Incontinence

[raelake]

Hey everyone--

I was just diagnosed about 2 weeks ago, but I've had chronic pain for almost a year now. I've been to 6 different doctors, but haven't found any relief until I started the IC elimination diet.

I've been having less pain, so last weekend my partner and I decided to try having intercourse again for the first time in about 7 months. We had tried to once before then, but I was in so much pain that it wasn't enjoyable, and we decided to stop. This time, I had some pain during intercourse, but it wasn't as intense, and I didn't experience much soreness for the days that followed.

That was on Friday. On Monday, I was in intense pain and decided to take a bath. I used a teaspoon of baking soda in the water, and tried to relax.

When I got out of the bath and had dried off completely, I was looking in the mirror when I came to the realization that I was wetting myself. I didn't feel a particularly strong urge to urinate, and I had no ability to stop the flow. Initially I didn't even realize what was hapening.

I just had a urodynamic evaluation 2 weeks ago, and my doctor didn't find any leaking, even when we tried to induce stress on the bladder with coughing.

I'm confused about what caused this, and I'm still waiting for a response from my doctor. Has anything like this happened to anyone else???

It's very upsetting, especially since I was doing very well with the diet had less pain overall than I've experienced in the past year. As a (formally) athletic 20 year old, not being in control of basic body functions is really embarrassing and frightening.

I did a few things that weekend which I've not done for a while and may have contributed to a flare up: Hookah, sex, and I wore denim shorts on Monday which may have caused more pressure than the elastic band skirts that I've been wearing. But I've never had anything like this before--Please help!

[nevergiveup]

the possible causes

I pretty much cant wear denim cuz of the pressure but occasionally I do and yes the next day my bladder feels wieird and I pee alot. In ur case I think it was more the sex that caused the incontinence Dr Parsons has mentioned that after sex ic'ers get a flare. Maybe ur bladder was more irritated cuz of the sex for sum reason. Just continue ur meds drink lots of water and try to calm ur bladder down by fasting with out major bad foods in ur diet to let ur bladder heal again

[ICNDonna]

Have you been checked to be sure you don't have an infection working? If not, I think it would be a good idea.


Donna

[raelake]

Thanks! I guess my major concern is, is it a normal symptom for an ICer to have issues with incontinence? I understand going to the bathroom frequently, and the pain, but this issue of not having control over actually going to the bathroom is new.

I know that some people who have kidney stones sometimes have issues with this, and I'm trying to determine whether it's worth getting imaging done.

[raelake]

And yes, I've been checked several times regarding an infection, although not since having sex the last time. But I haven't been very susceptible to UTI's, none in the past 3 years, and I was very careful to go to the restroom immediately after sex and I washed off.

[cmclien]

Thanks! I guess my major concern is, is it a normal symptom for an ICer to have issues with incontinence? I understand going to the bathroom frequently, and the pain, but this issue of not having control over actually going to the bathroom is new.

I know that some people who have kidney stones sometimes have issues with this, and I'm trying to determine whether it's worth getting imaging done.

No, its not a symptom of IC. If its only happened once maybe it was just a, I don't know, fluke? Did you start any new meds or anything?

[raelake]

No, its not a symptom of IC. If its only happened once maybe it was just a, I don't know, fluke? Did you start any new meds or anything?

Thanks for the help!

I'm not taking any medication at all besides probiotics and birth control. I had a bad reaction to elmiron, so I am trying to monitor the pain with changes in my diet (I was a vegetarian for years, and ate lots of soy. Cutting that out of my diet has made a big impact).

My doctor is putting me on Vesicare, which is supposed to help with frequency and to help control urges for an overactive bladder.

[cmclien]

Vesicare

Thanks for the help!

I'm not taking any medication at all besides probiotics and birth control. I had a bad reaction to elmiron, so I am trying to monitor the pain with changes in my diet (I was a vegetarian for years, and ate lots of soy. Cutting that out of my diet has made a big impact).

My doctor is putting me on Vesicare, which is supposed to help with frequency and to help control urges for an overactive bladder.

My doctor put me on vesicare also to help with the frequency. It takes a few days but then it really reduces the number of times I go in a day. It also helps with what happened to you. I like it alot better then oxybutynin which I took for a couple years. It helps with pressure too, some of that heaviness goes away if you get pressure. Some people get retention so make sure you let your doctor know if its hard to pee after you take it. Luckily I do not so it has been very beneficial.

[jessicab]

Hi,

Reading this was like dejavu because the exact same thing just happened to me. I haven't been diagnosed with IC, but I suspect I might have it, and my bladder has been giving me trouble for months. However, for the past week I have been in constant pain, and on one of these days, i took a bath to relax. When I went to stand up and looked down, I realized I was urinating- but could not feel it at all.

I'm also 22 years old, and consider myself to be athletic, and found this a bit scary. The next day I went out and bought a UTI test kit, which was negative. The only thing I can think of is that the bath relaxed my bladder so much that I couldn't tell? If I find any better explanations, I will let you know.

[raelake]

Hi,

Reading this was like dejavu because the exact same thing just happened to me. I haven't been diagnosed with IC, but I suspect I might have it, and my bladder has been giving me trouble for months. However, for the past week I have been in constant pain, and on one of these days, i took a bath to relax. When I went to stand up and looked down, I realized I was urinating- but could not feel it at all.

I'm also 22 years old, and consider myself to be athletic, and found this a bit scary. The next day I went out and bought a UTI test kit, which was negative. The only thing I can think of is that the bath relaxed my bladder so much that I couldn't tell? If I find any better explanations, I will let you know.

I'm so sorry that this happened to you too, but I have to admit that I feel a bit relieved knowing that I'm not the only one! I was under the same impression that the bath must have relaxed my muscles to the point so that I couldn't feel it...I hope that things get better for you!