Patient Stories

Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS)

Ann's Story - It’s not another medication …

In 2006, Ann, then 79, had enough of her urinary symptoms.   Her frequent bathroom visits made her feel like a nuisance when she went out with family and friends.  She was tired of rushing to the bathroom again and again and only voiding a small amount. 

Ann’s doctor referred her to a urologist in Ohio who determined that she had a “small capacity spastic bladder.”  He prescribed a series of drugs to treat her bladder overactivity.  However, Ann could not tolerate the side-effects. She was also reluctant to add another drug to her litany of medications for diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. 

Her urologist then presented Urgent PC as a non-drug method of treating her symptoms.  Ann was eager to try it.  After the initial series of treatments, the frequency and urgency of Ann’s bathroom visits decreased to a comfortable level.   She was able to maintain these results with periodic refresher treatments.

When Ann moved to Kentucky in 2007, she found another provider for her Urgent PC treatments.  She is now able to maintain her symptom improvements with a treatment every eight weeks.  “It is such a positive thing,” said her daughter.  “It’s not another pill and it works; her symptoms are gone!”  Now at 82 years old, Ann is still active without the bother of frequent bathroom visits or bathroom emergencies.

Ann is so thankful to have an effective drug-free option for her bladder symptoms that she’s happy to tell the world about it.  If you have bladder problems, Ann’s got an Urgent PC brochure with your name on it. 

Elaine’s Story – My Secret Problem

My problem started five years ago. For two years, I tried to keep my secret. And, as a teacher, I couldn’t just leave the classroom when I had an urge. When I did have the chance to go to the restroom, I would void before I made it to the toilet. 

When my problem started to interfere further with my lifestyle, I went to talk with my doctor, a General Practitioner. She referred me to a Urogynecologist.

When I walked in to the Urogynecologist’s office, I was anxious, scared and nervous. I wanted the diagnosis to be stress incontinence, because I knew there are surgeries to cure this condition. What I heard, instead, was that I have overactive bladder, and that to fix it, one option was to have surgery to implant a nerve stimulator in my spine. This didn’t appeal to me.

So I then tried a drug often prescribed for overactive bladder. However, the dosing schedule and side effects didn’t fit with my lifestyle.

We then started me on a therapy to apply stimulation to the nerves controlling my bladder, but this stimulation product didn’t require an implant in my spine. This product provides stimulation to a nerve near my ankle; the stimulation travels up the nerve to affect my bladder. We started me on a combination of the drug product plus this stimulation, then weaned me totally from the drug. When I can continue my maintenance therapy with the stimulator, I don’t need extra help from the drugs. But, if travel interrupts my stimulation sessions, we’ve found that adding drug therapy during this time keeps me in control.

For me, the biggest change since starting this therapy is that I’m in control of my restroom trips and I no longer void before I make it to the restroom.

Sylvia’s Story – My Life is Richer

I had been treated for about 19 years for bladder urgency. I actually would go every hour, hour and a half and sometimes more than that in an hour. I couldn’t go anywhere without knowing where there was a bathroom. And I would always have to go to the bathroom before I left the house if I was going on any kind of trip or even to the mall. It even impacted when I went to a movie because if a movie was longer than 2 hours, I couldn’t possibly make it through the entire movie. And, I was getting up every hour to two hours so I really wasn’t sleeping

When my new urologist first told me about this procedure, I got a little nervous because I’m needle-phobic. I can’t look at needles. I have a hard time with blood tests – I do them but I really struggle. After the first treatment, I was a little light-headed. During the second treatment, the needle needed repositioning and I got a little nervous as well. But after that, it was so beneficial that even when the needle needed repositioning, I could bear it.

PTNS is so worth it. It has changed my life, it really has; it’s much richer.The benefits have been incredible. I sleep through the night which has been the biggest difference and I’m more refreshed during the day; I’m a different person. I still, out of habit, look for the bathrooms and where they are. But I know I don’t need them. It reminds me of when I was shopping with my two daughters recently. And I said, “Does anyone have to go to the bathroom.” And they looked at me and said, “No, but I know you do.” And I said, “No, actually I don’t.”

The recommendation I would have for others if they were suffering, the way I did, is that they certainly give it a shot. It can change the quality of your life. 

Iradine’s Story – This is a Miracle

In the past, I would have uncontrollable urges to void that I couldn’t manage.   And it would happen suddenly – I wouldn’t realize I needed to go and then I would void! 

I tried numerous medications, controlled my fluid intake (even though I knew this wasn’t the best thing to do), and saw several doctors. Nothing was making a difference.

I was unable to go on a trip because of these sudden urges to void and then my inability to control voiding. I was at a point where I slept with a towel next to me because I knew when the urge came during the night, I wouldn’t make it to the bathroom before I voided. When I left the house, I had to take a change of clothes with me, carrying fresh underwear so I could throw away the wet underwear. 

I was always tired because of the nighttime frequency, and associated voiding problems.

Then, I was referred to a physician who had been using nerve stimulation therapy to treat patients like me with voiding problems that drug therapy wasn’t helping. I started getting more rest at night after about six treatments with this therapy, my nighttime urges were dramatically reduced. 

My attitude toward life has greatly improved! For me, the single most important aspect of this therapy is that I’m now well rested. And, I feel free from the constant worry about accidents!

I’m a totally different person now. My family – even my doctor – comment that my personality changed after I started this therapy! For me, this therapy has really been a miracle. 

My doctor found that for me, the best treatment for my overactive bladder is a combination of drug therapy – but at half the dose – with the stimulation therapy. 

Other people with this same problem need to know about this therapy; for so many like me, that drugs weren’t helping the problem, they need to know about this alternative.

Joan’s Story – Free to Do What You Want

As a result of two surgeries, I had some bladder problems that tended to get progressively worse -- basically leakage I wasn’t able to control.

After a while it got to be more and more and more. It would be leakage all during the day as well as pretty much all during the night. During the night I would be sleeping fine but when I woke up I would have to go very, very fast to the bathroom. And where I live right now the bathroom is kind of far away. So many times I did not make it.

I started taking some medications but my problem was still not improving enough to be able to make my lifestyle and problem coordinate.

My urologist suggested a therapy that would help stimulate the nerves in my leg to be able to tell my bladder to work better. I saw a change in my symptoms very gradually. By the time I got to the end of the treatment there was a significant change. Sometimes I would sleep the whole night and not have to get up and go to the bathroom. And, no accidents! 

For people who have my particular kind of problem of bladder control, I would like to encourage individuals to consider the possibility of PTNS because it gives you a chance to see how it works for you.  And, you don’t have to tie yourself to other types of treatments or perhaps lack of treatment. If you can have the relief I had, you can be free to do what you want to do when you want to do it. You can go back to your regular lifestyle.

0540111B 11/09