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Hi! I've been thinking I should post an update on my IC issues since it's been a while. From past posts, I've been dealing with urinary incontinence for over 2 years now, and started wearing diapers 24/7 last fall. In November, I had TUIP surgery to help my bladder empty more completely, which effectively removed my ability to hold it at all. Recent developments have shown significant improvement in some areas, with increased problems in others...basically, my bladder control is much better during the day, while I have, for the past several months, been having almost daily episodes of bowel incontinence.
I stumbled on a post where there was mention of a condition called "cauda equinus" which got me thinking about my chronic back problems, and wondering whether there was a connection. I sought treatment at a Spine Center, and after an MRI and exam, found that I have a severe case of spondylolisthesis. In my case, it involves my lumbar/sacral area, where one of my vertebra has deteriorated and become irreversibly displaced. Obviously, this puts unnatural strain on my spinal nerves and bowel incontinence is a common symptom.
Therapy has helped significantly with my chronic pain, as well as functionality and mobility. And while it hasn't helped with the bowel incon, I have managed to regain some control of my bladder - enough that by using timed voiding (as suggested by my wife) I have been able to go long periods without a diaper, as long as I'm VERY close to a restroom. While I still have to wear for any situation where there is not a bathroom available (long meetings, driving, etc), it does give me some time out of diapers and allows a bit of normalcy. Nights are still the same, and require a quality disposable covered by cloth and plastic pants, but I will happily deal with that if the daytime improvement continues.
As far as the bowel issues go, they tend to happen nearly every morning. My routine is to get out of bed and flood as soon as I stand up, go downstairs and grab a cup of coffee, and within anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour, I will have a BM. It just kinda happens with little or no warning. What is strange is I don't even feel any contractions or anything - more like a gravity flow, if that makes sense? I was devasated at first - while I expected the occasional bowel accident, I was not prepared when they started to get more frequent. At this point, it has become fairly routine, and clean up is much easier (thankfully, therapy has helped with my flexibility). Also, it is almost always a morning issue - before my wife gets up or I have to do anything around people. It has only happened at other times of the day a few times since it started. So looking for the positives, it could be much worse!
Thanks for letting me throw this out there. Posting here kind of serves as a journal of sorts for me.
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"When you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness. So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."
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