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Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation or PTNS |
Feel Like an Overactive Bladder Controls Your Life |
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What treatment options are most often prescribed for OAB symptoms? What do patients treated with PTNS say about their experience? |
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a general term used to describe a number of bladder control problems. If you answer "yes to any of the following, you may have OAB:
Do you urinate more than 8 times during the day?
Do you urinate more than twice during the night?
Are you bothered by the number of times you urinate?
Do you often have an overwhelming urge to urinate, an urge that is difficult to ignore?
Have you had wetting accidents because you are unable to control the urge to urinate and are unable to get to the restroom in time?
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Specific nerves and the muscles surrounding your bladder regulate bladder function. OAB is caused by any disruption to this regulation, which may include:
Pregnancy and childbirth Pelvic surgery Prostate surgery Medication Natural aging process Chronic disease Trauma Obesity
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To make a diagnosis, your physician may take your medical history, test your bladder function, and ask you to complete a voiding diary. In a voiding diary you will record your symptoms of urgency and frequency and any urge incontinence episodes.
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Bladder function is regulated by a group of nerves at the base of the spine called the sacral nerve plexus. By stimulating these nerves through gentle electrical impulses (Neurostimulation), your bladder activity can be changed. One way to stimulate these nerves is to surgically implant a stimulator near your spine to send continuous impulses to the sacral nerve plexus.
Another way to stimulate these nerves is through Precutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS) by using the Urgent PC Neuromodulation System. PTNS is an emerging office-based, minimally invasive treatment for OAB symptoms. PTNS is designed to indirectly stimulate the nerves responsible for bladder control using a nerve in your lower leg - the tibial nerve.
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Using the Urgent PC system to deliver the PTNS treatment, a small slim needle electrode is inserted near your tibial nerve and the needle electrode is then connected to a battery-powered stimulator. The stimulator's impulses travel to the tibial nerve and then to the sacral nerve plexus.
Each of your treatments will last approximately 30 minutes. You will receive an initial series of 12 treatments, typically scheduled a week apart. After the initial 12 treatments, your physician will discuss your response to the PTNS treatments and determine how often you will need future treatments to maintain your results.
The risk associated with PTNS treatments are low/ Potential side-effects include discomfort or bleeding at the stimulation site.
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Because PTNS gently modifies the signals to achieve bladder control, it will probably take at least 6 treatments for you to see your symptoms change. A majority of individuals using PTNS experience significant improvement in bladder control. It is important that you continue receiving PTNS treatments for the recommended 12 treatments before you and your physician evaluate whether this therapy is an appropriate treatment for your OAB symptoms.
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Scientific studies using the Urgent PC System for PTNS shows that 2 out of 3 individuals treated see a reduction in their OAB symptoms of urinary urgency, urinary frequency and urge incontinence. In addition, many individuals with OAB are successfully treated with PTNS after failing other therapies. Depending on you symptoms and response to PTNS, your physician may decide that PTNS alone is appropriate for you; or, your physician may combine PTNS with another therapy.
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...urge incontinence "As a teacher, I couldn't just leave the classroom when I had an urge. For me, the biggest change since starting this therapy is that I'm in control of my restroom trips and I no longer void before I make it to the restroom." -Elain*
...nighttime frequency "PTNS therapy has been a miracle for me. My nighttime urges have been dramatically reduced and I'm now well rested. I am free from the constant worry about accidents" - Iradine*
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