Urge Incontinence... some days worse than others...

[Archives1]

I am in the same boat as @snow (not the injuries just the symptoms) I have had my symptoms for many years (8-10? didn't put a thumbtack on the calendar the day it started just remember certain events and corollate those to my symptoms) Worked (and still working) with urology. Had a procedure done few years ago to open up my urethra (actually it "pinned back" my enlarged prostate to open up the urethra) My flow is way better (like a fire hose instead of a laser pointer) but the bladder issues remain. I do have a bladder neck issue which adds to the problems. His belief is I will stay this way. I will not "cure myself" He says there other more invasive procedure's that "may" help but we (Me, DR)decided that I'll run the way I am until my symptoms worsen or become unbearable. Right now for me that is not the case.

 

[Archives1]

Sometimes I think there should be a gender-specific NAFC for females and males. Your male concerns rarely - almost never - Relate to our female concerns.

 

[Archives1]

@snow
No debate over the underlying causes of incontinence in men and women.
But....in this case the question was do people tend to improve, stay the same or continue to decline.
In my opinion the answer can be the same for both male and female. Will there be an improvement, decline or a staying the same. The answer to that question as many of life's questions will more then likely be different based on who is giving the answer.
The reality is both our answers are the same. No improvement, no seeming decline, a staying the same.
That was my overlying point in comparing my symptoms to yours. It was not meant to insult.

 

[Archives1]

That's an interesting point, @snow and @Tim. Urine is urine no matter who it comes from, although there may be hormonal differences between genders. But it is what is filtered out by the kidneys and sent to the bladder and urethra. The difference lies in what you see between the bladder and the outlet, so to speak. I read somewhere that as far as physical differences between male and female goes, there is only a two percent difference between the two! Other than the obvious (gynecological and prostate/testicles etc.,)the urinary system is basically the same, from bladder on up. Our kidneys function in the same way and the blood that is filtered by the kidneys is the same, but I hope you get the point. Comparing symptoms may be possible up to a point. But we need to remember that no two people are exactly alike so although symptoms may be similar to someone else (male or female), the cause is very likely to be different and have a different outcome.

 

[Archives1]

Regarding the question of "Does urge incontinence get worse over time", I guess my thought is that for those who have urge incontinence, it doesn't surprise me if it gets worse over time. I mean, think of all the changes the body goes through as we age... My eye sight is worse now than when I was 20, my hearing is not as good, my hair - what hair... wrinkles, etc..
What ailments do your aging friends or family have? Arthritis, kidney issues, heart condition, etc.. So it just makes sense to me that incontinence issues would also get worse. On the other hand, modern medicine is always coming up with things to help us deal with or mask the symptoms of these problems. Sometimes it's something new, like a pill, sometimes it's something old, like a diaper or pad...

And we just keep rolling along...

 

[Archives1]

My incontinence issues have certainly gotten worse over time. When I was in my late-teens my after dribble would be noticeable on trousers smell-wise if I wore them for more than three days. I'd start to get very self-conscious towards the end of the school week. Now, even after one toilet visit I'll have wet spots and smells so wearing protection is essential 24/7.

In terms of my urge issues, I've always had them and would have occasional accidents and it would always be a race against time to get to the toilet first thing after waking up. Now, if I'm not near a toilet every hour at least when I'm out and about it doesn't end well the vast majority of the time and ever since my latest health issues, I'm not able to make it to the toilet in time in the morning. I find that the second I change from lying to sitting up in bed, I have a massive void and so even though I don't wet the bed in the conventional sense, big capacity nappies are essential overnight.

My IBS urge issues have also gotten worse over time but the osteopathy is really helping with that which is an unexpected bonus.

I'd be curious to know if there's any correlation between chronic fatigue syndrome and incontinence because after the chickenpox bout in 2018 the after dribble certainly got worse and post-Covid, my urge issues have really gotten worse. It could be a gradual degradation but then I'm only 29.

 

[Archives1]

Me too, @snow and @MikeD9876. Bladders do have minds of their own it seems. If they want to behave they will. But if not then we do need to be prepared for those times. In actuality the bladder is the boss!
It may be a good idea to try to have a diary to determine when the more intense wetness happens. That way you may be able to detect


a pattern for when you could wear something lighter versus wearing an actual diaper. It may even have to do with weather (I'm more "active" during cooler weather) or other conditions that would affect it.
But the good thing is you do wear black slacks for work so that does help a bit.
Let us know how things are going. Someone is always here!

Me too, @snow and @MikeD9876. Bladders do have minds of their own it seems. If they want to behave they will. But if not then we do need to be prepared for those times. In actuality the bladder is the boss!
It may be a good idea to try to have a diary to determine when the more intense wetness happens. That way you may be able to detect a pattern for when you could wear something lighter versus wearing an actual diaper. It may even have to do with weather (I'm more "active" during cooler weather) or other conditions that would affect it.
But the good thing is you do wear black slacks for work so that does help a bit.
Let us know how things are going. Someone is always here!

I recently posted about how I track my progress (if any)

I was having trouble with pads shifting and not containing things. I decided to go with full time Depends. I set a schedule of 9 am, 1:30 pm, 6pm and 11 pm. I stick to this schedule pretty rigorously.

I invested $20 in digital scale.

I weighed the Dry depends with a disposal bag about 30 times and arrived at a “dry weight”.

Every time I change I weigh the bag with the wet depends / I subtract the dry weight to get the weight of the liquid.

Water weighs 1 gram per milliliter. 1 fluid ounce of water weighs 29.5 grams

I use that as my basis)not exact, but close enough)

I record this for about a week at a time. I can compare grams to grams at each weigh point during the day. I note if I’m out during the time or any unusual activity.

Since I’m a data nerd, every week or so I load the weights into a Excel spreadsheet

From there I can make all kinds of calculations.

Any specific number doesn’t mean much, but the daily totals will show a trend.

I’ve only been doing this for a couple weeks so I don’t have much history. I’m hoping to be able to see a trend line over time.

Anyway, it’s a way to quantify things rather than guessing or trying to remember.

 

[Archives1]

That's actually what my doctor recently told me to do... He wants me to weigh my diaper dry, then weigh it again when I wake up wet, to get an idea of my urine output at night. He also asked me to measure my daytime output and track my fluid intake as well. It's not easy to do during the day when I'm working - people give you strange looks when you walk into the restroom with a scale and a measuring cup!!

 

[Archives1]

Hi @MikeD9876 I can just see you walking into a restroom with a scale and measuring cup out in public! That would be very strange to see indeed. That's an okay way to do it if you're at home like a weekend, vacation or a holiday. But just tell the doctor doing it that way at work "because of the very nature of my job," isn't very practical and if it were me I would just say that and promise to give a "guesstimate." Of course I don't know what kind of work you would do so it seems that storing the cup and scale between uses would be a bit of a challenge as well!

 

[Archives1]

I do need to mention that I am retired so my schedule is mine to set. I couldn’t do any of this if I was working.

 

[Archives1]

Well @digouro, you do have an advantage there!