www.incontinentsupport.org

Being incontinent is a handicap. I can think of sever handicaps that are worse than being incontinent. I feel sorry for anyone that is incontinent and not able to accept and deal with the problem. If you let it, it can hold you back and keep hostage in your own home but why?

I think forums such as this help people to communicate with others that have the same type of issues. I know over the years I've learned a lot by trail and error and would have saved a lot of time and money had I found an incontinence forum to ask advise.

I'm totally with you Sandy! I can live with wetting myself, but some of the side effects listed on those drugs are scary!

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~~PuddleGuy

PuddleGuy, i totally agree.. i think the VesiCARE exasterbated my neuropathy dizziness.. that made it DANGEROUS to drive.

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"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

If there were a drug I could take to help me regain bladder control I would most definately try it. Unfortunately there is no drug that can regenerate nerve tissue. Surgery is not an option in my case either so it is diapers for me. Maybe someday in my lifetime there will be a way discovered to regenerate nerve tissue. I keep hearing about cell therapy and how they have been able to generate certain cells and organs in the laboratory. Who knows? There may be something down the road a ways that will help me regain bladder control. I know I'm never giving up hope.

DDS,

The cause of my incontinence is also nerve damage and following my back injury I had a disectomy that allowed me to walk again. I always want to stay positive, but in my situation I know there is no hope of repairing the nerve damage that I do have. My disabilities could have been a lot worse so being incontinent is not as bad as many other disabilities I could have had.

I know what you mean about things that could be worse than they are. I have been told by my Dr. how lucky I am that I still have use of my legs considering the extent of my nerve damage. The few times since my accident that my lower spine has become inflamed I have found standing up and supporting my body weight a real challenge let alone walking. I've learned to live with the constant numbness in parts of my legs and buttocks to the point where I don't even notice it. Things could be a ton worse for me than they are. Still I'd much rather have the feeling back and have control of my bladder which is why I'll never give up hope of a cure down the road. Medical technology has come a long way with new treatments for all sorts of conditions being discovered every year. With all the stem cell research going on there may be hope for the future.

DDS,

You have more numbness than I have. However, for whatever reason I've had a lot more muscles spasms in my lower back over the last 6 months than I've had in years. I'm going to physical therapy twice a week and and I guess its helping but the results sure are slow. Medical science has come a long way, but I don't have much hope there will much of an improvement for nerve damage any time soon.

John - I know we have discussed the muscle spasms in the past. I've gotten used to dealing with them. I think I have been able to tolerate the spasms better since I have so much numbness but I still get them in my lower back occasionally that make me cringe with pain. I seem to get more spasms in my hips/pelvic area than anywhere else.

There's a lot to be said about doing back exercises in an effort to prevent muscle spasms. The physical therapy I'm doing seems to be helping.