www.incontinentsupport.org

Struggle with the term? Me? No.... I wasn't "incontinent", just leaked a little now and then. And had to use the restroom multiple times a day. And get up often at night. But incontinent? Naw...
At least not until the wellness nurse called me as a followup to see how my incontinence was doing. *sigh* I guess that meant I am incontinent.
On with the next...

Scott

Thank you all for your help, guys......i guess I'll go with the incontinence light.....I have control and can make it to the toilet on time. It's just that I leak after for a while, sometimes a lot and sometimes a little, like I explained previously. Most times a pad/pull-up will do it but seems like I'm having a rough day with the leakage today.....I tried just a pad but only got away with that for about 2 hours before I soaked that and had to go back to a diaper........got my first appointment (long awaited) with the new urologist tomorrow.....I'll keep you all posted.....

Keep us informed PB... I have an appointment this Friday to discuss my issues. At this point I can handle the leakage. But I still want to be able to sleep through the night. And will be looking for an answer to that problem.

Scott

Ok, so I started off by telling him that he was the second doc I had seen because the first was an asshole. I also said, I'm not that hard to get along with either.....I would appreciate not leaving here with more questions than answers like i did with the other guy as well.....after that we got along great.....he listened and took notes, we looked through my chart from the other office and saw my test results that I wasn't allowed to see by the other doc.....he was astounded by the uroflow test......weak stream and 167 ml voided over 1min 5sec.....wow.....they said no residual but it wasn't documented anywhere in the chart and I don't buy it because I had quite an urge to go while he was doing the ultrasound. Anyway, this new guy seems great and didn't bat an eyelash when he saw I was wearing a pad and pull-up.....the other guy was like "what are you wearing that for?" So he gave me a prescription for myrbetriq.....we'll see....anybody got any insight on this stuff???? He also ordered a cystograph?? With IV contrast he said??? Anybody know about that???

PB&J32,

This thread totally caught my attention because I have been dealing with very similar (almost exact!) symptoms for some time now. I too struggle with the label "incontinent" because for me, I am able to hold it as well. I usually don't have to many problems making it to the bathroom either. It's just that I feel like I live in the bathroom because I am going all the time. And without fail, I leak majorly after voiding. It really was a wake up call for me about a year ago when I was in a public social setting having fun and had to run to the bathroom to make it on time. Fortunately I made it, but when I walked out, I noticed people looking at me funny and kind of snickering. Turns out the entire front of my pants was wet. It looked like I had a full on accident. I was mortified to say the least, and after that, finally admitted that my symptoms were not normal for a 30 year old.

In terms of urgency, I can understand that too. I find if I don't have anything to drink all day, and totally dehydrate myself, I urinate the "normal" amount. Say 5-7 times within a 12 hour period. This leaves me totally dehydrated, out of energy, headaches, etc... If I drink ANYTHING during the day, I'm right there with you 15+ times per day. Drives me crazy. Its so inconvenient and embarrassing. It certainly seems to come in waves (some days/weeks are better than others)... and is often made worse my work stress.

Like many on this board, I've found that using protection (pads, diapers, whatever you want to call it), makes life so much easier. So much less stress. I haven't tried any medication yet, because I've heard the side effects aren't too fun either. Although it was not easy to finally admit to myself in the beginning, I'm getting more and more comfortable with using protection. Fortunately, my wife is wonderfully supportive and doesn't even really pay much attention to the diapers. She'll ask about it occasionally in a supportive kind of way, and we even kind of have funny jokes between the two of us about it. Sometimes a little sense of humor about it all kind of takes my mind off it. But overall, I've found if I don't make it a big deal... and just put on a diaper and get on with my life... it makes it much easier for everyone

Best of luck to you!

Dd, sounds like our symptoms are pretty much the same. My wife is pretty supportive. She's an ER nurse so she's used to dealing with incontinence, but she says she's never seen anybody my age (32) with the problems I have.....I guess I'm a first for her, though it doesn't appear as though incontinence is very uncommon for people of ANY age. I wear diapers at home and in public, though they are usually overkill for my level of incontinence. I can usually get away with a pad/pull-up and sometimes even just a pad. I've been soaking through pads alone in the last couple days, which is disheartening......so the incontinence has been much worse in the last 3 days and I have actually been smelling like pee, which really grosses me out.......so I'm taking at least 2 showers a day to stay clean. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to get away with a pad alone which is my chosen protection when I am at work.....tonight I had to go to the hospital ER to get a Foley catheter inserted because of my frequency I had peed 15 times From 0800-1800 today......the worst I've experienced to date. I had to contact the urologists office for some other questions and I told them I was miserable. They referred me to the hospital ER

Thank You guys!! I really appreciate the support........still peeing 15ish times a day and leaking.......I still don't use the term incontinent, but I have come to grips with wearing protection, whichever protection the activities of the day dictate.

I am also struggling with being labeled "incontinent" is scares me to think of myself in this way I hope this will become easer in time. One thing I must admit though wearing diapers has helped recover a bit of my life.

PB&J32: your words and thoughts are just the same as mine, and the responses to your questions on this site are right on the mark in my view. I've been diapering up at night now for about four years and wetting heavily, but I don't need to get out of bed any more! I began leaking and spurting little amounts more and more when out and about, so I now wear either an Abena pad or a condom catheter during the day. If it's the latter, I have no problems-I just go. Back to your question: last week I looked at myself in the mirror and said out loud, I am incontinent, because I am! Sometimes to a lesser degree but I still need protection. Guess I feel a lot better about admitting it, and I simply wear what I must so I can pee indiscriminately and not worry about it.

Funny the stupid stigmas we have to wrestle with! And joining this forum and hearing from Rope, Puffy and others is such a comforting thing!

Thank You Jay Tee, it's funny, I have an easier time accepting the need to wear protection, than I do accepting the fact that I have incontinence issues. It's easier for me to say to people that I have problems with my bladder than it is to say that I'm incontinent, there's just a certain stigma that goes with that word that makes me feel funny about using it to describe myself.....every so often I go without protection for a while just to see how I do....without fail, I wind up with wet spots in my shorts after I use the bathroom......it's discouraging. But makes me realize I'm kidding myself that I can go without protection.......so I wear whatever protection I need to get through the day: pads, pull-ups, or regular diapers and I go on with my life as best as I can.....ps JayTee I am a fellow Mainer, welcome to the board....I'm from York.....I think we did some business on eBay a short time ago....