innovo

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I have had stress incontinence since delivery of my first child. Now it is 40 years later and I still have it. I've tried kegels. There is a product advertised that (according to its wesite) uses electrical stimulation and is non-invasive. They say it costs around $500. and is not covered by insurance. Has anyone tried it? I am very hesitant because of the expense, but the incontinence has gotten worse over the years, so it may be worth it.

 

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I have tried a psin stim unit...dont waste your money. I know you are desperate but spend the 500 on doctors or biofeedback or just a spa.

A lot of times things that are developed and dont work out or arent FDA approved are sold otc. And some charlatans do it just on the thoery a sucker (desperate one) is born every minute.

 

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I appreciate the advice. I'm not buying it without folks like you telling me they tried it and it works. It's just too expensive to take a chance. Thanks again.

 

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Hey dban, I don’t believe we’ve had the opportunity to meet here as yet, but I would highly recommend staying away from products like this. You could simply go on Amazon and purchase a multi-zone muscle stimulator for less than $50.00 that would probably do as good a job and give you the flexibility to use it on other sore muscles as well.
I’ve had the opportunity to trial a variety of stim devices of all kinds including 5 different surgical implants that always needed removal because they didn’t work, resulting in a total of 10 useless and unnecessary surgeries and a bunch of now painful scars.
If you really want to give something like this a try, I would recommend getting a multi-zone stim / tens unit and either schedule a visit with a Phys Therapist that knows how and where exactly to place the leads and how to get the best results for you. We’re all wired a bit different so it might take some experimentation to get the most benefit. I laud you for not giving up, please let us know how it’s working out! You might also check YouTube for some instructional video’s they’ve got so much stuff out there!
Best of luck, Tom!

 

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I've had incontinence on and off for at least 50 years, am now 83 and had five pregnancies. The things that have helped me are keeping my weight down; regular exercises that strengthen my core muscles; staying away from caffeine in coffee, tea, sodas even chocolate; and I had to make a habit of going to the bathroom every two hours whether or not I felt the urge. Even with all that though there are days when I have accidents usually when I try to unscrew a tight lid or rinse a plate or some other innocuous activity, or it's raining or it's very cold. Mostly, I've learned to live with it and have a large supply of underwear and panty liners. I empathize with you.

 

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Dban - I forgot to say that after my fifth pregnancy I had incontinence and had an "experimental" surgery which removed an infected skeen gland. Then I really had trouble. I had no signal when the bladder was full. That was when I started routinely going to the bathroom. The doctor thought that my uterus was pushing on the bladder so I had a partial hysterectomy and that did wonders. But several years later I did have a bladder "tie-up" which helped again but didn't last so had another one which helped for a long time. I had tried pessaries but they didn't work. My bladder is now prolapsed but not as bad as it was. I'm not having any more surgeries!

 

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Thank you Sprung87 and Ritanofsinger for the good advice. I forgot to mention that it was a persistent cough, (recovering from pneumonia) that was making life with stress incontinence more problematic than normal. I was unaware that caffeine affected incontinence, so I will definitely be cutting down on the coffee. After 2 weeks of kegels twice a day, I think I may be seeing a little improvement. I think lying down rather than standing or sitting, while exercising also helped (I read that online somewhere). The coughing has decreased also. Thanks again everyone.

 

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Hi @dban, I'm chiming on here kind of late in the evening but I agree that it's best not to spend a single cent on these devices. Please save that $500 and get something you really want! Do the things that don't cost an arm and a leg, such as cutting down on caffeine (which you are doing) and keeping up with the kegels and keep lying down while you're doing those. If you think you are seeing improvement then please don't let up on it now! Usually the tried and true and least expensive things work the best. By the way are you new here? If so, then welcome! And stop in any time you feel like it!