www.incontinentsupport.org

Hello,

I am new here and joined because I have finally decided to speak to my practice nurse about my problems with incontinence but I feel very nervous and embarassed about doing so. My appointment is tomorrow and I really felt like phoning to cancel.

My problem is probably more stress incontinence. I have a condition which makes me vomit (involuntarily) on a regular basis during an attack and over time I think this has weakened my pelvic floor so that I frequently experiance leakage of urine and have to wear pads.

I also have a problem with my bowels in that I suffer from chronic constipation i.e. I only have one very large BM per week as a result I often don't get a complete elimination which in turn causes poo to continue to leak from my bottom for a day after I have had a BM. If I am sick in this time the force of my retching can cause me to soil myself so again pads are a must and going out is difficult.

I did many years ago have a colonoscopy for suspected colitis but was told instead I had IBS however I had no follow up treatment for this. I think I maybe do have IBS as my constipation does alternate with diarrhea and I have abdominal spasms.

I am pretty overweight and I know that this is probably a big part of the issue, my mum used to have stress incontinence but when she lost weight it cleared up so I hope that would benefit me.

I hope it is ok to post all this just trying to get straight in my head what to tell the nurse as I know I will be so embarrassed. Does this sound clear, any tips?

Do you know what treatment is available for this sort of thing as I said my weight is a big issue and my responsibility. Is it exercises they give you to do? Do you think I will be examined?

Thank you so much for all your advice in advance!

Hi Vanessa,

I can relate to some of what you are going through as I had bulimia for many years, that and 15 years of athletics I believe contributed to my stress incontinence. You do put a lot of pressure on the bladder from vomiting and it weakens the bladder. I was not overweight so I ended up having urethra support surgery which solved my incontinence problem.

That said, I would definitely start taking steps to get your weight under control as all that extra weight on top of a weak bladder and more leaking does result from the pressure. First things first though - do you know what is causing the vomiting? Do you have food allergies? Heartburn? Severe stress? Those are things you will want to address right off the bat by seeing a doctor. Second, start keeping a food journal and write down every bit of food that passes your lips. Most overweight people (and me with my bulimia) are shocked at just how much food they actually take in. It will give you a needed reality check that will give you a point to start working from. Then, I would join Weight Watchers or Overeater's Anonymous to start learning how to eat to live and not live to eat. Anytime you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. Weight Watcher's and OA will help you deal with the emotional issues behind a lot of the extra eating. After this, I would make a point of starting to exercise. Swimming and signing up for water aerobics will be a good way to get a workout without stressing your joints and your bladder. Of course during the times you are having BM leakage, you will have to taper off. All of the above will take time to implement and then lose weight but the pay off is you will feel much much better and you may just end up solving your stress incontinence problems without surgery. You also might get relief from the involuntary vomiting if you get your weight down to a normal level, barring another problem causing it.

Keep checking in here and let us know how you are doing - and most importantly - believe in yourself - you can do it!