We will ask each patient to complete a questionnaire examining your own mental state. We will also ask about your sexual functioning and suggest possible strategies to improve this if necessary. In this way, we hope to find those patients who are depressed or severely anxious. It is our goal to help you work through the expected negative feelings and develop a positive attitude about your self and your future life. The vast majority of patients with TM have impaired urinary function some have difficulty initiating urination, while others have difficulty controlling the urge to urinate.
Some patients have features of both.
As a result, we may recommend that you undergo urodynamic testing. This is a procedure where a small catheter is placed through the urethra and into the bladder. We then can monitor the activity of the muscles which control urination, including the detrusor muscle and the urinary sphincter. It is only when these muscles operate in a coordinated fashion that urination occurs normally. Through this simple test, which takes approximately thirty minutes to complete, we can determine the cause of many patients urinary difficulties and suggest exercise or a specific medicine to maximize function.