Treatment pathway: diet/behavioral/kegel’s, pfmt, meds, further eval, botox, ptns, interstim
In my practice, I have developed a Bladder Pathway for overactive bladder patients. This lays out the treatment plan from the beginning to help patients see where they have been and where they are going.
The first thing on the pathway we will do is to work on dietary factors and behavioral habits that may be working against you. There are many foods that may irritate the bladder and need to be cut back. Do you drink a six-pack of Diet Coke every day? Two or three starbucks throughout the day? Lots of spicy foods? Those are some of the common culprits.
We will work on your constipation. Let’s get more fruits and vegetables in your diet. Perhaps a stool softener or laxative is needed.
We want to make sure that you are voiding on a fairly regular basis and not holding it too long or going too often.
Many patients come in having already tried one or two medications for overactive bladder. We may try one or two more depending on what your prior response and side effects were. We also may