Medications

Urinary incontinence may be treated with medicines. But in many cases, treatment with behavioral methods (bladder training, timed urination) and Kegel exercises are tried before medicines. These treatments, when combined with medicine, may help some women more than either treatment alone.

Medication Choices

Stress incontinence:

• Antidepressant medicines, such as duloxetine (Cymbalta) or imipramine (Tofranil)

Urge incontinence:

• Anticholinergic medicines, such as oxybutynin (for example, Ditropan or Oxytrol) and tolterodine (Detrol)
• Imipramine (Tofranil), often used in combination with an anticholinergic medicine