www.incontinentsupport.org

So does it mean that once you have diabetes, this will trigger your incontinence problem?

Thanks..

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St. Pete Urology

Hi there no not at all, provided there is no autonomic neuropathy damage. If there is such damage then it tends to attack 3 specific areas, heart, brain and for some strange reason, sphincter nerves, sphincter nerves being the most common. But once you have such damage the chances of a major cva or cardiac problems become much, much higher. Of course it's only when problems appear that neuropathy is usually diagnosed. So given the choice between somthing that could kill me or leave me unable to speak, swallow and move, or something that may lead to me wetting myself. I;ll take the incontinence every time.

Urologymedic - seems that you would be in a position to tell us how diabetes and incontinence are related. I've got both and periodically, I get fed up, go to Dr and they run a series of tests and tell me that everything looks "OK" but obviously everything is not "OK". I've done this now three separate times, most recently in the last 6 months. My urologist, neurologist and GP basically say that when you have diabetes, incontinence happens and there is no point in going any further. I've told my Dr team that I'm not interested in any surgical solutions so basically, I'm stuck with what I've got. Until they can figure out how to reverse nerve damage (both peripheral and autonomic), I guess there is no fixes. I'm working hard to keep my blood sugars as low as I can, high blood sugars is what causes the damage. I have had incontinence for 30-40 years but only have known that I'm diabetic for 15 years. My Drs. figure that I've been diabetic all along, but nobody cared to check my A1C to see if I am diabetic until it was done for an insurance policy.

My problem is that my continence comes and goes. Right now, it isn't. I don't like wearing diapers much and prefer the continent world, but I have these periods of time where my ability to control my bladder/bowels just goes away without any warning. I'll be fine for days, weeks even months and suddenly, I'll discover I'm sitting in a puddle or I have an extra load in my underwear. Hard to be PC in these issues. Most recently, I was watching TV last Sunday and wet my pants three times in less than 8 hours. I probably should have diapered up after the first accident, but I really didn't want to deal with that then. Most of the time, a new cycle happens during the night and I wake up in a wet bed. I've discussed this with both my neurologist and urologist and they can't figure it out. Of course, most of the testing happens when I'm continent, but I can't understand why this happens. I've been doing this now for 40 years, but it is gradually getting worse. Years ago, I rarely had bowel issues, but now that comes with the cycle. The last one lasted for two weeks and I had about a three week period where things worked mostly. That isn't to say that I don't have some issues all the time. I have small urge leaks that happen frequently when I'm continent, but not floods like what happens when I'm not. I've had bowel accidents that were all by themselves (right in the middle of the grocery store) or I've lost complete control and wet and messed myself in public. I hate that to the extreme, thus the reason to try to get some understanding of what is going on. I have heard others say they have some similar experiences, but most are very black and white, your either continent or your not. I"m both and it takes its toll. Any insight would be welcome.

Dan

I'm 50, and been a type 2 diabetic for 5 years now. In the last couple of years I started having wetting accidents and urge incontinence issues. Started slowly and as been getting worse to the point I now wear cloth diapers and plastic pants 24/7. Doctors says my bladder never fully empties so I always feel like I need to go. If I am near a bathroom I can hold it for maybe a few minutes when the urge hits so I can stay un-diapered at home if I want but for the most times I do not feel protected without diapers so I just keep them on. My wife is very supportive and that makes thing much easier to handle.

My wife has non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver from diabetes, she has very little trouble with incontinence and then only when sneezing/coughing.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 17. I was never a bedwetter growing up. I did however suffer a prolonged period of Diabetic Ketoacidosis before I was diagnosed, and had some wetting problems during that time. Once I started the insulin things seemed to return to normal for a period of about 8 years. My blood sugars were mostly good during those 8 years but there were some times of complication. At 25 years old I started having a few bedwetting accidents, since then they have only become frequent and I have had daytime accidents as well. I wear diapers every night to bed and I usually wake up wet 90% of the time. Although there are times where I don't have a dry night for months on end. I also carry around a backpack with a couple of diapers and wipes for the daytime just in case, which I've had to use on many occasions. My first doctor said that once my A1C's got better it would correct itself. Well, it didn't. My A1C's have averaged between 6.5 and 7.4 for many years now. I changed doctors and he seems to think it is neuropathy, much like the rest of you all. He thinks it is probably going to be an ongoing problem for the rest of my life. So I'm not sure I can say it's common, but all I can say is it's happening to me and others here.

Although this is an old post, I have relevant input as well. I'm a female in my late 60s. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes 9 years ago after a stroke. I outgrew childhood bedwetting @age 9, but had a permanent relapse in adulthood @age 25. After my stroke my adult bedwetting went from random, intermittent and isolated wet nights with light-to-moderate volumes a few times a year (20 or so) to nightly, high-volume and usually multiple wettings. I also developed minor bowel incontinence 3 years ago. I have long-term Irritable Bowel Disease (diagnosed 30 years ago), so the nerve damage and IBD play off one another.

I didn't have daytime accidents in childhood or adulthood prior to my stroke and Diabetes diagnosis, but I've had them since. I wear absorbent underwear 24/7. Diabetes causes an increase in urine output, and also causes nerve damage. My stroke caused nerve damage as well.

W.