You probably know someone with urinary incontinence. Chances are she'll never tell you-it's not exactly grocery aisle conversation-but she's there. I know because it happens all the time. Women come into my office saying, 'I just want to work out in my gym without wetting my pants' Sometimes urinary incontinence is associated with pelvic organ prolapse, however, not every woman with prolapse leaks urine, and plenty of women wearing incontinence diapers have no prolapse whatsoever. But it doesn't matter why you have bladder problems or when they started. All that truly matters is that you can tell your doctor what's going on with your bladder. It's that simple. There's not a single thing appealing about wetting your pants every time you cough, sneeze or lift something heavy. This type of 'exert and squirt' incontinence is easily remedied with a minimally invasive sling procedure or urethral bulking injections that take 20 minutes and can be done at the same time as prolapse repair. If you are planning a sling or urethral injections, make sure that your doctor is POSITIVE that you're dealing with stress incontinence and not urge incontinence, or an overactive bladder. If your incontinence is due to overactive bladder, a sling or injectables can make overactive bladder worse, sending you down a long road of revision surgery, overactive bladder medications, Kegel exercise therapies and bladder retaining drills. If your incontinence is due to BOTH stress and urge incontinence, you may need both a sling for the stress incontinence, and medications, Kegels and retraining for the urge incontinence. Sometimes it's best to treat the urge incontinence before undergoing a sling procedure, and sometimes the sling should come first. Communication with your doctor is crucial, because you are the most important player in your quest for bladder control. If you understand the game plan, you're much more likely to get the results you need. The bottom line is wetting your pants not only is messy and not normal, it can drive you nuts, ruin your self esteem, your social life, your athletic performance, your professional presence and your sexuality. Don't suffer in silence. It's just not worth it.