Stress Incontinence!

I attended the (in)continence clinic, had some tests done, and was told I needed retraining. Door key syndrome etc. and I should stretch out the times between bathroom visits.

When I'm out and about I can go easily for four hours but at home I'm running all the time and find that Daily Always isn't sufficient.
When at home I'm changing clothing and doing extra washing. Somewhat psychological as to when I can and can't hold on ???

At present I have a cold and cough, so coughing doesn't help.

I've also heard the repair hammocks aren't good news. And there's been a lot in the media about them.

I'm sorry that you are also dealing with urine retention.

Please don't let anyone persuade you to have what you describe as a hammock. They have a poor success rate and have caused untold misery and pain to a significant number of women. I'm one of them but fortunately not as badly affected as some.

I had a TOT sling inserted after having a couple of very embarrassing 'wet' public incidents and was promised a two week recovery period and a minor non invasive op. The day after the op I learned that the procedure had been banned in Scotland that day and for very good reasons as I found out.

I don't really want to go into the details but the operation didn't work at all and I was left with other problems as well. Although these have eased with time and I have got used to living with other limitations I now have, I so wish I either hadn't bothered at all or had pursued a different surgical path.

Of course there's much more information about now than 6 years ago and more surgeons with experience and knowledge of the procedure but caution is needed before undergoing such a step.

God bless Tena lady.

my dd had the mesh hammock and we so wish we could turn the clock back. The mesh migrated in sharp bits and let`s just say that it started to shred tampons. She will have to live with this for the rest of her life

Yes stress incontinence, I realised that I still had this when I coughed yesterday, didn`t have time to cross my legs. I am going to find my magic device, the one that sends pulses to the pelvic floor, strength training. It does work but I stopped using it, all too easy to forget to do those exercises

I've found that caffeine makes my urge incontinence worse. A year or so ago, I bought an electronic pelvic floor exerciser from Amazon. It took a few goes to get the hang of it but then I used it regularly and it made a huge difference. I do have to keep going with it or the incontinence gets worse, one of the many binds of getting older.

There are pelvic floor exercises that can help with this. I forget the name but am sure someone will provide it.

Possibly a good idea to do these now before developing stress incintinence.

Evie64 keep well away from the mesh implants, they have caused all sorts of problems.

It is a difficult and embarrassing problem, is there a Continence advisor attached to your GP surgery or at your local hospital, they will be able to help. Good luck.

Kiegel Anja. No need for expensive machines to exercise the pelvic floor, just flex and relax the muscles while you are sitting in front of the computer.

There is a DVD available on Amazon which was recommended to me by an osteopath to save me having prolapse surgery. The exercises worked within a month. It's called Hab-it Pelvic Floor Exercises, and they work for prolapse and single and double incontinence.

I sympathize as I’ve has stress incontinence for years. I’ve been to physiotherapist for pelvic floor exercises, went to hospital clinic for various tests to see if I had retention (I didn’t) and to confirm it was stress incontinence. Nurses in clinic didn’t recommend surgery from their experience. I got one of the electronic machines - Kegel 8 - and used it regularly for a while- thought I was improving but then got a cold and seemed to be back where I was - coughing and sneezing result in significant leakage.

I’ve given up trying to cure for the moment, just rely on ‘piddle pads’ (borrowed nickname from another poster here). Always ones are good, also Aldi. I think it must be a very common problem- lots of products available and even TV ads.

Thank you sooooo much for all your replies. It's so nice to know I'm not the only one out there feeling as though your body is "letting you down" and is embarrassing. Thanks again and thank you for Tena Lady or, as Farmour15 called them "piddle pads". Excellent, made me laugh ;-}

sparklefiz I too have the hab-it DVD and think it is excellent. Not been doing it long enough to know what difference it makes but the logic behind it seems mor comprehensive than other similar exercises.

I'm another one but self-help can improve things. Trampolining is the worst exercise for women. Keep doing pelvic floor exercises. Check Michelle Kenway's website for exercises - she is an Australian physio.
Caffeine, green tea, cranberry juice, orange juice, fizzy drinks all aggravate the bladder so cut down on them. I was advised to at least cut down in the evening.
It is also worth going to the GP in case you have vaginal atrophy. I'm prescribed oestregen and it makes a huge difference.

That’s it harrigran - Kiegel! Thanks ??

I had this problem, mainly when I was running, doing sit ups and worst of all for me when riding. I had my first appointment with the womens health physio at the end of December and have religiously done the exercises she prescribed every day, much to my surprise I am very much better. Not 100% with the riding yet so she suggested a pessary just for that. It looks a bit fearsome so I have not tried it yet but I'm also carrying on with the exercises in the hope I won't need it for very long. She advised me surgery was very risky and not to even think about it while there were other options.

Don't we all have stress incontinence? My tip is to empty your bladder as often as you and don't drink too much of anything, especially when you're out and about.

After a random comment from the Continence Nurse, I have surveyed all my over 60 female friends. Although it is quite a small sample the results echo what the Nurse said.

Women with no children = no continence problems
Women who had only cesareans = ditto
Women who had 'easy' births without stitches or forceps = none or slight problems
Women who had 1 or more births involving tears, cuts, stitches = incontinence problems to some degree.

I had a forcepts delivery and stitches so no we don’t ‘all have stress incontinence’.

I actually think we need to drink plenty crazyH to prevent UTIs which (so far) I’ve never had either. Then practise ‘holding on’ to use those pelvic floor muscles.

Perhaps I’ve just been lucky or it might be all that running and other exercises I did until recently or the yoga and pilates I still do.

Who knows?

Doesn't always follow Granny23, I had big babies with many stitches and do not have stress incontinence. Having worked on Gynae wards I promised myself I would look after my under-carriage and have always done the Kiegel exercises.

I didn't have children but still have stress incontinence - perhaps some peoples' muscles just get weaker the older we get and some don't. I use Tena every day - found Always were useless

^ too have the hab-it DVD and think it is excellent. Not been doing it long enough to know what difference it makes but the logic behind it seems mor comprehensive than other similar exercises.^

I wish more women would do the exercises Doodle as they really do work, but as my doctor said, most people would rather not put in the effort.

I had the beginnings of a prolapse both front and back, and now I don't, so I am thrilled obviously!

Anna, What I was trying to say is, to limit the liquid intake when we are out and about, like for instance, on a day trip, to save the embarrassment of a dribble. If we are at home or in a place where the loos are easily accessible, drink as much as you want.....as a matter of fact, drink plenty.
.

My problem is crazy I don’t get out enough!

There are drugs on the market- your GP could prescribe Oxybutynin hydrochloride. It is not a cure-all but it definitely helps.

Be careful with oxybutynin though everyone. I was prescribed it several years ago and as there was little or no effect the dose was increased several times over several months.
Eventually I was referred for a scan which showed I had an atonic bladder (basically an enlarged bladder that wasn't emptying itself properly) - made worse by the oxybutynin apparently!
Nowadays I am prescribed non-permanent catheters and self catheterise 3 or 4 times a day. Honestly it is not as horrendous as it sounds once you get used to it.