Overactive bladder can cause urgency, frequency, leaking, and nighttime urination that disrupts work, sleep, and daily life. Dr. Colin Linke offers a full range of treatments—including lifestyle changes, medications, pelvic floor therapy, Botox, and advanced sacral neuromodulation (InterStim)—to help patients regain bladder control and confidence.
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a condition where the bladder squeezes too often or without warning. This leads to urinary urgency, frequent urination, and sometimes urge incontinence (leaking). OAB affects millions of men and women and is not a normal part of aging.
Many patients improve with conservative treatments before moving to advanced therapy.
If medications or conservative measures are not effective, minimally invasive options can provide long-term relief. Dr. Linke specializes in InterStim Sacral Neuromodulation and Botox, both highly effective options for patients with persistent OAB or urge incontinence.
InterStim (sacral neuromodulation) is one of the most advanced, long-lasting, and effective treatments for overactive bladder, urge incontinence, urinary urgency, and non-obstructive urinary retention. It works by restoring normal communication between the bladder and brain, reducing abnormal bladder signals.
The sacral nerves (S3) control bladder function. In many OAB patients, these nerve signals become overactive or mis-timed.
InterStim uses a small implanted device—similar to a pacemaker—to deliver gentle electrical stimulation to the sacral nerve. This restores normal bladder control and dramatically reduces urgency, frequency, and leakage
OAB happens when the signals between the bladder and the brain misfire, so the bladder contracts before it is full. Common contributors include age-related changes in the bladder muscle, menopause, an enlarged prostate in men, diabetes, recurrent urinary infections, neurologic conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis, and bladder irritants like caffeine and alcohol. Often more than one factor is involved.
Diagnosis starts with your history and a bladder diary, a urinalysis to rule out infection, and a bladder scan to make sure you are emptying completely. When symptoms are unusual, treatment has not worked, or a procedure such as Botox or InterStim is being considered, we perform urodynamic testing in the office to measure exactly how your bladder is behaving. If there is blood in the urine or pelvic pain, a cystoscopy looks inside the bladder to rule out other causes.
Bladder Botox is a short office procedure. After numbing medication is placed in the bladder, Dr. Linke uses a small cystoscope to inject Botox into the bladder wall. The injections calm the overactive muscle; most patients feel the benefit within a week or two and it lasts about six to nine months. The main precaution is making sure the bladder still empties well afterward, which we check at your follow-up.
You can be evaluated for this condition at any of our three offices — Fort Wayne, Anderson and Fishers. Dr. Linke is the same surgeon at every location, so consultations, office procedures and follow-up can happen close to home. Call (260) 702-9515 for Fort Wayne or Fishers, or (765) 375-4653 for Anderson.
Not exactly. Overactive bladder is urgency and frequency; urge incontinence is leaking that comes with the urge. Many people with OAB never leak, and leakage from coughing or exercise (stress incontinence) is a different problem with different treatments. See our urinary incontinence page.
Yes. In men, OAB symptoms often overlap with an enlarged prostate, so the evaluation looks at both the bladder and the prostate before choosing treatment.
Most patients notice improvement within one to two weeks, and the effect typically lasts six to nine months. The injection is repeated when symptoms return.
Not necessarily. Some patients control symptoms with bladder training alone, and InterStim and Botox are options for those who want to stop daily medication or who have side effects from it.
Dr. Linke offers advanced testing and treatment—including InterStim and Botox—to help patients regain independence and improve quality of life.
