Battling Bladder Incontinence: Is an InterStim Implant the Answer?
Posted By Author on April 18, 2025
As children, we’ve all experienced the embarrassment surrounding a bathroom accident. We are told that “it’s okay” and “accidents happen,” with those reassuring words easing some of our anxieties and fears.
But having a bathroom accident as an adult is a different story. Dealing with this unfortunate situation often returns us to that childlike place of embarrassment, but the Charleston GI team is here to ease our worries.
Urinary incontinence is a condition that impacts many people’s lives, even though it is not always a hot topic over brunch. While accidents can happen, continued incontinence may indicate a more significant problem beneath the surface.
Keep reading as our gastroenterology specialists tackle the topic of bladder incontinence and how a new treatment method may be the answer to reclaiming control over your life (and bladder)!
What is Bladder Incontinence?
Bladder or urinary incontinence is a condition where your bladder leaks urine, often outside the realm of your control. There are several types of urine incontinence, ranging from occasional, minor leaks to moderate amounts.
Types of urinary incontinence include:
Stress incontinence
For those plagued with peeing a little when you cough or sneeze, you are experiencing stress-induced incontinence. This occurs when you exert pressure on your bladder by coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising, or lifting something heavy.
For women, bladder incontinence after childbirth is a form of stress incontinence.
Urge incontinence
Urge incontinence is how it sounds – you are overcome with an intense urge to use the bathroom but suffer an involuntary loss of urine before you can make it behind closed doors. People who suffer from urge incontinence may need to urinate more frequently, including throughout the night.
Overflow incontinence
Overflow incontinence occurs when you have frequent or continuous dribbling of urine. This is due to a bladder that fails to empty completely, therefore looking for release elsewhere.
Functional incontinence
This type of incontinence is due to a physical or mental impairment that hinders you from making it to the bathroom in time. For example, someone dealing with severe arthritis may experience functional incontinence if they can’t unfasten their pants quickly enough.
Mixed incontinence
Mixed incontinence is when you suffer from a combination of different types of urinary incontinence, such as stress and urge incontinence.
What Causes Urinary Incontinence?
Bladder incontinence is not a one-size-fits-all condition. Everything from a physical ailment, such as arthritis, to the food you consume can result in an uncontrollable bladder. A person can experience bladder incontinence temporarily, have underlying physical conditions, or go through natural physical changes that can cause the problem to persist.
Temporary Bladder Incontinence
Temporarily experiencing bladder incontinence may be the result of consuming certain drinks, foods, and even some medications that can exacerbate the problem.
Short-term incontinence may be a result of the following:
Chronic, or long-term, incontinence is a condition that you will have to learn to manage over a long period or even for the rest of your life. Individuals who experience chronic incontinence typically do so due to underlying medical conditions or natural changes to their bodies as they age.
Causes of chronic incontinence may include:
Pelvic floor disorders
Neurological disorders (such as a stroke, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s disease)
After an initial visit to your local GI clinic, one of our board-certified gastroenterologists may recommend certain lifestyle changes to battle bladder incontinence.
Specific changes to your everyday routine to help battle incontinence may include:
Emptying your bladder on a regular schedule
Emptying your bladder before physical activities
Exercises to strengthen pelvic floor muscles
Avoiding foods and beverages that could increase your need to urinate
If these changes to your lifestyle don’t help your urinary incontinence, a Charleston GI doctor may recommend an InterStim device.
An InterStim device is an implantable device that sends mild electrical pulses to the sacral nerves to reduce symptoms of bladder incontinence. Similar to a pacemaker, this device stimulates the nerves and reinforces communication between the brain and the bladder.
InterStim Therapy is designed to help you return to your everyday activities without worrying about the embarrassment of an overactive bladder.
Don’t Get Belittled by Your Bladder – Charleston GI is Here to Help
An overactive bladder can immediately make us feel like a kid again – and not in a fun way. Between the frustrations and embarrassment that accompany incontinence, it can be easy to feel belittled by your bladder.
But our team is here to help.
We have four convenient Charleston, SC, area locations to choose from: West Ashley, Mount Pleasant, Summerville, and Carnes Crossroads. No referral is needed, sotake the first step towards a life without fear by scheduling an appointment with a gastroenterologist near you today!
