After having surgery to remove his prostate gland, Bob Rau developed urinary incontinence as a side effect. Bob, an Engineer from Sunnyvale California, knew that incontinence was a risk, but nonetheless opted for the surgery over other treatments.

In the years following his operation, Bob’s incontinence worsened and became, in his own words; ‘intolerable’. First, he required a tube to drain urine from his kidneys to a bag. Then came several procedures that involved unblocking scar-tissue, after which, he lost all control.

Over time, Bob’s emotional wellbeing fluctuated between long periods of depression and short highs from the medication (to tackle the depression) which made him very ‘hyper’.

Like so many who suffer with incontinence, Rau became increasingly fearful of public events (and even family gatherings) and consequently more reclusive. While incontinence is a relatively un-discussed medical problem, there are nonetheless an estimated 17 million people in the US that have urinary incontinence and roughly 40% of those are adult men.

The problem with incontinence is that the root cause can vary from person to person and therefore difficult to treat. However, doctors are continually learning more about the condition and have developed treatments – some universal, others more specific to individual patients – that allow sufferers to get this area of their life handled for good.

Solutions include nonsurgical techniques, such as exercises and medications, and new surgical options that have been developed in the past two years, but many have to actively seek them out as they’re not commonplace practices.

Which is exactly what Rau did, who’s now completely cured and off depression medication having sought the help of Dr. Edward Karpman, a surgeon with El Camino Urology Medical Group Inc.

Another specialist in the field of treating urinary incontinence is Dr. Christopher Threatt of the Peninsula Urology Center in Atherton whose assertion of incontinence in men and women is that “Once the problem is controlled, they have a new lease on life."