Incontinence problem

K

koolerthantim

New member
This is very embarassing and I don't quite know how to start, but honestly I have run out of ideas and I need to ask for some help!

This is the problem: I am 22 years old, and I had my first child (a daughter) 11 months ago (natural birth, no problems). During my pregnancy, despite the fact that I did my pelvic floor exercises very regularly, I began to have a big problem with bladder control. Probably I never had the strongest bladder in the world but it was never a problem before. By the end of my pregnancy I was literally leaking all the time - not just when laughing or coughing, but even just while walking or sitting down. Plus, I completely lost the ability to hold on. I would suddenly feel that I needed to go right at this minute, and wouldn't be able to hold on at all.

I thought that a few months after giving birth it would probably get better but - it hasn't. If anything it's actually got a bit worse. I'm leaking almost constantly and I can't get through a day without having a major accident - I have to wear pads all the time and I change several times a day but I'm still terrified that people will notice.

I really don't know why this has happened. I'm not overweight, I don't have any other health problems, I didn't have a traumatic birth or pregnancy. And it's just a horrible feeling to be 22 and incontinent!

I just feel too embarassed to talk to my friends about this, and when I went to the doctor they just said "do your Kegels and it will get better". Well, I do and it doesn't!

Please if anyone has any advice, can you share it with me? I really need help!

Thanks!
 
I had similar issues after the birth of my son 6 years ago. I'd asked my ob/gyn about it and he said I needed to cut down on caffeine and chocolate, practice kegel exercises. Doctor told me it was just part of getting older -- I was in my early 30s! It just got worse and worse. Not only would I lose control if I coughed, jumped, but sometimes I wouldn't get any urgency -- would just dribble out.

So I finally got brave enough last year and made an appoinment at the local clinic with an older FEMALE general practitioner. She ran tests to see if I had sugar or an infection in my urine. Explained that she COULD put me on medication; however, I'd probably have to be on it for life. I was tired of wearing pads, tired of worrying about accidents away from home... She also did an exam and discovered I had some prolapse from my pregnancy. Uterus pushing/overlapping into my bladder.

She wrote me a script for detrol LA and I felt immediately better. No more urgency issues, accidents. I can jump on the trampoline with my son and not wet myself. I wish I hadn't been so embarrrased.
 
Thanks for your help. So, do you think I should ask to see another doctor or something? Because, I explained to my doctor that this isn't just a little weakness that is brought on by exertion - it's actually got to the point where I can just be sitting doing nothing, with no urge at all and I just leak. And he told me just to carry on with the Kegels and be patient - but I am tired of being patient!
 
In my case, my ob/gyn pretty much told me I had to live with it. I'd already given up all but one cup of coffee in the mornings, practiced kegels til my eyes crossed, gave up alcohol... What finally did it for me was I was sitting outside trying to keep an eye on my son at the beach and kept having to run to the bathroom constantly. And once I wet myself while away from home with no urge -- just leaked out of me. I was at a friends house for a bbq and sorta clenched my thighs together while sitting outside on a lawn chair. MORITFYING! Thankfully nobody noticed.

I felt my original doctor just didn't undertand and I knew there was an older female doctor at the clinic. I figured she'd probably understand and I wouldn't be AS embarrassed. And as it turned out, mine was caused by a physical issue -- the minor prolapse -- but the medication (which is rather spendy) did take care of it for me. I didn't have a traumatic pregnancy either. But I immediately had issues with control but at the time figured I was just recovering from the delivery. But after 5 years of worry about wetting myself, being self conscious, I decided it was enought.
 
Well, I went to the doctor again today, and AGAIN they just said: "keep up with the kegels, don't drink coffee, etc" It's really getting me down and yet they make it sound like normal. On the way home (15 minutes walk) despite going to the bathroom before leaving the surgery I wet myself, absolutely couldn't hold on... And I thought, come on, this can't be normal. Or is it?
 
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