Can Certain Medications Cause Urinary Incontinence?

Urinary incontinence is defined as the loss of bladder control, meaning not being able to control your urine flow in any capacity. The severity of urinary incontinence however varies depending on the type of incontinence you have, which may be stress, urge, overflow and functional or mixed incontinence. Either way, urinary incontinence can be an embarrassing problem for someone to have. If you are experiencing urinary incontinence symptoms, one of the places you should check is your medicine cabinet for the types of medicine you have been taking. This is because the certain types of medications discussed below, can in fact worsen or cause urinary incontinence.

What Type of Drugs Cause Urinary Incontinence?

Urinary Incontinence and Anti-Depressants

There is a very select amount of anti-depressants that can help urinary incontinence, but generally speaking anti-depressants can amplify urinary incontinence symptoms. This is due to the impairing affect on your bladder’s ability to contract. The type of incontinence that anti-depressants typically affect is overflow incontinence.

Urinary Incontinence and Diuretics

Diuretics are also commonly referred to as diet pills. The diuretics reduce the blood pressure in the kidneys by flushing water and salt out of the body. By taking this medication, you are actually creating more urine for your body to release thus worsening urinary incontinence. One popular way to try and combat the symptoms related to diuretics are Kegel exercises, which are designed to help you control your urine caused by stress incontinence.

Urinary Incontinence and Sleeping Pills

While wetting the bed isn’t very common amongst people who experience urinary incontinence, it still can happen. They create a problem for people with incontinence at night because if sleeping pills are taken, you are less likely to wake up when your bladder is full. If you are looking for a way to stay asleep all night long, you should consider cutting down on caffeine or completely cut it out of your daily consumption instead of reverting to sleeping pills. Another thing you can do to help urinary incontinence is to make sure that you have a set time for going to bed and waking up each day. This will help train your biological clock to react accordingly.

When Should I Bring Up Urinary Incontinence?

For men and women, urinary incontinence can be a very embarrassing topic to talk about with someone. You should understand though that there is never a wrong time to discuss it and you should openly communicate your condition the second you think you are experiencing symptoms. The more open you are, the easier your doctor can diagnose the possible causes of your urinary incontinence – including the types of medications you are taking. Make sure you prepare for all of the possible questions your doctor may ask just so you’re prepared to have a positive conversation. These questions may include:

• When did your symptoms begin?
• Have you ever-experienced urinary incontinence previously?
• What drugs are you currently taking and when did you start taking them?
• What activities cause you to leak urine? Exercising, sleeping, coughing, sneezing, etc.?

Urinary Incontinence Treatment in New Jersey

If you are experiencing urinary incontinence, know that there’s always someone willing to help. Since you’ll likely want to receive treatment for the condition as soon as possible, seeking an experienced professional should be a priority. The expert physicians at Somerset Urological Associates can help treat your urinary incontinence in no time. With years of experience in the industry, you can count on them for all of your urological services and procedures. Please contact us today to get started and restore confidence in your everyday life.