Noninvasive drug-free therapy sessions on the BTL Emsella restores bladder control.
As a software sales executive, Karen* was on the go throughout her workday.
“I’m either standing in front of a group of customers all day long or on conference calls all day long,” she explains. “There was zero time for potty breaks, so I would not drink anything. That’s not a healthy solution, but it’s what I had to do to make it through my day.”
Why go through the day thirsty? Karen had a problem with urinary incontinence, which is an involuntary loss of urine or the inability to hold urine when the urge arises.
When she would laugh, cough or sneeze, a little urine suddenly leaked from her bladder. The seepage began as drips and trickles and progressed over the years.
Incontinence is typically caused by a weakening of the bladder or sphincter muscles, an overactive bladder or nerve damage. While the condition typically affects older women, those who are pregnant, have had children or are going through menopause, it can affect middle-aged women and men as well.
As with Karen, it often forces those affected to make lifestyle changes.
“After my first episode, I had another a couple of weeks later; then another,” Karen laments. “After that I started wearing incontinence pads to protect myself. I eventually went to see a doctor who prescribed some medication, but that didn’t work at all.
“I eventually went to see another doctor, but she didn’t have any answers either. That was 12 years ago, and this issue became a real annoyance, something I hated.”
“The problem was that it made me hesitant to do anything very active. I gave up running, aerobics and even stopped dancing, which was something my husband and I loved to do. And, of course, I went through some workdays quite thirsty.”
“Then one day last summer, I happened to see an article on treating urinary continence in the Volusia Health Care News. “The treatment was at Family First Health Center. After reading the article, I went there, showed them the article and said, I’d like to try this. They signed me up right then and there.”
Join the Club
Based on the Direct Primary Care model, Family First Health Center is an integrative, membership-based primary care clinic where founder Delicia M. Hanes, MD, empowers patients to look and feel their best inside and out through a lifestyle medicine approach.
Unlike many traditional primary care offices, Family First offers prompt appointments, expanded one-on-one time with the doctor, virtual visits and more through a monthly membership. There are never copays, deductibles or insurance hassles.
“It’s like having a gym-style membership to your doctor,” Dr. Haynes relates. “But the membership is secondary because care is our primary focus. And what I promote is personalized health care. I’m like an old-time family doctor with modern technology.”
Direct Primary Care is a growing business model among medical practices, and Dr. Haynes has helped other physicians transition to it.
“Most doctors really love practicing medicine, but they hate the way it’s being practiced,” she says.
“I was so impressed with Dr. Haynes during my sessions that I have made her my primary care physician.” – Karen
“This model is all about getting third parties out of the exam room and going back to emphasizing the doctor-patient relationship.”
A more personal relationship with her doctor was something Karen was looking for when she first visited Dr. Haynes, who agreed following an examination that Karen would likely benefit from the nonsurgical, drug-free treatment she read about in the article.
That treatment uses a device called the BTL Emsella® chair, which delivers high-intensity electromagnetic energy to the patient’s pelvic floor muscles and restores neuromuscular control.
“You sit on the chair fully clothed for 28 minutes,” Dr. Haynes explains, “and the BTL Emsella does the work of nearly 12,000 Kegel exercises, which are the exercises women and men are encouraged to do to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles.
“No one can do the number of Kegel exercises that this chair simulates, and the chair doesn’t cause any side effects. Oral medications can sometimes cause vaginal dryness, dryness of the mouth and dizziness, but the chair doesn’t. And best of all, it works.”
According to Dr. Haynes, more than 95 percent of the urinary incontinence patients who have used the BTL Emsella have reduced or eliminated their use of light, protective pads. Women and men who were getting up two or more times during the night to use the bathroom are now sleeping soundly through the night.
The importance of that cannot be understated because quality sleep is an integral part of immune function, hormone production and mental health. Studies show men who sleep less than five uninterrupted hours per night have the testosterone levels of men 10 years their senior.
“The BTL Emsella is great for anyone who is looking for a more natural approach to erasing their concerns about urinary incontinence,” Dr. Haynes adds. “Karen was looking for almost anything that would help her, and this did.”
Dr. Haynes concludes by noting that BTL Emsella therapy can improve sexual wellness and relationships by helping patients more easily achieve orgasm and experience stronger orgasms.
No More Worries
Karen followed the typical protocol of two sessions a week for three weeks. She says the investment in time was well worth the benefit, which she is “absolutely overjoyed with.”
“All you do is sit down on this chair for 28 minutes six times across three weeks, and the results for me were nothing short of fabulous,” Karen enthuses. “There is no comparison to where I was before trying the chair. It’s like I have a totally different body.
“I no longer have to worry about what might happen if I sneeze or cough or hit a bump in the road on a bike ride or anything like that. It’s incredible. And I don’t have to wear pads anymore either.”
Her greatest test came about two months into the treatments when she had “a sneezing fit.”
“I’m a serial sneezer,” Karen offers. “When I sneeze, it’s not just one or two little dainty sneezes; it’s 10 or 12 sometimes. And I had one of those cleaning out the garage, and when I was done, I suddenly realized, no leakage.
What a relief that was.
“That’s why I highly recommend the BTL Emsella chair therapy for anyone suffering with incontinence issues. And I highly recommend Dr. Haynes and Family First Health Center.
“I was so impressed with Dr. Haynes during my sessions that I have made her my primary care physician. She’s a lovely woman, very empathetic, and she really listens to you and gives you all the time that you require, no matter the issue.
“She’s not one to sit down, listen to your heart and send you on your way with a prescription for pills. She’s the kind of doctor that you don’t find very often anymore, someone who is very caring, yet professional and patient.”
© FHCN article by Roy Cummings. Photos courtesy of BTL. mkb
*Patient’s name changed at her request.