Menopause, the transition when a woman’s monthly cycle ends, was long a taboo topic shrouded in mystery. Thankfully, people are talking about menopause a lot more now — and they should! It’s an important stage in a woman’s life where there are many changes, and the menopause experience is different for every woman.
Menopause symptoms, from hot flashes to sleep troubles, are varied. Still, every woman should be able to have a frank discussion with her provider about what to expect in perimenopause (the period of years that precede menopause) and the menopausal transition itself.
At Primary Care Walk-In Clinic, our provider team prioritizes educating, treating, and supporting women going through menopause so they can move through this phase of life as comfortably as possible.
We’re here to listen and are committed to creating a treatment plan for you that is highly customized to meet your needs and address your specific menopausal symptoms. And don’t worry, you’re far from alone — up to 45% of women over the age of 30 experience a type of leakage called stress incontinence.
After many childbearing years, you're officially in menopause once you haven’t had a period for 12 consecutive months. In the United States, the average age for menopause is 51, though it varies greatly. Still, it’s considered normal for women to go through menopause from their mid-40s through their mid-50s.
Along with menopause comes a wide range of symptoms, some of which can be quite disruptive and uncomfortable:
Another menopause symptom you may not be aware of is problems with incontinence, or urinary leakage.
There are several types of incontinence, such as urge incontinence, when you can’t control urination before you get to a bathroom, and overflow incontinence, when you produce more urine than your bladder can contain.
However, the type of incontinence that plagues many menopausal women is stress incontinence. It’s aptly named because the leakage occurs when the bladder experiences pressure (and the problem stresses you out as well!), such as when you:
You’re experiencing this because menopause causes a weakening of the muscles that support your urethra, which is the tube that urine flows through to exit your body.
Many women come to us asking whether they just have to resign themselves to a life of feeling anxious about leakage and potential embarrassment due to unexpected accidents.
The answer is a resounding “no!”
Fortunately, we offer patients innovative treatments for stress incontinence related to menopause.
VTone treatment causes your muscles to contract by using electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), which is also what makes body contouring treatments you may be familiar with effective. The fact that this technology successfully treats menopausal incontinence has been nothing short of life-changing for many of our patients.
VTone treatment significantly strengthens the pelvic floor muscles, resulting in reduced leakage.
This is another cutting-edge, high-tech treatment that successfully addresses disruptive leakage problems.
Morpheus V is a vaginal rejuvenation treatment that’s part of the EmpowerRF platform. The improved circulation in your vaginal tissue and increased vaginal tightness and firmness that result from treatment control incontinence symptoms by lifting your urethra and bladder.
Collagen and elastin are proteins made by our bodies that support our skin’s structure and tightness, respectively. You might wonder what this has to do with combating incontinence.
Morpheus V combines two treatments — microneedling and radiofrequency (RF) energy that together, stimulate collagen and elastin production and strengthen the skin to better support your bladder, leading to less incontinence.
Both radiofrequency and microneedling (a process where minute punctures are made in the skin to stimulate collagen and elastin production) stimulate your body to produce more of the proteins that strengthen your skin. In turn, you experience better bladder support, less leakage, and a renewed feeling of confidence that you won’t be caught by surprise by an embarrassing incontinence episode.
We can help you with all the menopause symptoms that may slow you down and affect your quality of life.
Look into these treatments with your Primary Care Walk-In Clinic provider, who can advise you on which will work better for you. They can also suggest steps you can take to reduce stress incontinence, like weight loss and pelvic floor exercises.
Contact our Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Mesa, or Scottsdale office at 480-404-0293 to learn more about how we can help with menopausal incontinence, or book an appointment online.
