A bladder pacemaker could be a game-changer for women with urinary incontinence like Laurie Tompkins of Plainville. A new technology called InterStim, a device implanted beneath the skin in the lower back, delivers mild stimulation to the sacral nerves that reduce bladder contractions.
“Right after I had the device implanted, I noticed a difference right away,” says Tompkins. “I was able to sleep all night long, because I was getting up two or three times a night — maybe four or five even sometimes.”
Tompkins, whose Interstim procedure was performed at The Hospital of Central Connecticut, previously had two surgeries that did not solver her problem. She also tried medication.
“It got to a point where my bladder would only hold eight ounces of fluid,” she says.