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Urination

Difficulty holding your urine, also called urinary incontinence, is extremely common and is a condition that is frequently treated by Dr. Baert.  It doesn't matter if you are young or old, male or female, it is still possible to resolve urinary incontinence.  Problems with urination can range from a minor nuisance, where you leak a few drops when you cough or sneeze, to seriously disruptive and embarrassing where you lose the entire bladder because you cannot hold it long enough to make it to the toilet after you felt the initial urge to go.  Mild or severe, urinary incontinence can be much improved or, in many cases, totally resolved with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment.

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Urinary Incontinence in the Elderly

Although it is more common to experience urinary incontinence as you age, that doesn't mean you have to live with it.  Dr. Baert has treated a substantial number of elderly patients who were told by their GP that their urinary incontinence or nocturia (waking up during the night to urinate) is a part of aging and that it could not be resolved.  This is simply incorrect.  The Chinese have created very specific treatment methods to treat and resolve urinary incontinence regardless of age using acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and moxibustion. 

Painful Urination

Intense burning pain when you urinate can be a sign of a urinary tract infection (UTI), but when the burning is mild and just comes and goes, then it's not so clear if you have one or not.  If you get a urine test and it turns out negative, but urination still doesn't feel normal, what do you do?  This is a perfect time to seek out TCM treatment as Western medicine does not have the tools to treat such a symptom.  Chinese herbal medicine can clear this symptom quickly, often in just a few days.

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Urinary Frequency or Waking Up at Night to Urinate

Urinary problems are not always just incontinence.  Some people have no trouble holding it, but just go too many times throughout the day.  This is called urinary frequency.

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Still other people don't have trouble holding it during the day, nor do they go too often, but they have to wake up during the night to urinate.  This is called nocturia, which can be very disruptive to the quality of sleep. 

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It is possible to have all of these problems at the same time, or only one of them, and sometimes each one of them may come and go in bouts.  No matter if you have all of them or none, some of the time or all of the time, all of these urinary problems are treatable with TCM.

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Urinary Incontinence in Women who Have Given Birth

Women who have given birth are often led to believe that their must live with urinary incontinence because it is a normal consequence of delivery.  Seemingly quaint terms like "Light Bladder Leakage" or "LBL" have been coined by bladder control undergarment manufacturers to normalize this symptom and get people used to just living with the problem. You don't have to live with urinary incontinence!

 

If a woman's urinary incontinence is really severe, then surgical repair may be recommended, which may be effective, but note that some types of surgery for vaginal and bladder repair have been found to cause further damage. (Read the Nov 2019 BBC article:  Johnson & Johnson loses vaginal mesh class action. 

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Urinary incontinence that began right after delivery is typically due to the trauma of childbirth and may indeed warrant surgical repair, and some techniques are effective and don't cause further damage.  But urinary incontinence that begins months or even years or decades after delivery is very treatable with TCM and has more to do with a gradual decrease in energy over the years.  A combination of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and moxibustion is very effective and most people feel an improvement within even a few treatments. 

Common Urinary Symptoms

that are Treatable with TCM

  1. needing to urinate more often than most people

  2. urinating often feels urgent, like you might not make it to the washroom

  3. dribbling a bit as you go about your day

  4. habitually waking up at night because you have to urinate (not because something else woke you up)

  5. a burning sensation when you urinate (it might be there some days and not there others)

  6. you have the urge to urinate, but sometimes can't

Note: Occasionally, some of these symptoms could indicate a serious condition so be sure to see your family doctor, too.

5 Signs That You Have a 

Urinary Problem

that are Treatable with TCM

1.

You wear a panty liner just in case you might dribble a bit during the day.

2.

You scope out where the nearest washroom in a public place is, even before you have to go.

3.

You urinate before going out, even if you don't actually need to urinate.

4.

Long drives are difficult for you, and you have to stop every hour to urinate.

5.

You don't drink anything after 8 PM because you know you'll have to wake up to urinate if you do.

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