Simple Device Alleviates Painful Bladder Retention

For many years, Alice Thompson wasn’t able to empty her bladder completely when she urinated. Over time, her symptoms grew worse until the 72-year old woman from Upper Marlboro was barely able to urinate at all. “It was getting quite painful,” she says. “I always felt like I had to go, and I couldn’t go.”  Alice suffered from bladder retention. The nerves that control her bladder were not receiving the signal from her brain that her bladder was full. Doctors at the Women’s Center for Pelvic Health implanted a small device in her lower back that stimulates the sacral nerves. “I think of it as a pace maker for my bladder,” Alice says. “Now, I’m able to go to the bathroom and void completely.”  Since having the InterStim Therapy device, Alice has also been able to reduce the amount of medicine she takes for other conditions. “My kidneys are functioning better, and it’s made a huge difference in my life.”