www.incontinentsupport.org

I'm 58. I've had a combination of urge and overflow incontinence for nearly four years. The urge incontinence give almost no warning and results in a fairly substantial wetting. The overflow incontinence can happen within fifteen minutes after I've used a toilet or wet a diaper. It's usually a small amount, but definitely too much for regular underwear to contain.

If half a dozen or so bowel accidents in the space of a year qualifies as bowel incontinence, I suppose I'm dealing with that, too. It hasn't been a major problem.

I've been wearing some form of disposable for maybe 20 years now I guess. I'm 50 and have always worked in a warehousing inviroment. Because of the constant lifting of heavy equipment and materials I've had 5 hernia operations in my stomach from ripping the muscles. There isn't much left in the muscle deparatment so I wear wide spandex band very tight to hold things together and this really plays havoc on the bladder, causing me to have almost no control on when I let loose. I've tried to be aware of my need to go but there is no time to move most of the time before it happens. I used to be concerned of others knowing I was wearing a diaper and plastic pants most of the time but now I don't really care what they think. I do normally wear womens cotton panties over the plastic pants to keep the noise down and this is not an issue these days either. They work very well, are much cheaper then everything else made for the same reason, and my wife can pick them up whenever she shops for herself.

i'm a 30 y.o. woman who was diagnosed about a year ago with neurogenic bladder. we don't know exactly why, but it may have something to do with drugs prescribed years ago or possibly MS symptoms.

i can't feel when i'm full, nor when/if i am empty, so i have trouble with suddenly urinating & also with not knowing if i'm finished. i had a lot of residual urine that was causing problems with infection & backup, so i started ISCing about a year ago. (Intermittent Self-Catherization = ISC) i've never gotten used to it & it hurts every time, even though i'm using a pediatric sized cath & have been through lots of consults. i have an abuse history as well, so the pain is a real trigger.

the neurogenic diagnosis actually came after periods of nighttime incontinence, which improved after the cathing started. now i'm taking a drug to reduce leg muscle spasms so i can sleep, but it makes me sleep deeply enough that i don't wake to go to the bathroom overnight nor hear an alarm to get up. i cath right before bed, but that apparently isn't enough. i've wet the bed for a week now & they tell me that it is unlikely this will go away.

i've read a lot of good stuff here about the emotional parts of incontinence & my head understands them logically. the rest of me is a different story. i am deeply ashamed. i know how to get a dry bed, but i absolutely hate being in diapers. i also don't have any idea how to deal with this within the context of a relationship. (i am currently a single lesbian, but have been looking. now the thought of having to tell someone before we are intimate terrifys me.)

I've never read much about the emotional part of incon, but incon sure has an effect on it. I can relate to being ashamed by it for sure, and the whole thing about telling a potential partner. I've been holding off on a couple "potential" relations because of it (ok, there's more medical reasons why I think it wouldn't work too). It's hard to be single, but it's even harder to nearly turn down someone that you'd want to be with - thinking it wouldn't work out...

Reading these posts makes my problems seem really mild, but I guess I'll tell my story anyway. I am a 26 year old who struggles with bed wetting (this happens at least once a night). I also wet my pants, if I cannot make it to the bathroom in time. This means that I wear depends to bed and on road trips. I recently went to see a doctor about my problem and it turns out that my problem is a small bladder. Apparently my bladder quit growing when I was seven. This means that there is very little that can be done to improove my condition.

If you have a small bladder, there are ways that it can be stretched to make it bigger.

Bladder stretching exercises can gradually enlarge the size of the bladder so that it can hold more urine at night. Waiting 10 to 15 extra minutes to urinate during the day can help the bladder learn to wait at night. Learning to resist the first urge to urinate is especially important.

To stretch the bladder, hold your urine as long as possible during the daytime. Whenever you feel the urge to go, try to distract yourself for the 10 seconds or so it takes for the bladder spasms to stop. At least once a day, urinate into a measuring cup to see if you have maintained or even beaten your previous record.

Also, talk to your doctor, there are other ways that they can stretch the bladder, but they involve Anaesthesia.

A "bladder distension" is stretching the bladder to increase capacity.
Anaesthesia is essential for a bladder distension operation. This may be under a general anaesthetic or with a local anaesthetic delivered by Electromotive Administration (EMDA).
With EMDA it is possible to anaesthetise the bladder and detrusor muscle so the fluid runs in under gravity and provides a good distension totally painlessly. There is no tearing and bleeding and just minor discomfort sometimes after the procedure.

Thanks for the advice. I started doing this today, and will continue. I am aslo going to talk to my doctor about getting my bladder stretched.

I have two questions about stretching thought:

1) Is it normal to experience wetting when you start this?

I tried this method today and had several accidents as a result of trying to wait longer before going. Two of these were severe accidents (I voided entirely before reaching a restroom and had to change my clothes).

2) If this is not normal, how long should I wait before I go?

I really want to improve my condition but I have no desire to embarass myself while I am doing it, and I cannot afford to go through a whole package of depends every two days.

If you are wetting your pants, you may be waiting too long.

Just try it a couple minutes or even just a few seconds when first trying to stretch your bladder. It will take time, maybe even a few months, but it will stretch over time.

It will be hardest at first but over time it will get easier to hold it longer.

You can also try this:
When you feel the urge, go to the bathroom and while standing at the urnal just try to hold it as long as you can before urinating. Over time, you will be able to hold it longer before having to urinate.

Good luck and make sure you talk to your doctor, they may have other ideas that can be used to help you stretch your bladder.

Hi GB and welcome to our forum! You posted how your situation seemed mild compared to some others. True, many others are dealing with more severe problems, both additional medical issues and worse incon issues. But leaking any urine is a big concern to the person experiencing it and it becomes major to them when it occurs in a social setting.

Schoppy's advice is right on the mark; I can add nothing there.

As for diapers, if you are using Depend brand diapers as you posted, they aren't all that great. Most store brands will do as well for less money. For more protection, try Attends or Tena for readily available diapers in stores. If you want to buy on line, try XP Medical (see our links) and try a good diaper for overnight keeping the bed dry.

During the day, when you are going to the toilet and working on bladder stretching, a tape on diaper is only going to slow you down. A pull on product, while more expensive, will pull down quickly like underwear and the object is not to get them wet. But, they are valuable protection to prevent embarassment if / when you have an accident.

Hi All this sounds like it could bph which I have,wetting after Ive gone is a constance companion of mine so most of the time wear a diaper for safety.THANKS RON