www.incontinentsupport.org

People often ask, when they are starting to deal with incontinence issues, what kind of medical tests will they go through and how bad are they?

Here is a great way for us to help the people just starting to deal with this.
What kind of testing did yall go through and what was your feelings about it?

Schoppy and everyone,
Reading everything here on this board has helped me a lot and I want to thank all of you for your time, effort and wise wisdom you have given. I am fighting mixed incontinence which I am seeing an urologist about. Here is what I have had done so far.
1. Urine sample. That was easy and no big deal.

2. Cystoscopy. It felt a little strange having a doctor look inside me down there but it didn’t hurt or help.

3. Flow test – strange having to urinate into a device that is measuring how fast or slow it is going.

4. Urodynamic – When I read the literature the doctor sent me, I was a little nervous. I wasn’t looking forward to having my bladder filled. The nurse that gave the test was very good about it and made sure I was o.k. and calm with everything that was going on. I don’t know if every doctor/nurse that gives this test does it the same, but they had me sitting on something like a bedside commode during the whole test. She kept increasing the flow rate which for me was a little uncomfortable since how much she put in, was more than I drink in 2 to 3 days.

I am still waiting on the results of the last test. For those of you that have already gone through most of this, you may have gone through even more test than I have. Because of other medical problems I am having my urologist is taking things slow and wants to try to hold off of medication for a while. From what I have read, I don’t really look forward to medication to help control my insentience problem.

Use adult protection (diapers) and the advice I have read and learned from this board, so far, I have been able to manage.

Thank you all for being there for those of us that sit back silently and listen.
If you have had other test, I ask you to please post your experience or advice on how to get ready for them.

Hi K.T.
Thanks for your post! I've been thought the test you mentioned many years ago. I don't think I really ever heard how my results went. I do remember having my bladder filled like that and then went to the urine flow test. Unfortunatly, before I made to the bowl I leaked all over the floor! If you have any other questions or comments, let us know! Thanks again for your post! ...........Paul Martin

Hi all--

Good descriptions here of the processes we go through! The only one really missing is the common one of ultrasounding the bladder after a void to make sure it is emptying completely---I've been through several of those, and at least it's completely painless. They are generally checking for BPH-related retention, and I don't have that.

For me, the Urodynamics was the one that surprised my urologist; the results were inconsistent at best. He even said "Your bladder's weird---it just 'fires off' whenever it wants to". I told him I had been called weird before, but not for that reason!

Gimwet

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Gimwet

Question for all of you. Has anyone gone through anything that was video and brain wave checks? My uro today said he would like to see about going to a doctor that just deals with the bladder and the brain functions that controll the bladder. He said something about video and hooking up electrodes to study the brain patterns during the testing. I haven't read anything about this before and just wondered if anyone else has heard of it or had it done.

K.T.
(Kent)

Hey Kent,
That's a new one on me! I've never heard of anything even close to that. I've read alot on other boards and heard of nothing like that either. Will insurance pay for something like that? .................Paul Martin

Sounds similar to a sleep study, which in addition to monitoring your brain activity during sleep, can also match up incontinence episodes with the EEG and video data. Just a thought!

Buzzard, it does sound like a sleep study. I have had those done too for sleep apnea. Sleeping with all those wires is much worse than sleeping in a wet diaper, lol

Oh ya!!! I can relate to that; same reason. Been through three myself. First time I tried to go with minimal protection; kept having to have the monitor come in to help me get unhooked and to restroom and then hooked back up. Learned my lesson, came prepared, and slept through the night on the others.

Just curious did these studies help you .................Sandy