Votiva Treatment Specialist in Greenwood Village, CO

At Center for Wellness, Dr. Asela Russell, M.D offers votiva treatment for intimate wellness. For more information, contact us or book an online appointment. We serve clients from Greenwood Village, CO and surrounding areas.

As a gynecologist I’ve seen many patients who’ve struggled with getting help for sensitive feminine health and wellness problems. These intimate wellness issues are sometimes difficult to talk about but I can vouch for the number of women suffering from:

• Vaginal dryness
• Painful intercourse
• Sexual dysfunction
• Urinary incontinence or bladder leakage

We now have more treatment options than ever before. And Votiva is one of the best!

What is Votiva? Votiva is a painless, noninvasive radio-frequency treatment that tightens vaginal and pelvic collagen. Stimulating collagen repair this vaginal rejuvenation treatment also strengthens the pelvic floor to allow better bladder control and generalized pelvic floor function. Votiva has been shown in medical studies to thicken collage, increase health blood vessels and initiate the repair of damaged nerves in the pelvic floor.

Who benefits from Votiva? Women who are experiencing vaginal atrophy, vaginal dryness and painful sex who want an alternative to hormone treatment. Breast cancer survivors who can’t use hormones may especially benefit. Women who are experiencing pain with intimacy that is caused the loss of vaginal elasticity and dryness, can also be helped.

Due to Votiva’s initiation of nerve repair, some women experience benefits beyond relief from vaginal pain and can return to having orgasms and more satisfying intimacy. Votiva can also be used to increase sensation for the woman and her partner by tightening the vaginal opening which helps both partners.

For a comprehensive path to addressing intimacy issues we recommend combining Votiva RF treatment with hormone balancing and PRP (the O shot using platelet rich plasma).

What are the other Votiva benefits? Votiva provides a noninvasive alternative to tedious Kegel exercises or to surgery for urinary incontinence. Unlike laser vaginal treatments (like Mona Lisa touch) Votiva tightens the collagen supports under the bladder and urethra to improve bladder control and reduce both stress and urge incontinence. I usually recommend a series of 3 Votiva sessions spaced over 3-4 months for optimal treatment of stress and some types of urge urinary incontinence. There is no downtime after Votiva treatment and you can return to work, exercise and living right away!

Is Votiva good for vaginal rejuvenation? Some women find the changes to the appearance of the vagina (vulva) to be very desirable.

What else can you do to improve vaginal sensation and appearance? The new Aviva minimally invasive treatment gives a new option to address the external sagging that can pinch, pull or block during exercise or intimacy. Aviva is a no downtime office procedure, done under local, that can provide results similar to labiaplasty without cuts, stitches, post procedure pain or prolonged recovery.

Aviva can be combined with Votiva for a comprehensive approach to the common intimate issues that we as women face including improved bladder control.

For more information about how our feminine health and wellness treatments can help you call Center for Wellness MD at (303)309-3660 to schedule your consult.

What’s the big deal with urinary incontinence in women?

• Women experience urinary when there is weakening of the pelvic floor muscles that results in the loss of bladder control and the unintended release of urine.
• Women experience more urinary incontinence due to the extra stresses on the pelvic floor including repetitive stress, gravity, pregnancy and childbirth and hormone changes like menopause.
• Urinary incontinence in women shows up as stress, urge and mixed incontinence,
• Incontinence treatment options for women range from lifestyle changes that retrain the bladder (pelvic floor PT) to noninvasive options like Votiva or PRP ( specifically the O shot) to surgical procedures that reinforce the pelvic wall.

If you have urinary incontinence you’re in good company since it affects millions of women in the U.S. with increasing numbers as women get older. During normal urination a woman’s bladder muscles contract while the sphincter muscles around the urethra relax, allowing to normal urination. If a woman’s sphincter muscles aren’t strong enough to hold back the urine, she has incontinence.

The main types of incontinence include:

• Stress incontinence — Occurs when the bladder releases urine when a woman coughs, laughs, sneezes. Leakage can also happen with exercise and lifting and even with simply standing up.
• Urge incontinence — Classified by having a sudden and severe need to urinate and the inability to get to the bathroom in time.
• Mixed incontinence — Includes both stress and urge incontinence symptoms.
• Overflow incontinence — Occurs when urine is blocked from flowing normally out of the bladder. This can cause the bladder to never fully empty and to build up so much urine that it eventually “spills over”. Overflow incontinence happens most commonly with nerve diseases or after surgery.

Women with medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and others that interfere with physical movement, communication and thinking may experience a type of incontinence called functional incontinence that can effect both women and men. experience incontinence twice as frequently as men primarily due to pregnancy, childbirth and menopause. Pregnancy causes hormonal changes and as the uterus increases in weight, the organ may put pressure on the bladder and lead to stress incontinence. Childbirth, especially vaginal delivery, weakens the muscles required for urine control, such as the sphincter, and may contribute to incontinence symptoms. Menopause drastically decreases estrogen production, which normally keeps the urethra and bladder lining healthy and strong.

Incontinence itself is not a syndrome or condition, but rather a symptom of underlying weak urinary tract muscles or damage in the urinary tract or the nerves that control urination. Childbirth or weight gain may contribute to stress incontinence. Urge incontinence may be governed by more inherent factors such as emotional stress, brain damage or neurological diseases like Parkinson’s.

Other factors that may cause temporary incontinence in females include:

• High alcohol and caffeine intake
• Eating spicy, surgery or acidic foods
• Carbonated drinks and artificial sweeteners
• Muscle relaxants, sedatives or heart and blood pressure medications (especially diuretics).
• Uncontrolled high blood sugars.

Lifestyle changes

Making lifestyle and behavioral changes helps women retrain their bladders and strengthen urinary muscles. Minimizing alcohol and caffeine throughout the day, along with reducing overall fluid intake in the evening, should improve minor and temporary symptoms of incontinence.

Bladder training consists of delaying urination after the initial urge arises and slowly increasing the wait time before voiding. Double voiding, the practice of urinating and then waiting another minute before urinating once more, ensures the bladder empties completely when urinating. Setting up a bathroom schedule throughout the day also helps regulate urge incontinence.

Strengthening the pelvic muscles by performing Kegel exercises can strengthen the supporting muscles of the bladder and urethra to improve bladder control. To perform a Kegel, tighten the muscles used to stop urinating and hold in for five seconds, followed by relaxing for five seconds. Women should aim for at least three sets of 10 Kegel contractions every day. Women may find that pelvic floor physical therapy can help isolate the pelvic floor muscles and make Kegel exercises more effective.

Losing wright can also improve bladder control by reducing the weight of abdominal fat, pressing down and compressing the bladder.

Medication, surgery or catheterization are other possible treatments for female incontinence, and are typically explored once conservative treatments fail to produce acceptable results.

I find however that noninvasive methods like Votiva and the PRP O shot are excellent steps to try before committing to lifelong medication or surgery. I personally have experienced the benefits of the noninvasive methods. When taking care of my patients, I find that they are helped more when they have the full array of options, like we offer through our practices including bladder surgery at Center for Women’s Health and Center for Wellness MD.

For more information, please feel free to call us. We serve clients from Greenwood Village CO, Centennial CO, Lone Tree CO, Southglenn CO, Littleton CO, Dove Valley CO, Castlewood CO, Hampden South CO, Columbine Valley CO and surrounding areas.