www.incontinentsupport.org

So I’ve been having urinary issues for quiet some time. I saw a urologist 8 years ago and was told I had no issues since I was so young. I dealt with it for another 7 years and went to see a different urologist. After seeing her she and telling her my symptoms, she says I have a form of overactive bladder and urge incontinence. I’ve been put on Flomax and really haven’t noticed anything different. I also recently had a cystoscope which hurt so bad. The doctor didn’t see anything g except that it was difficult to push the scope thru the prostate. I wear guards for leakage but don’t really like them. I feel like the bulge can be seen my others which embarrasses me. Would pull-ups be a better more discrete option. Being 37 years old is it possible to for my symptoms to get better with time or the other way around.

Depending upon the causes, there may very well be hope.

When I first became IC, my wife got me a package of guards. I did try them but I have never liked them (they just seemed to be too easy to get out of place).

I use the toilet during the day unless I'm away from home/shopping etc. So I find that pull-ups work for me most of the time. They fit like underwear and no one can tell. Most of all, they are up to the task, which has always given me confidence. When they may not be suitable is if you're a heavy wetter or have bowel movement problems (when that seems likely/possible, I switch to a brief (diaper)). I find that the TENA Extra can be bought on sale from the drugstores in Ontario, Canada on sale, which helps to keep the cost down.

Hey there Duramax,

My very first thought is you may have been destine to live a life of diapers seeing you are a Chevy guy. HAHA. sorry, couldn't resist.

In all seriousness, keep seeing your urologist. Believe me, EVERYONE here knows how much all the test suck. From cysto's to urodynamic test. Not to mention all the drugs and the insane side effects that come with them. My advice is to stick with it. I know it sucks but you need to find out what's going on and how best to treat it. If you don't like your current doctor, then find another. Remember, they work for you and if you don't like the service, you can take your business somewhere else.

As for using a pad or a "pull up", that's up to you. If you worry that the pad will leak or you are finding you are really giving the pad a soaking, then the pull on will be the next step. Just a heads up though, pull on's are a pain if you have to change while you are out. You have to remove your pants and most likely your shoes too to put a clean one on.

Be ready for a long journey while you and your doctors try to figure this out and just know you are not alone.

Rope

Thank you for the advise. So my symptoms are leaking before and after I go to the restroom. There are also times when I’m just sitting down on the couch and I get a tightening of some sort of muscle and it spasms which makes me leak. Blood was also found in my urine. A cystoscope was done to make sure I didn’t have cancer and the doctor didn’t find anything so that’s a good sign. Still trying to figure out where the blood is coming from. How do you deal with this. There are times I wish I wasn’t around just because it’s hard to wrap my head around the need to use and wear pads or pull-ups

Hi duramaxfan -

I was just thrown into I being incontinent. I fell down an escalator damaging nerves in my bladder (along with breaking my ankle in 4 places and eventually having 7 surgeries and then my leg amputated). I have a paralyzed neurogenic bladder. I still went through the tests and yea they sucked! I'm 44 and I was 37 at the time of my accident so I am still kinda young. One of my friends is also incontinent from an accident, another has ibs so his bowels can be kinda tricky. And my other friends are super understanding so I'm lucky in that regard. I have to wear tabbed diapers because my bladder fills and empties with no warning. Because of this I have large voids so pullups won't work for me. I wish they would but what can you do.

Welcome to the forum. Stick around its a great place.

I was a happy teenager enjoying life went to school as normal came home did homework went to bed as normal that night is when my normal life changed. Woke up in absolutely excruciating pain screaming the place down. Doctor called and diagnosed a diabetic attack was sent to hospital and ran tests this is where everything hit the fan. Rushed to surgery only just saved my life. I had a burst appendix and all the infection triggered septic shock (sepsis) and this caused irreversible damage that caused my incontinence. It was hard to adapt to all the changes that I had to make from hygiene, diaper changes, skin care, clothing choices, moving to the school private staff changing room for changes and shower after sports. All this madness so I could have a normal life that this was not my fault.