Exercise and stress incontinence

[SittingPetty]

Does anybody else struggle with this problem?

Having battled depression for years and finding the side effects of various medication too much, I’ve decided to take up exercise to improve my mood and health. It’s working brilliantly so far.

However, this issue is making me really self conscious and it’s knocking my self esteem. I’ve tried various different exercise classes but all have resulted in me pissing my pants essentially

Anyone got any ideas on what I can do to minimise or deal with it?

Have you been doing your pelvic floor exercises?
I had this exact problem and put it down to being unfixabe after being wrecked from two 10 pound babies.
Then I stared using ‘squeezy’ - the nhs app and after two days managed a bodystep and grit class with no accidents. Perhaps I’ve been lucky?
It’s a good app.

I go through phases of regularly doing pelvic floor exercises but I can’t really tell if they’re working. I don’t really suffer that much day to day but I’ve never done exercise classes before so this is something new and it’s so much worse than the usual tiny leakage I would get from, say, a sneeze. I'm sure I read somewhere that sit ups make it worse?

I will give the squeezy app a go though so thanks for the suggestion.

I wear sanitary towels as I can’t face buying Tena lady which helps with the embarrassment factor.

If you have any reason to believe your PF might be damaged in anyway, ie after giving birth, it may be worth seeing a woman's health physio. Stress incontinence may be a symptom of bladder prolapse. If so, high impact activities can cause further damage. Properly peeing your pants during exercise is not usually symptomatic of someone who just forgets to do their pelvic floor exercises regularly.

Best of luck

Snap Shenanagins! My biggest worry is that I smell like piss though, especially the martial arts class I go to as I’m in close contact with others. I wonder if Tena might help with that but It’s so undignified!

You may find it gets better with more exercise. I have some stress incontinence and jumping is an absolute no no for me! I can run though. For 26 miles actually lol I do leak a little while running (time of the month is worse...is that a thing???) and I wear padded period style underwear (I made my own) as pads are a bit chafy. I definitejy think my pelvic for is much better when I am running regularly. In fact I've had some time off due to injury and lost a lot of strength and I really noticed s difference! My go suggested cutting out caffeine and sugar to lower irritable bladder but stress incontinence will only improve with exercise.

I would recommend a trip to the go and also yoga or Pilates for some gentle strengthening.

Whenever I do an exercise class they always have bloody star jumps and there's just no way! I also usually visit the loo half way through 🙄

I’ve had three babies over 10lbs so I’d imagine my pelvic floor muscles are damaged and I do sometimes think I might have a prolapse. I’ll make an appointment with my GP.

Every time I go on a trampoline I remember why it's a bad choice. I pee myself, every time. So I try to avoid this, but the official exercises just don't work for me.

I’m reassured that it can get better with exercise motortroll. I hear you about star jumps too! One of the classes I absolutely love is trampolining but the star jumps get me every time.

Please do! And insist on a referral to gynaecology, as GPs don't always have great experience in this area.
I have prolapses of both bladder and bowel after birth damage. I'm on a total high impact activity ban as part of life long conservative management. And even things like sit ups can be really bad for you. I'm just getting back into very beginner Pilates now after 5 months of PT.

X-post Mum2Jenny. Yep, trampolining is definitely a difficult one for stress incontinence. Although I was thrown to the floor in my martial arts class, landed funny and promptly wet myself. That was a nice surprise

Yes, one of the delights of having children!! You pee yourself on a regular basis!

@Mum2jenny the exercises can be totally ineffective if you're not doing them quite right. Or if you're starting at a stage where your muscles can't cope. For months I had to do mine lying down for example - Doing them standing up was pointless as they just weren't strong enough.

Can't stress highly enough the benefits of a woman's health physio

Sorry to hear that Sar. Maybe I should look into something like Pilates too.

I’ve been googling having surgery done privately (I have other health issues that I’ve now given up trying to get proper treatment for through my GP - although I understand funding is usually the issue) but I’m reluctant to go for that option if I can sort this without going under the knife (plus the expense of it).

I find the same thing @sar302. If I attempt pelvic floor exercise standing or sitting up, I can’t feel my muscles responding at all but I can feel them a bit when I’m lying down.

It is u likely that you would be a candidate for surgery (either nhs or private) unless you have a prolapse which is severe ie organs dropping out through the vaginal opening. But PT can be very effective, and beyond that there is also the use of a pessary if needed.
I'm no way near a candidate for surgery, and I'm hoping with the right PT and exercise and conservative management, I will be ok for a long time. But it is restricting

@SittingPetty definitely GP time. I'm now doing my pelvic floors standing up and this is something I could never have done 6 months ago.

I use cloth pads designed for stress incontinence (and menstruation) for years and I've not had an issue with smell, though that may depend on how much you leak. Oddly, I only started leaking years after I was done having kids (right after I started having hot flashes, though I was still in my twenties)

It's been recommended to me to see a women's health physio and/or use pelvic toner device, maybe your GP has further recommendations.

@Runningbutnotscared did you pay for the squeezy app? I'm trying to work out which one is the nhs one. Thanks

@brassicababe yes, £2.99 I think. But then I did download it four years ago, it may have changed price since then.
Wish I’d used it then, could have saved myself a fortune in bodyform pads.