Bladder control problems: Medications for treating urinary incontinence

Find out about the medications used to treat bladder control problems, plus learn about therapies for treating urinary incontinence.

You’ve given up coffee and soda. You’ve followed your doctor’s suggestions for bladder retraining. But bladder control remains a problem. What else can you do? Ask your doctor about medication options.

Effective medications are available for people with overactive bladder and urge incontinence — a bladder control problem marked by sudden, intense urinary urges and urine leakage. There are fewer options for stress incontinence — urine leakage prompted by a physical movement or activity, such as coughing, sneezing or heavy lifting.

Which drugs can help control urinary incontinence?

The major types of medications used to manage urinary incontinence are anticholinergics and estrogen. Other options include the antidepressant imipramine and the synthetic hormone desmopressin, which is more commonly used for bed-wetting in children.

How the drugs work

Here’s an overview of the most common medications used to treat some forms of urinary incontinence along with their possible side effects.

Anticholinergics
Overactive bladder, one of the causes of urge incontinence, is characterized by abnormal bladder contractions, which make you want to urinate even when your bladder isn’t full. Anticholinergic drugs block the action of a chemical messenger — acetylcholine — that sends the signals that trigger these contractions.

Several drugs fall in this category, including:

Oxybutynin (Ditropan, Gelnique)
Tolterodine (Detrol)
Darifenacin (Enablex)
Solifenacin (Vesicare)
Trospium (Sanctura)
Fesoterodine (Toviaz)

Some are available in an extended-release form, meaning you take them once a day. These may have fewer side effects than the immediate-release versions, which are usually taken multiple times a day. Still, the immediate-release form may be helpful if you experience incontinence only at certain times, such as at night, or if you want to take a medication only at certain times, such as when you travel. Oxybutynin is also available as a cream or skin patch that delivers a continuous amount of medication.

Continued at resource.Interstim Therapy: Urologic Surgical Associates of Delaware

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