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The choice of a specific treatment will depend on the severity of the symptoms and the extent that the symptoms interfere with your lifestyle. There are four major categories of treatment for stress incontinence: behavioral changes, pelvic floor muscle training, medication, and surgery.
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BEHAVIORAL CHANGES
Changing your fluid intake and voiding pattern may improve your stress incontinence symptoms. Your physician may recommend that you decrease your fluid intake if you drink an excessive amount of fluids during the day. (You should not decrease your fluid intake if you drink normal amounts of fluids.)
Urinating more frequently may help some patients decrease the amount of urine that they leak. Constipation can worsen urinary incontinence, so dietary or medical treatments to help keep regular bowel habits are recommended. Finally, weight loss has been shown to decrease stress incontinence in patients who are overweight.
Some people with severe stress incontinence may modify their activity level to avoid movements that cause greater leakage of urine. You may want to modify activities that involve jumping, running, and any activity that causes an increase in abdominal pressure.
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