www.incontinentsupport.org

This morning I had the follow up after the tests a couple of months ago.

The urology consultant basically said that I have a couple of options. I can either grin & bear it and just live with it, or I can elect for Botox or maybe even a more invasive procedure such as surgery.
He told me he couldn't tell me what to do as that's my choice, but he did say that 'grin and bear it' isn't that bad and that if I'm already living with pads and they aren't causing me any major problems, no one would blame me for just living with it.
I think he was suggesting the just live with it approach, without 'telling me' what to do.

I really don't want Botox, it sounds unpleasant and like it could lead to more issues. I also don't want surgery so I might just have to accept that from now on I'm the guy who wears nappies for the rest of his life...

Years ago I opted for the Botox injections, followed by sphincterotomy surgery, and now I too must live with it. Whatever you decide, eventually you will have to learn to live with it. And, incontinence is so pervasive, so widespread, with so many folks having to deal with it, although you may think that you're the only guy who wears nappies, (diapers) the reality will be that you are far from alone.

I have looked into the possible surgery or Botox solutions as well. If any of it worked, to my knowledge, it was just temporary for about 8 months or have to have multiple treatments to try and fix me. That would also mean multiple days off of work and being in pain for a while. The long term side effects of the medication are Dimentia. I’m going to talk to the urologist soon and see what he says, but I have pretty much made up my mind on just wearing diapers. No one can tell and I can still relax and enjoy life.

Drew81

My advice is to live with it. If you can avoid surgery or medical procedures you should. This is advice from a retired registered nurse.

_________________
RetiredRN

Like yourself, I am a relatively young person with urinary incontinence (I'm 40). Since my diagnosis some years ago (chronic prostatitis), I have explored both pharmaceutical and surgical options. Thus far, I have chosen to "grin and bear it," to use your words. GPs and urologists have both affirmed me in this decision. My last GP described my decision to rely on pull-ups as a "conservative" approach. My current GP recently wrote: "You are managing your condition well." From my point of view, the bladder medications have been called into question by recent research that proves that they have harmful side effects. Surgical options, for me, just seem too drastic. I was relieved when my doctors did not push me toward aggressive interventions. At the same time, I am nowhere near at peace with any of this. I have told very few people. A couple of those disclosures have been ok experiences. One was very awkward. Because of this, I have always been pretty much militantly secretive about my issues. I find that getting older does seem to help. Now that I am over forty, I am less of an outlier than I was in my early thirties.

Thanks all. The more I think about it the more I think I'll just live with it. It's not ideal but it saves taking days off work and the pain and possible complications. At the moment the only complication I have is a bit of chaffing in the groin area which has to be better than the possibilities of the problems with Botox or surgery.



Thank you. This is pretty much the decision I've come to.