinate becomes more frequent.

As the prostate gland grows the bladder muscle has to exert more pressure to push the urine through the urethra, and this causes the bladder muscle to become more sensitive and stronger. However, if the prostate continues to grow crowding the urethra more and more, at some point the bladder muscle will not be able to compensate, so it is important to talk to your doctor about this condition as well.

If you notice that your number of bathroom visits has increased during the day or night, you may want to consider several things. Notice if you have begun taking a new medication, and determine if there is anything else other than frequent urination going on. Pay attention to when you have to go to the bathroom, whether day or night or after eating or drinking certain foods. See if your fluid intake has increased, and notice if the colour of your urine is darker than normal. All of this information will be very helpful as you discuss your problem with your doctor to see what the underlying cause is for your frequency problem.

And as you are determining what is causing your problem, there are many incontinence products and protective pants that can help with any leakage that you may be experiencing. While frequent urination in men is common in an ageing population, it should not be considered normal, and discussing it with your doctor during your next exam would be prudent. You may even be pleasantly surprised to find that there is a course of treatment that can dramatically improve or alleviate your frequent need to urinate.

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Biofeedback Helps Reduce Urinary Leakage after Prostate Surgery

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

One of the common side effects of prostate surgery in men is urinary leakage. It can take up to six months for the symptoms to subside, and for about twenty percent of patients it can take even longer. Physical therapists have noted that behavioral training has been very successful in decreasing the length and severity of the incontinence that can occur after prostate surgery. There is also some indication that behavioral training before surgery might also help speed full recovery.

Behavioral training consists of a biofeedback session where men learn to control bladder muscles. They also get instruction for doing proper muscle exercises to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor. Doctors used a rectal balloon probe to measure the muscle response in their patients, so that they can verify that the patient is doing the exercise correctly. The probe also gives the doctor and patient instant visual feedback showing the patient’s success.

Doctors studied two groups of post surgery patients. One group was using biofeedback and doing the exercises to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor, and the other group was not. In the group of patients that were using biofeedback their average time to regaining full continence was about three and a half months. For the group that was not exercising over half of the men were still having problems with incontinence after six months.

There is a direct correlation between how early and how actively the patient engages in his pelvic floor muscle exercise regimen and how quickly he regains full continence after surgery. So if you are facing prostate surgery, make sure to talk to your doctor about biofeedback and regular exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.

As you are working through your recovery, you will want to get through your ordeal with the help of good quality incontinence products. DryForLife offers a discreet and completely confidential solution to all your incontinence needs. Your concerns are very much our concerns; we have been providing incontinence products for over forty years, and we are here to help.

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