Incontinence is one of those problems that patients rarely bring up to their doctor. By incontinence I am not talking about Dante’s second ring of hell. Although this problem may feel like hell. Probably because the drugs used to treat it are expensive and have a lot of neurological side effects. There are surgical implants that help somewhat. Surgery may or may not be successful. Currently there is not really a good treatment out there. It is estimated that urinary incontinence affects 25% of females under the age of 65 and 75% of females over the age of 65. In males over 65 15% are affected by urinary incontinence. There is also fecal incontinence which affects about 10% of males and females over the age of 65.
We spend 20 billion dollars a year on incontinence supplies in the U.S. The individual cost ranges from $750-$4000 patients per year. Is there some other way to deal with this problem? We have been treating patients for years with arthritic conditions and muscle injuries which platelet rich plasma (PRP) which is what you get when you take some of your blood and centrifuge the blood to get a clear liquid called PRP which is all the platelet growth factor you need to heal all the damaged areas of the body i.e. the pelvic floor. A patient of ours knew of the benefits of PRP and saw our AD for the G- O shot this February. She explained, she has to wear incontinence pads every day when she feels like it’s time to use the restroom, she states she “already gone”. We discussed the benefits of PRP in the G-O shot and she signed up for an appointment immediately. She came in, received the treatment, and followed up in 4weeks. This is what she said:
- No more incontinence
- Increased vaginal lubrication
- Increased sexual satisfaction
This is not a shot you get monthly. It lasts about 6-12 months. It is interesting in our follow up visits; most of them all say “why did I wait so long to do this”. You don’t have to wait, talk to your doctor about PRP for incontinence. It is a wonderful and successful way to treat a very life disrupting problem quickly and successfully. We do this treatment all the time!