Just an observation

[Archives1]

One thing I have noticed is that a lot of people who became incontinent later in life have a history of bedwetting. Is there a connection between the two? Does having a history of bedwetting make it easier to cope with incontinence now, or is it harder since you thought you were done with it.

 

[Archives1]

@Danman

One thing that I will add to this Danman is that a lot of people who grew up bedwetting also have two things in common; sleep apnea and or a history of constipation. That is at least what my doctors have told me.

I started bedwetting at 15 after starting puberty very late. I also had a horrible bicycle accident around that time.

Having so many years of experience with bedwetting has made it easier to deal with but only in the sense that I know what type of diapers work best and have accepted that it is part of my life.

In my case, I never stopped bedwetting from the time it started back up at 15. Now, at 39 I just live with it.

My doctors don't question my needs and those around me that need to know do.

Even with 20+ years as a bedwetter, it was still very hard emotionally when I started having accidents during that day. That is not to say that it did not happen before all of the medical issues hit me but it was not an everyday thing. When I got sick this last time my bowels never recovered and now I am like a toddler who is potty training. I have to run to make it to the bathroom to have a poop. I never make it in time to pee. It is just part of my life now.

Yes, it sucks but I am alive and there are far worse things to deal with in life.

 

[Archives1]

That mention of "constipation" interests me. I might do a separate post/question about constipation, as it seems to be a telling factor in my own leaky bladder. I'm glad you mentioned what the doctors have told you, "ThatFLGuy".

 

[Archives1]

Well, I wet the bed some as a kid, but my Incontinence came on in my 60s when I was hospitalized with COVID-19 and when I came out of ICU. I thought it was because I could not get out of bed, and I was in a Private Room the Nurses took forever because they had to gown up before entering my room. I would wet the bed. After a day or so of this, the night nurse came in with Diapers and we discussed me waiting in a wet cold bed or wetting the diaper and staying warm! You know what I took? She put the diaper on Me. When I was sent home, I was sent home with some diapers and some Pull-Ups. As it turned The Doctors do not know how or why I am now Incontinent from Covid-19. I have read in several blogs and studies there are quite a few people who got COVID and are now in the Incontinent some have regained their Continence but then there are people who still need some form of Protection. Now all that said I have been incontinent now for 31/2 half years my doctor and other Doctors say there is nothing wrong with me so why am I wetting myself most times with no notice? I have moved on with my life and do not let this little problem slow me down. As ThatFLGuy says I am alive and there are far worse things to deal with in LIFE.

 

[Archives1]

I did not wet the bed as a child. I fell down a cliff at age 39 and severed nerves between my bladder and brain (not to mention demolishing all of my lumbar and cervical discs). So my condition is called Neurogenic Bladder. For me the overactive bladder and leaks are worse when I’m trying to sleep. The doctors say I severed the nerve that tells my kidneys and bladder to turn off/slow down because I’m sleeping.

 

[Archives1]

I have a Neurogenic Bladder situation, also, but I've never had any spinal or brain injuries of any type. My bladder just started emptying, during sleep, in January of this year, with no known reason why. I have totally lost the ability to feel that I need to empty my bladder, so I've nothing to wake me, to go to the loo when the time comes, so it passes in sleep, instead. I have momentary lapses of pee-holding, now and then, during the day, also.

During the day time, also, there is no longer the slightest (normal) need-a-pee sensation at all - I have to pee according to how long it was since my last.

(Forgive me for adding...that's a beautiful top you're wearing, in the picture, "Snow" - excellent taste of that kind is rare among females in the modern world, sadly.)

 

[Archives1]

@IanHaines Why thank you!

 

[Archives1]

I had bed wetting a lot as a kid and then later had a car accident. After that I was unable to know when I had to go. So I've been in diapers ever since. I was easy to adapt because pretty much every night I always had to have a diaper on to sleep and now it's just the norm.

 

[Archives1]

I wore Goodnites until I was 16. it was really stressful trying to keep the secret from my siblings. I am kind of blaming them for my accidents now.

 

[Archives1]

What do they have to do with your accidents now.

 

[Archives1]

I feel like my body got used to being back in pull ups.

 

[Archives1]

I was dry until I had my head injury when I was 28. Literally bone-dry - not a drop. I wouldn't mind being able to turn back the clock...

 

[Archives1]

I did not wet the bed as a child. I fell down a cliff at age 39 and severed nerves between my bladder and brain (not to mention demolishing all of my lumbar and cervical discs). So my condition is called Neurogenic Bladder. For me the overactive bladder and leaks are worse when I’m trying to sleep. The doctors say I severed the nerve that tells my kidneys and bladder to turn off/slow down because I’m sleeping.

Snow, perhaps you know more about this than I do- I read once that our body makes, (or stops making) a certain chemical @ night which either slows the production of urine or regulates the urge to release urine while we sleep
I don't remember which, or anything else about it because it didn't pertain to my situation. Maybe it was a urologist who told me about it, idk... My thoughts on the matter are these: one, could there be a medication or a supplement that replaces this chemical; two, with there being a neurological basis (or component) to the loss of control in both your situation and mine (& I do understand that they are in no way similar)- is there hope to be found in any research being done in this area? That, assuming there IS any such study. Your thoughts?

 

[Archives1]

@jeffswet

The natural hormone released by the pituitary gland that does as you suggested - make our kidneys and bladder more active by day and quiet when we’re sleeping - is called Vasopressin.

Desmopressin is a synthetic form of the human hormone Vasopressin. It limits the amount of water eliminated in the urine. It can be administered nasally, via IV, orally, or given as a sublingual tablet. Major uses of desmopressin include bed-wetting, nighttime urination, clotting disorders, and diabetes insipidus (DI).

Vasopressin - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

In my experience with Urologists, they don’t want to treat bed wetting with Desmopressin because it messes up your kidney and liver functioning pretty badly. It switches your body-wide day and night circadian rhythms so digestion doesn’t happen properly, for example. The only time they’re really willing to use it is if you have the ultra–rare condition called Diabetes Insipidus (or, DI) which is very different from regular diabetes and shouldn’t even have the same name.

Diabetes insipidus - Symptoms and causes

www.mayoclinic.org

However, I have seen at least guys here on the forum over the past eight years here say their urologists were willing to prescribe them Desmopressin which mostly cured their bedwetting problem. Those two guys didn’t have Neurogenic Bladder.

Vasopressin is created in the brain, not from nerves. The nerves between my bladder and my spine are severed, particularly my nerves that tell my bladder to shut off at night. A chemical can’t repair that connection; nothing can. Botox works by partially paralyzing the bladder muscle so it releases a normal amount of the time, instead of being overactive, so that’s why I choose to treat the problem at the source. There’s nothing wrong with my pituitary hormone Vasopressin, but there is something wrong with my bladder, so I get my bladder treated.

But I wouldn’t mind trying a month of Desmopressin. A pill solution would be easier and likely more affordable than Botox as a solution. I just haven’t found a doctor willing to give it me. Maybe your doctor will give it to you?

The side effects are kind of scary:

Desmopressin: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, Warnings & Dosing - WebMD

Find patient medical information for Desmopressin on WebMD including its uses, side effects and safety, interactions, pictures, warnings and user ratings

www.webmd.com

 

[Archives1]

@jeffswet

The natural hormone released by the pituitary gland that does as you suggested - make our kidneys and bladder more active by day and quiet when we’re sleeping - is called Vasopressin.

Desmopressin is a synthetic form of the human hormone Vasopressin. It limits the amount of water eliminated in the urine. It can be administered nasally, via IV, orally, or given as a sublingual tablet. Major uses of desmopressin include bed-wetting, nighttime urination, clotting disorders, and diabetes insipidus (DI).

Vasopressin - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

In my experience with Urologists, they don’t want to treat bed wetting with Desmopressin because it messes up your kidney and liver functioning pretty badly. It switches your body-wide day and night circadian rhythms so digestion doesn’t happen properly, for example. The only time they’re really willing to use it is if you have the ultra–rare condition called Diabetes Insipidus (or, DI) which is very different from regular diabetes and shouldn’t even have the same name.

Diabetes insipidus - Symptoms and causes

www.mayoclinic.org

However, I have seen at least guys here on the forum over the past eight years here say their urologists were willing to prescribe them Desmopressin which mostly cured their bedwetting problem. Those two guys didn’t have Neurogenic Bladder.

Vasopressin is created in the brain, not from nerves. The nerves between my bladder and my spine are severed, particularly my nerves that tell my bladder to shut off at night. A chemical can’t repair that connection; nothing can. Botox works by partially paralyzing the bladder muscle so it releases a normal amount of the time, instead of being overactive, so that’s why I choose to treat the problem at the source. There’s nothing wrong with my pituitary hormone Vasopressin, but there is something wrong with my bladder, so I get my bladder treated.

But I wouldn’t mind trying a month of Desmopressin. A pill solution would be easier and likely more affordable than Botox as a solution. I just haven’t found a doctor willing to give it me. Maybe your doctor will give it to you?

The side effects are kind of scary:

Desmopressin: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, Warnings & Dosing - WebMD

Find patient medical information for Desmopressin on WebMD including its uses, side effects and safety, interactions, pictures, warnings and user ratings

www.webmd.com

Thanks for posting that. The side effects, with barely an exception, mimic the symptoms I have from the head injury, or that I have had with medications I've been prescribed to deal with it. Wearing protection is the lesser of the two evils, frankly.