FAST FACTS
The service: Incontilase/Intimilase laser
What it is: A gentle laser procedure that can treat mild to moderate stress or mixed urinary incontinence, plus improve vaginal tightness and lubrication.
Treatment duration: About 20 minutes. Lidocaine cream is recommended but not strictly necessary, you’ll need another 15 minutes for it to take effect before the procedure.
Who it’s for: It improves urinary control in women who develop stress or urge incontinence, usually after childbirth or during menopause. It’s also used to improve vaginal atrophy and reduce pain and discomfort during intercourse.
Pain: Negligible.
Downtime: You can resume most daily activities immediately, though you can’t lift heavy objects, do strenuous workouts or have intercourse for at least 4-5 days.
My rating: Pending - it’s going to take a few months to see what happens
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There comes a point for most women where we stop thinking about the big ‘O’ and start worrying about the letter that comes right after it.
For me, it’s been a worsening issue after I got menopause for my 50th birthday. (WORST. GIFT. EVER.) There’s no use being shy here. We’re all adults. And if you’re reading this blog, you’ll have some inkling of what I’m talking about anyway. So let’s rip the Poise pad off and get to it, shall we?
I am, of course, speaking of urinary incontinence.
This is a surprisingly common complaint among women my age, especially if you’ve delivered a child by vaginal birth. It’s also a common extra perk of menopause. It can show up as stress incontinence — triggered by sudden coughing, sneezing or laughing, or during physical exertion. It can also present as urge incontinence — an urgent, uncontrollable need to pee several times during the day and night, along with leaks before you get to the bathroom. Often, women suffer with both types. (I do.)
Most of us know about Kegels — exercises that help to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. Those are the muscles that support your uterus, bladder, bowel and rectum. We know to stop and hold the flow of urine for a few seconds, release and repeat three times. But it doesn’t help with urge incontinence, particularly with a full bladder, and sometimes your pelvic floor weakens to the point where it needs more help than a few squeezes can accomplish.
Bella Sante offers Incontilase, a non-surgical, non-invasive and virtually painless erbium laser treatment that shrinks and tightens vaginal tissue and stimulates collagen production to provide better support to the bladder. You’ll need at least two treatments, about a month apart, and more than two thirds of women report that they no longer suffer with incontinence about four months after treatment.
But wait, there’s more.
Fotona, the company that makes Incontilase, discovered that with a slight adjustment to the equipment, you can also treat vaginal laxity, atrophy and prolapse. Intimilase uses the same laser technology to restore vaginal lubrication, increase vaginal tightness and according to clients who have had this procedure, improve sexual satisfaction.
Sign me up.
I met with my nurse technician, Judy, we went over the medical consent form, and then I headed to the bathroom with a pea-sized blob of Lidocaine, a rubber glove and some instructions that would have made 18-year-old me die of embarrassment. (Now that I’m talking openly about uncontrolled peeing, I’m much harder to embarrass.)
Fifteen minutes later, I found myself in the same position I was in when I delivered my beautiful 12lb-13oz daughter, Paris. (THIS IS WHY I HAVE BLADDER ISSUES, PEOPLE.) Judy handed me some protective goggles, ostensibly to shield me from the laser light, though I suspect it’s so I didn’t have to make eye contact with her or Bella Sante’s lovely and chic laser aesthetic technician, Laurie.
I did get to see the equipment before I closed my eyes and thought of England: some kind of long, slim metal cage that houses a small laser wand about the circumference of my index finger, fitted with attachments to direct the laser light where it needs to go.
Judy got the cage in place and made three passes with the laser: one to evenly treat the vaginal canal, one with a special mirror that could fan the beam upward where the vagina and bladder align, and then a final pass along the inner labia and urethra. I didn’t feel anything other than a bit of pressure and warmth. Even after the lidocaine wore off, I was pleased to see there was no discomfort and no bleeding.
The verdict: I’ll have to go back in a month for a followup treatment and I won’t see any major results until summer is almost over, but I am hopeful that this will make a big improvement in my overall health and contentment. I’ll let you know how it goes.
See you all soon,
~Michelle
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