www.incontinentsupport.org

Hello y'all I just turned 21 and thought with having not been on here a lot lately I would give an update on how things have been going. At night for the most part I've been dry occasionally I'll wake up damp and rarely I'll wake up very soggy but as it was before my main issue is the daytime issues. My bladder varies although at least it is in patterns really the 4 "modes" it seems to have are 1. perfectly fine where I can hold it for a while and don't need to use the toilet more than every few hours 2. Frequent urges where I seemingly need to go every few minutes leaks aren't that common but sometimes happen. 3. Control issues the frequent urges but when they hit I only have a limited amount of time to find a toilet before I start leaking and often when my bladder starts to empty it seems like a dam opens that I can't hold anything back. 4. Almost no control this is pretty rare but occasionally I'll have times where my bladder will just start emptying with no warning and no urge this has only happened a handful of times luckily but still I hate it. Luckily my bladder doesn't seem to go straight from 1 to 4 but instead progresses up and down the chain which at least is helpful in planning for my bladder. I use a variety of products to manage currently. Most commonly I use plastic-backed diapers with garywear PUL pants since they do the best job of preventing leaks and containing odors. I recently switched to Tranquility ATNs from Abena M4s because the Abena's were having an issue with if I wasn't able to change quickly which for me isn't always possible since 1. I don't like changing a barely wet brief since I feel like that is an issue 2. My schedule of classes means I don't have a chance to change for several hours 3. Sometimes I have bladder accidents right before falling asleep which is when this most often, but what happens is this odd strong odor permeates through the plastic and through whatever clothes I'm wearing even the PUL pants and everything gets this weird strong odor it isn't a urine smell even though their is a hint of it, but that is why I switched to Tranquility I am still looking though for a brief that is very absorbent, is comfortable and is affordable if anyone has suggestions. I also use Abena pullups when my bladder isn't acting up as bad. And I use an Abena level 11 abri-san pad when I am working out or reffing soccer with mesh pants to hold it in place it is as absorbent as a tape on brief but doesn't have side panels and tape so it breathes a lot better. Overall, at least I've figured out how to manage this although I wish my bladder would just work right. I still struggle with feeling alone and embarrassed because of this. I also want to thank everyone on here who has supported me and given me advice. If anybody has any advice for me or questions for me or needs advice feel free to reply or ask

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-full time graduate student with urge urinary incontinence due to an overactive bladder

First of al it trully breaks my heart to read about youre troubles and then to see youre age

That sed i would sadly have to say that from my side i would suggest a tripp to the doctors if you havent alredy ASAP as to me it sounds that your problems are becoming worse And this in term can be a symtom of something very wrong in youre body that needs attention ASAP. What you are describing is simular to my fecal inc tho with the 4 diferent modes and somewhat simular to my Moderate Urine IC etc... BUT never heard of that urine like but still not substance tho it might be a bad thing And from what i have learnt it is sadly not uncommon for Incontince to progress and get worse but as i sed thats for the medical`s to decide

Reg the smell im afraid that changing ASAP and clean with whatever amount of fluid is in there would be my best suggestion, And i would also suggest you try to bite the bullet and talk to youre teachers one by one and inform them about youre need to sometime visit the bathroom more frequently then others they should be able to grant you the request of extra tripps to the bathroom.

But im shore that others in here can give mush better advices in this then me tho

Hi Greengold4

Unfortunately bladder issues can be unpredictable and does make it harder to manage if you have already seen an urologist it may be time for a follow up visit as it does appear your IC issues are getting worse (only medical personnel can say for sure)but from experience in dealing with my issues and reading the forms here it does soound like it’s progressing.

Letting your school know about your issue should help you with quick bathroom breaks and they May also alow you to use the private teachers washroom for more privacy when changing.

Dealing with incontinence at a young age also makes it harder to accept and manage but as time goes on and more of your friends find out about you medical issue searing diapers to manage your bladder issues should become easier to accept and deal with.

Remember you are not alone in having to deal with bladder issues and we are all here to help and support each other. We all can agree we would like our bladders to work properly again.

I agree that informing your school would be a good idea. If you live at home, do your family know? Are they supportive? If you live at college, do you have a roommate, and is he/she supportive? As for urine odors, I use a generous amount of Desitin and cornstarch powder, and I try to keep myself well hydrated, which tends to increase leakage, but reduces odor. When circumstances force me to dehydrate, the odor increases.

I too have noticed an unusual oder that's present when I wear a wet Abena Abri-Form L4 "too long". I believe it must be something involving the chemical (or lack thereof) that they use for oder control since I've never smelled this particular oder with any other diaper I've ever worn. Interestingly I've never noticed this oder with their pull-ups but that may be because I'll rarely wear a wet pull-up for a long time. Other than the oder issue I'm a big fan of Abena diapers as they fit me great and hold quite a lot.

I don't think it is getting worse as much as I'm learning the pattern I just wish I could figure out why I go through these stretches. I haven't seen an urologist since I was much younger which is when I was diagnosed OAB which fits my symptoms and also one of the reasons I haven't been to one in a while since most treatments for OAB either don't seem worth or is meds which I have been on before and gave me horrible side effects. As far as college is concerned, I don't think taking frequent bathroom breaks would help that much since most of my accidents occur on days when it seems like I am only able to hold it for a few seconds to minute after the urge hits.



I live in an apartment with my own room so it is easy enough to hide from the other people in the apartment also I usually don't have many issues since the toilet is close enough that I can make it almost as soon as the urge hits.



Same, lately I have been using Tranquility instead due to that odor since at least for me fit and performance is similar although Tranquility does tend to swell and clump more

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-full time graduate student with urge urinary incontinence due to an overactive bladder

The lack of serious odor control was one of the reasons I discontinued using Abena. After 3-4 hours, they simply stunk. I do not have that problem with betterdry, confidry, seni, northshore, etc. The other element for odor is hair follicles. Even with a small amount of hair "down there" it soaks up the bacteria and urine and holds that stink, That's why, in addition to helping protect your skin, shaving down there helps eliminate odor. This is in addition to the comments above about staying properly hydrated.

I am glad you reached out for support. My issues started to worsen in college too. It can be hard to accept. But, perhaps you will find a solution, and if not, you will learn that even with this "problem" life still goes on and there is so much joy out there to be had!