troubling thing is that many had several or all of these problems together.
. .. The symptoms associated with these problems are all too familiar to many women, namely, the need to “go” urgently (when you gotta go, you really, really gotta go), the need to “go” frequently (often defined as at least 8 times a day, but for many women, daily bathroom visits are well into the double digits), and the inability to control or close off the bladder (or anus or both), especially when pressure is put on the abdomen and pelvis such as with coughing and laughing (a woman I knew somewhat once told me that she tries very hard to avoid talking to me because I invariably make her laugh so hard that she wets herself in my presence, and to show you what an idiot I am, I believed her that that was the reason she walks away whenever she sees me).
. .. That’s all bad enough, but what’s even more troubling is that in the elderly particularly, rushing to the bathroom, especially after waking from a deep sleep at night, is associated with an increased risk of falls and broken bones, and all the complications that arise from those unhappy events, so in a way, you might even say that occasional bladder problems are associated with loss of life, too.
. .. What lies at the root of all the aforementioned symptoms and problems, particularly overactive bladder symptoms and stress incontinence? Weak bladder control, of course. Next question.
. .. Actually, not to be facetious, the main cause behind all of them is indeed weak muscle control, or, looking at this from the other end of the spectrum, in some situations, it’s overactive muscles that push the urine out.
. .. Thus, infections, stress, trauma (especially trauma associated with multiple pregnancies) some medications, and neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, MS, and strokes are well-known to produce overactive bladder symptoms, although many cases are, of course, attributed to that old stand-by, of “Frankly, my dear, we don’t have a clue.”
. .. The big question is, of course, what can you do about these problems to minimize the difficulties?
. .. Unfortunately, treatments are less than terrific.
. .. Thus, according to the experts cited in the study that I mentioned at the top, women should first seek out a physician with a special knowledge of such problems (duhhhhh!)
. .. But that begs the question of what will women get when they do happen to find such an expert, and the
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