OAB Advice

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Hello everyone
I’m looking for some advice or suggestions on how to deal with OAB. A little about me I’m 30 year old male in good physical condition (other than my bladder) who likes to go do everything with family and anything outdoors. About a year and a half ago I started having very small leaks after I would urinate but know that it’s not that uncommon and is never enough to show on my outer clothing. A couple months after that I began having extreme urges to pee about 2-3 times an hour which became very very painful. I went to the doctor and was told I have OAB. They put me on different medicines but I did not notice any difference in my symptoms and had some pretty rough side effects. Other than after I pee, I do not have any type of incontinence issues.

I guess my question is what should I do? Do any of you deal with this? It’s very tiresome and quite frankly annoying to have to go so many times in an hour plus dealing with the severe pain associated with trying to hold it if I’m not near a bathroom. If any of you deal with this as well, what are some tips or tricks to get back to not being a slave to the toilet and not deal with the pain.

Thanks for any help!!!

 

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This is my exact problem. I began to notice that I was going to the bathroom a lot, at first it was 12 times a day. Then 15, then 20, then 30 and I was leaking a little every time. Leaking a little each time at the normal 4-7 times a day is one thing but leaking “a little” at 30 times a day adds up to a fair amount of incontinence. I began wearing pads, then pull-ups, then graduated to regular tape on diapers. I went to 5 different urologists, I had 2 cystoscopies and a urodynamics test. Neither one were conclusive. I tried 4 different pills, none of them worked very well for my symptoms and I mostly got side effects. I ended up seeing 13 different doctors, had a completely unnecessary spinal angiogram surgery because they though there was something wrong with my spinal cord. 4 different MRI’s finally things got real bad and I went about 2-3 weeks without sleeping through the night, I was exhausted and at the edge of a mental breakdown, the last medication that they had given me wasn’t doing anything for me, they said give it through the weekend and call us Monday if it still isn’t working. So all through the weekend I suffered and Monday I called them and said “we need to get to the bottom of this TODAY, I need something done, I can’t sleep, I can’t function” they said hold on we’ll call you back. They called back and said, the doctor says you should go to the ER and get a Foley catheter placed. I was home alone with the kids, I waited until the wife got Home from work and she took me down to the ER and I got a foley cath placed. I slept soundly that night for the first time in weeks.
Two days later at my emergency urologist appointment i was given a prescription for Foley catheters and I have been a foley user for over 5 years now.
In 2016 I went to see a “functional medicine” nurse practitioner. She ran some tests and found my gut bacteria (inside the intestines) was the worst she’d ever seen. She diagnosed me with interstitial cystitis based on my bladder symptoms and told me I also had IBS. She got me on a probiotic regimen to straighten out my guts which I did notice made a difference in my overall health but, didn’t help enough to be able to live without Foley catheters and diapers. I still wear diapers over the cath because I never know when I’ll pee around the foley. It does occasionally happen, additionally the diaper provides great support to my equipment as it’s not always comfortable to have the catheter banging around as I’m still active.

 

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Hello well hello I suffered from about the same thing as you they couldn't find out what was going on I used pads and then diapers then to condom catheters
I ended up getting a UTI bad went to the hospital the Dr did a culture of the urine they treated it like a UTI but it was a prostate infection they couldn't find they put me on bactrum after 5 days it started to go away all this in was done in a year and half but urologist couldn't figure it out but the ER Dr did the first round of bactrum was 15 days about 3days after I finished them it started to come back so they have me on another 30 days of it we will see how it goes hang in there I know it's a hard road

 

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@Wellhello @PBJ32 @Garfield

Between the three of you, you have described my issues almost spot on. After several episodes of prostatitis I had a TURP. Scar tissue from this meant a bladder neck incision. This made the OAB and IBS I already had worse. Like you I tried all the meds and they didn't work or had side effects. I am now having Botox injections, these have reduced the pain, but I still leak. I try to self catheterise before my bladder gets too full. Anyway I now use tape up products all the time as it isn't worth taking the risk at work. I like the textile backed ones so that I can undo them to use a catheter. To help manage the IBS I use a mixture of laxatives and suppositories to make sure that my lower bowel is empty before going to work. Sorry to go on a bit, but your descriptions sound so much like me and I wanted you to know that there are others in the same position. I try to keep as positive as I can. It is all inconvenient and embarrassing at times, but isn't life threatening (at least I hope not!), Cheers Phil

 

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Thank y’all so much for the advice and encouragement. I’ve contemplated using like a pull-up or tape on brief solely out of convenience (with having to constantly go) and to not to have the pain associated with holding it but feel like it’s not really a necessity since I don’t have full on accidents just very minor drips after I go to the bathroom. I just feel like I’m in between a rock and a hard place and absolutely no idea on where to go or what to do. Again thank y’all so very much for listening!

 

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A pullup will not hold as much as a regular tape on diaper, though a quality pull-up can be good for the light incontinence it sounds like we both face. I prefer a regular diaper for the added protection over my Foley catheter as I sometimes have accidents even with it in. When I’m at work without the foley I like the Abena abriflex pull-up because it makes it convenient to use the bathroom my usual 20-30 times a day. Though it’s much harder to change a pull-up in a public bathroom because you have to take your pants off. A regular diaper you can more easily change without getting completely undressed.

 

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If it's just minor drips, you may want to try a male guard in your underwear.

 

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This is a reprint of my experiences over the years with the same problem:

My problem started as painful urination along with frequency and urgency; mild leakage and had to go about every 30-60 minutes. So sleeping was difficult.

I have had 5 "cystoscopy with dilation" procedures. They helped with urgency, but not with frequency.

Then I had an implanted Medtronic interstim device. This really works well for me. It works like a pacemaker for the bladder. The device is about the size of a silver dollar. I requested that it be implanted in my back a few inches above my belt line. Wires run under the skin to the bladder. The device has 4 channels loaded that I can tinker with to find what works best for me. Actually, there are 99 channels available that the doctor or Medtronic sales rep can change. I have an external transmitter that I use to select one of the 4 channels and change the amplitude. (It works like a Bluetooth device.)

Now, I can sometimes wait as long as 3 hours to urinate. That is a great improvement for me!

I had the REZUM procedure this past Thursday (7/25/2019). This is a relatively new way to treat BPH (enlarged prostate). They insert a small cystoscope into the urethra to inspect the bladder. Then another device is inserted that is hollow. A special needle is inserted through that, and punctures the wall into the inner core of the prostate. Radio frequency turns water into steam and kills cells in that area. Each treatment is about 9 seconds long, and can be inserted in as many places as the surgeon thinks necessary. (In my case, only 2 locations were treated.) Over time the body removes the dead cells and that reduces the size of the prostate, thus relieving excess pressure. It is said that it has about 95% success rate with very little risk compared to previous techniques.

I have had many other procedures including urodynamics testing, 4 cystoscopy with dilations, medications, Interstim implant, and finally "REZUM". Here is how it went:

* I checked in to the doctor's office at 10:00; the procedure began at 11:00. This was an area in the office that I had never seen before. The I/V was insert and other preparations were carried out on one side of the hall. The procedure itself was directly across the hall. It looked like a regular hospital setting, but smaller.

* A nurse carefully demonstrated how I was going to use the two different catheter bags I was going to use for the next 3 days; a smaller one for daytime and a larger one for bedtime. I was allowed to play with all the gear until I felt I could understand what I was going to do with it.

* They administered antibiotic, Fentanyl, and Propofol/Lidocaine. I had asked that they go very slow with the Propofol because my veins burn like fire if it is given too quickly. They did well.

* Less than 5 minutes later I was waking up as they lifted me from one gerny to another and moved to a recovery room. That was FAST!

* The procedure was painless, but by the time I arrived home I was
was suffering. It hurt so much that I feared I would not be able to sleep. However, by 10:00 P.M. I was better, and by morning pain was not an issue. They had told me to buy an over-the-counter med called "AZO" (at Walgreens). I took 2 pills, 3 times per day for only 2 days. It turns the urine to a dark yellow/orange. Yukky!

* The biggest hassle was draining and changing the bags, and also finding ways to keep the bags below the bladder for proper drainage.

* Sunday (this morning) was my biggest concern: taking out the catheter myself and peeing within 6 hours else go to the emergency room. I was advised to do this while taking a shower. Praise Jesus, it worked well, and I peed within 3 hours!

* The doctor explained that healing and full benefits could be as much as 3 months; some do better.

I am blessed to live near this doctor since he is one of only a few in the country that specializes in complex male and female surgeries. Here is his name and address:

Dr. Samuel J. KUYKENDALL (pronounced: Ker-kin-doll)
Kansas City Urology Care
4321 Washington
Suite 5300
Kansas City, Missouri 64111
816-531-1234

He also has an Overland Park, Kansas office:
10701 Nall
Suite 100
Overland Park, Kansas 66211
913-338-5585

www.kcurology.com/our-physicians/sam-kuykendall-md.html

(He is older than he looks in the site's picture.)

This is a big group of doctors with many locations around the metropolitan area. My first doctor was Dr. David BOCK. He referred me to his colleague, Dr. Kuykendall. They are both very nice and friendly and easy to talk to.

God bless you all! ❤

 

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Thanks for the info JarJar good info to learn about the procedure. Blessings to you to my friend.

Kind regards,

Jim in Md

 

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Hello. I have bladder issues almost all my life. Beside bedwetting at night, also during the day, like you, i had very often a painful urge and frequent urination. In my mid 30th the pain got so overwhelming and the urge came so sudden i started wetting my pants. It was then when i finally found the courage to go to a doctor and i was diagnosed with OAB. Within the ten years since i had several medicines, botox, interstim, bladder irrigation and so on. For me unfortunately without success, but there are many treatments and hopefully something works out for you. Just keep a close line to your doctor, this usually doesn't go by, by it self.
In the meantime take precautions for when there is no toilet nearby. It might feel humiliating to use incontinence briefs but there is nothing more humiliating than to wet yourself in public. It can also take off some pressure and you might feel more confident to go out. And also: there are many people with this condition.

 

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Hi All,
What have you found to be a good solution to keep you dry at night?
What product or products work the best that you use or have tried?

Just looking for other alternatives that may be out there.