Overactive bladder and urge incontinence

Overactive bladder symptoms are treated initially with bladder retraining and medication, depending on the individual case.  Drugs commonly used act to relax the bladder or stimulate the bladder to relax.  There are a variety of drugs that may be used for this purpose.

Botox therapy 

In some cases, bladder relaxation may be achieved by injecting Botox injections directly into the bladder.  Botulinum toxin (Botox) is a drug that affects the way that the muscles of the body contract.  This is a procedure that can be undertaken under local anaesthetic or with a general anaesthetic, both on a day case basis.  The botox is injected into the bladder muscle at multiple sites using a small needle passed through a telescope placed via the water passage (urethra.  The procedure takes no more than 10 minutes.  Patients will usually notice a benefit from 3-4 days. Its therapeutic effect usually starts to wear off after 9-12 months and if appropriate may need to be repeated after this time.  All patients are warned that there is a chance that the Botox will relax the bladder too much and there may be a need for intermittent self-catheterisation to empty the bladder.  Everyone opting for this treatment is therefore taught this technique in case it is required after the procedure.

All national and international guidelines are followed and you can be assured of world class care and attention by the consultants who were the first to introduce Botox injections for bladder spasm in the North West and have over a decade of experience ensuring that you achieve the best possible clinical outcome.

Links

Bladder training - www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/Bladder_training14.pdf
Botox therapy - www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/Botox14.pdf
Clean Intermittent Self Catheterisation (CISC) - www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/ISC_female14.pdf