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Talking
To The Doctor Is The First Step
To Solving This Problem...
Melanie
has a problem and she is too embarrassed to talk to
anyone about it.
When she coughs or laughs or bends over or
picks up something heavy -- or does any number of
other routine activities she used to do with ease --
small amounts of urine just suddenly
leak out.
She's
afraid she smells like a wet diaper and is getting to
the point where she stays home whenever possible.
Her golf clubs are in the corner of the garage,
and she hasn't accepted a lunch date in weeks.
Having been active and busy all of her 55
years, this "problem" has her depressed and
perplexed.
Like
many other women who have crossed the threshold into
their middle years, it does not occur to Melanie that
there might be a medical remedy for her problem.
More than 8 million women in this country
suffer from incontinence and most wait an average of 5
years before they finally get up enough nerve to do
anything about it.
Fortunately,
the information age is helping to change that
scenario. Personal
incontinence products crowd the grocer's and drug
store shelves, and constitute a multi-billion dollar
business today. Everyone
is talking about this formerly taboo subject -- in
magazine ads and articles, and even on television.
So,
with all this information, why don't women do
something about this "problem?"
One of the reasons could be that they fear
extensive bladder repair surgery or can't take time
off from work for a lengthy recovery.
A friend's story about months of exercise
therapy that didn't work may provide the rationale for
doing nothing. But,
for some women, the reason they suffer in silence is
that they simply do not feel comfortable talking to
their doctor about "it."
"I
know women are reluctant to bring up the topic of
incontinence," Dr. Randy Birken said. "Either they are just too embarrassed or," he
continued, "they could just believe it goes with
the territory...that getting older means putting up
with frustrating problems like this one."
"We
try to do everything possible to make patients
comfortable talking with us in the office. Yes, there are times when the schedule is tight.
But there is always enough time to talk about
something that is bothering our patients. If we don't know a problem exists, we certainly can't help
solve it."
Dr.
Birken has undergone extensive training in a new,
minimally invasive procedure to correct the symptoms
of incontinence and has excellent results.
The Laparoscopic Burch Colposus-pension
is performed from outside the body by making several
tiny incisions through which the instruments are
inserted. The
Burch is done on an outpatient basis with very little
time spent in the hospital.
And complications are rare.
"In
about 95 percent of the cases, our patients have
experienced dramatic improvement following the
procedure," said Dr. Birken.
"I hope these results encourage our other
patients who may be experiencing incontinence to make
an appointment to discuss treatment options.
The procedure is not for everyone, but there
are certainly other remedies that might help."
Go
ahead, take the first step.
For additional information, please call
893-1246.
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