I smell (urine incontinence)

[EmbarrassingThing]

I'm 32 and pee a lot.

Obviously I change my underwear daily but by the night (and usually earlier) they are soaked through to my outerwear

I can't wear pos a few nights in a row

My urine is very strong too and I can smell it

I'm sick of it.
GP is useless. Just tell me to do kegals.

Youngest is 6 so not a recent problem.

It's very embarrassing

Anyone else found something that helps?

Also I've been ill recently so been coughing a lot and I pee a bit with every cough :(

Best first port of call is a specialist physiotherapist. They are often called ‘women’s health’ or ‘pelvic health’ physio’s and they work in the NHS and privately.

A good one will examine your pelvic floor and give you a bespoke pelvic floor exercise programme. This may or may not include gadgets such as electro therapy. (They do make gold plated probes for buckle allergy sufferers by the way). They can also help you with bladder training and refer you for further tests (such as urodynamics) if necessary.

Physio works 85% of the time, but in cases where it doesn’t work, seeing a urologist or gynaecologist might help.

Agree with PP that cloth pads may be a good alternative. Check out minivivi, their absorbency rates are very good despite being ultra thin.

A third of all women have urinary incintinence. Very common but not normal and you don’t have to live with it.

The Squeezy app is great for reminding you to do your exercises:

apps.beta.nhs.uk/squeezy/

Good luck x

EmbarassingThing ignore the Troll Hunters, people keep posting ‘Don’t post on this thread’ type thing, it’s ridiculous, they’re valid questions & this thread will help at least one genuine person, so what if it gives someone something to wank or laugh over. They’re the ones with sad fuck lives, let them get on with it.

mortifiedmama. What did your physio do/say?

Guacatrole That’s Gusset Grippers... Elaine Miller. Very funny and inspirational Pelvic Health Physio.

Aldi do good pads They are much cheaper than Tena. Or you can get pads from home bargains or savers cheaper then other places.

I’m ok most of the time but coughs and colds are awful. I find tea makes by bladder really irritated so I don’t drink it. I drink red bush tea. I’m ok with coffee tho.

She was very funny but certainly not the expected topic for a comedy show!

When you risk upsetting a real person it’s always better to ask MN rather than risk making someone even more upset by calling troll

ILoveChristmasLights she did an examination which included testing for nerve damage. Inserted a finger to test my strength. Took a detailed history. I then had to keep a 3 day fluid diary of what when in, volume type and time and how much came back out and what time. It meant designating a measuring jug for bathroom use and not going out for 3 days!

At my next appointment we looked at the diary.

Turned out my biggest issue was that my pfm's (pelvic floor muscles) were in constant spasm and as a result were very tight. I didn't have full range of movement. My next few sessions were her stretching them out. It was painful and she basically spent the whole session fingering me we got very close! By the third session we'd just chat about TV or holidays etc. It became as normal as the hairdresser's or supermarket checkout! Each session I had to do relaxation and stretching exercises at home in between. It was mainly external stretching and breathing exercises and reverse pelvic floor exercises.

After a few sessions of stretching we started on strengthening. They grade your strength in scale of 0-5. I was a 1 before stretching, stretching brought me to a 1-2 and 6 months of strengthening exercises got me to a 3-4. I'll never be a 5 my pfm's are too damaged and my nerves are too.

Once I've had baby I'll go back to her. She was amazing, changed my life.

As for the fluid diary, at the beginning I was taking in 2-3 litres a day in half-1pint volujescat a time and urinating out 150ml a time 10 or more times a day (plus leaking).

After my course of physio I could hold up to 650ml, which is a good volume.

Some posters call every one a troll, I’ve been on MN 13 years and twice I’ve been called a troll and I was genuinely asking for advice.

Guacatrole is relaxes the bladder muscles. Stops them spasming all the time and you don't feel the constant need to wee. It's not a permanent solution (needs repeating) and can cause side effects.

I'd rather give information on a thread like this to help others in need (the OP or others searching) and risk a troll than not discuss it and have someone feeling as depressed and ashamed as I was.

Pilates

Pilates

Pilates

Honestly it’s changed my life. Earlier I could tell I needed a wee but was setting the dinner table. So I held it. And then I needed to sneeze.

6m again I would have had to change my pants and trousers.

Today, no leaks at all. Sneezed. Held it. And didn’t immediately rush to loo either.

Life changing.

Pilates!

6m ago I mean

I would repeat the advice to buy washable pads. (And of course the other advice to do exercises. I also find that if I don't eat sugar, my wee doesn't smell as much but I suspect I have an issue with sugar. Worth trying as an easy incentive to reduce sugar.)

I believe you can use reusable sanitary towels ( I have honouryourflow ones) for incontinence too. Might be worth checking out

It's possible to give advice without sharing detailed anecdotes. Unfortunately MN does have a regular troll who seeks out these kinds of stories for nefarious purposes and while some have no problem with sharing their stories anyway as they may help genuine posters and readers (which is fair enough of course) others may do. I don't think there's anything wrong with reminding people that some posters - or even just readers - may have an ulterior motive.

for you OP - I'm sorry you're struggling with this and hope you find a solution which is effective and comfortable for you. For what it's worth, I second Pilates.

I buy my pads from amazon, have them on a monthly order. Hoping to shift some lard this year to help

I bought some pads from Amazon and they were in a brown box but it described proudly exactly what they were! Even more embarrassing I was not there to take them in , a neighbour took them in for me!

Night times are worse for me and that is when I wear either the pants or very bulky incontinence pads. Just getting out of bad can saturate them. I have diabetes and high blood pressure and am several stones overweight so I guess it is no surprise.

Most doctors have no interest but one did say that long term I would need to keep a diary and then go reguarly to a clnic.

At the moment I have a cold so am dribbling for England!""

sympathy to all suffering ,I had an op which luckily fixed my problem but I remember how degrading and horrible it was .

I would add ,to all helpful advice above ,when using pads make sure that your knickers are close fitting and keep the pad snug agaonst your body .

but I'm really posting to offer huge sympathy to @mantlepiece that sounds utterly miserable ,failed ops and doubly incontinent .You sound very stoic .