Article for January, 2007

Breaking the Ice

An Interview with Bonnie Blair

Many of us remember Bonnie Blair as the fastest woman on ice. She represented the United States at the 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1994 Winter Olympic Games, winning a total of five gold medals and a bronze for speed skating. After hanging up her skates, she became a motivational speaker and a member of the U.S. Speed Skating Board of Directors, as well as a wife and a mother.

Bonnie married fellow Olympian David Cruikshank and gave birth to two healthy children. Like many new mothers, however, she had no idea that pregnancy could bring about a potentially embarrassing condition: stress urinary incontinence (SUI), the leaking of urine during daily activities. Stress urinary incontinence is the most common type of urinary incontinence.

"After giving birth to my son, I was so excited to have the chance to run again – until I got about a block away from my house, and my shorts were soaked," said Bonnie. "I didn't understand why this had happened to me."

Even though she was not aware of it at the time, her story resonated with 11 million other women in the United States who live with SUI. Bonnie was upset and embarrassed, and did not tell her doctor or her family what was happening to her. Instead, she tried to cope by wearing dark shorts, using feminine pads, and limiting her fluid intake.

After one year of fighting this condition by herself, Bonnie shared it with her doctor. She was diagnosed with SUI, which occurs when the pelvic muscles that support the bladder and urethra become damaged or weakened. In her case, this weakening took place while she gave birth. As a result, the urethra lost its seal and allowed urine to escape with any movement from the diaphragm that puts stress on the bladder, such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercising.

Bonnie tried different therapies including Kegel exercises, weights, and electrical stimulation to strengthen her pelvic muscles, but nothing worked. After the birth of her second child and a consultation with her doctor, she decided to undergo a minimally invasive procedure to treat her SUI that involves the insertion of a "sling" made of a special synthetic mesh tape to hold up the urethra.

One million women worldwide have undergone this surgery. The results are very encouraging, with 80 percent of women being completely dry and 16.3 percent significantly improved after the procedure. The procedure takes about 30 minutes, and it is performed under local or general anesthesia in either a hospital outpatient or ambulatory surgery center setting.

After the procedure, Bonnie returned home and within a day or two was back to most of her day-to-day activities. She resumed her morning runs and now one of her favorite activities is jumping on the trampoline in the backyard with her two children. "Now I can jump on the trampoline with my kids without fear I might have an accident. Even my family has noticed a difference in my attitude," she says. "My life was limited by SUI. Since the sling procedure, I'm back to my normal self."

Bonnie has since made it her mission to make sure that women with this condition tell their doctors rather than suffer in silence. "My experience is similar to many women who have given birth, which is why I want to encourage women to talk to their doctors so they can treat and beat SUI like I did," said Bonnie. "It's not something you have to learn to cope with. SUI is treatable."

As with any surgery of this kind, this procedure should not be performed in pregnant patients. Additionally, because the mesh tape will not stretch significantly, women who plan to become pregnant should not undergo this procedure.

While surgery was the answer for Bonnie, there are several other treatment options available to women. Other ways to help control urinary incontinence include: pelvic exercises or Kegels; timed voiding and bladder retraining; medications; dietary changes; weight loss; electrical stimulation; biofeedback; and different types of implants or inserts. If you are leaking urine, talk to your doctor about the best options for you.

Learn more about Bonnie and other female patients who have had similar procedures at www.progressyoucansee.org.

Current as of January 2007