Do You Know Anyone with OAB Symptoms?
Regardless of the answer, I always say, “You do. You know me.”
OAB seldom comes up in conversation, even though millions of people live with its symptoms.
Six years ago, my urologist recommended Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS Glossary). It successfully controlled my symptoms for about three years.
During those years, I learned about how my PTNS treatments were administered. When the nurse inserted the acupuncture needle near my tibial nerve, she looked for a physical response—my toes curling down, so I could not see my toenails—before connecting the electrical stimulation device. Sometimes a nurse removed and discarded as many as three needles before obtaining that response.
Then one of the monthly treatments was different. The nurse did not look for the response after inserting the needle. When I questioned the change, she told me the toe-curling response I expected was “just an old wives’ tale.” Based on what I had observed during three years of successful treatments, I was concerned that this treatment would be ineffective.
Within a few weeks, I wet my pants twice.
That experience did not convince me that PTNS had stopped working. It convinced me that I needed to understand much more about how PTNS worked and whether I could do treatments at home.
Long story short….
Over the next several months, I researched TNS including at-home PTNS, and I arranged for a urology practice to train me to self-administer it. I had several training and treatment sessions while I continued researching needle placement, device specifications and cost, treatment protocols, medical studies, the tibial nerve, and electrical stimulation.
My research led me to discover TTNS (Transcutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation). When I first saw this subject, I did not know about any of the TNS (Tibial Nerve Stimulation) therapies other than PTNS, and I did not know that TNS is a category of therapies all aimed at the Tibial nerve to address OAB symptoms. I eventually learned that TTNS is widely used outside the United States. It uses the same tibial nerve pathway as PTNS, but instead of a needle through the skin, it uses an adhesive electrode pad on the skin and a TENS device for electrical stimulation. It is usually self-administered by the patient. It requires more electricity because the pad is on the skin, not near or touching the nerve.
I read everything I could find, including studies from outside the U.S. that claimed:
- TTNS and PTNS results are comparable.
- TNS works for perhaps 2/3 of people,
- If PTNS works, it is likely that TTNS will also work,
- PTNS is cleared by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for administration in a clinic, and
- TTNS with a TENS device is not cleared by the FDA.
TTNS seemed very attractive: substantially lower cost, much more convenient therapy on a schedule independent of a clinic, less time and no travel required. However, the FDA’s evaluation of medical products for safety and effectiveness is an important public safeguard, so the lack of clearance for treating OAB concerned me. After more than a month of studying and thinking, I decided to cautiously try TTNS even though I was confident, I could self-administer PTNS successfully. I explain the reasoning behind that personal decision later, in “Why Does This Website Include a TTNS Guide?” (TTNS page).
My experience over the past three years with TTNS has been remarkable. I am continent. My nocturia is 1 or 2 times/night. I fall back asleep quickly, so I rate my situation 100% which is better than just some improvement or the worst, no improvement, that some OAB patients experience.
The research and my experience have convinced me that people deserve to know about every therapy so they can make their own well-informed treatment choices.
That belief led to the creation of OAB Therapy 101, Inc. and this website.
What began as my search for answers became a commitment to help others make better-informed treatment decisions.
Our purpose for this website is not to persuade you to choose a particular therapy. Our purpose for this website is to support informed, knowledge-based treatment decisions.