Menopause: Sex and Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is the inability to control one's bladder and is one of the many symptoms women might experience when they enter the menopause transition. It may occur when laughing, sneezing, or even when having sex.

There are several different kinds of urinary incontinence. They are described as:

Stress Incontinence

When the bladder malfunctions as the result of abnormal bladder contractions, generally caused by something else like Parkinson's disease, diabetes, or multiple sclerosis.

Urge Incontinence

Urge incontinence represents the sudden, uncontrollable feeling of needing to urinate. It is also known as overactive bladder. This type is most common among the elderly.

Overflow Incontinence

Occurs when the sufferer is unable to completely vacate the bladder and as a result. It is often recognized as the constant dribbling of urine.

The kind of incontinence that occurs during sex is often stress related. It often occurs later in life after having given birth. Menopause is a common time for the onset of incontinence as estrogen levels drop and other hormones begin to fluctuate as a result. Read on to learn more about sex and incontinence.

Why Can I Not Control My Bladder during Climax?

The point of climax and penetration are the two most common times for a woman to urinate during sex. When a woman has an orgasm, all the muscles in her pelvis, pelvic floor, bladder, and vagina tighten. However, if your pelvic floor muscles are weak, as they often are in many cases of stress incontinence, you may not be able to control your bladder while experiencing an orgasm.

What Can I Do about It?

First and foremost, talk to your partner, though if it has occurred he might already be aware of the problem. Next try working on strengthening your pelvic floor muscles. This can be done with Kegel exercises. Also, being mindful of the position you have sex in can be very helpful. However, in the more severe cases, there are certain kinds of medication available which you can discuss with your doctor.

For More Information

Even if you decide to treat your stress incontinence with lifestyle changes alone, you should still talk with your doctor about the kinds of changes you are going to make. You should also consider making your doctor aware so she can test you for other more serious health complications that your incontinence may indicate. Follow this link to read more about incontinence treatments.