Bladder retraining for incontinence - anyone else had to do this?

[VoluptuaGoodshag]

Apparently I have a dodgy bladder. It's very common and is basically the bladder contracting when there is the tiniest amount of urine in it meaning I want to wee all the time and sometimes just wet myself and have no control over it.

The bladder retraining involves drinking lots more water (great ) to expand it and dilute the urine.

Anyway, I've been trying this for a few months now without much success. It's unsurprisinly worse when I'm constipated.

I was put on a tablet that seemed to work but it made me too sleepy thus too grumpy coz I was tired all the time.

Anyway weird thing was, I had a whole weekend away which involved a long drive (5 hours) there and back to a friends and never once had a problem. Didn't even need to stop for the loo.

I'm convinced it's to do with anxiety and generally having no me time with two 'full-on' kids around.

Just wondering if anyone has gone through this with any success???

God I hope no-one actually knows me in real life

Suggest you look at this site and maybe join- see the message boards- you'll meet lots of others who can give you advice.

www.cobfoundation.org

how interesting about it not affecting you when travelling

I had 2 children v close in age (just under 15 months apart) and afterwards, I found that I had to go for a wee a lot more often.

So I was waking up in the night and having to go and a lot of the time it would feel very urgent iykwim.

I had to completely retrain myself. I found that I had the bladder capacity of my toddler and found that I was going about as often as she was (it was useful for potty training because I knew if I was desperate, she must have been too ).

I checked it wasn't something like diabetes then also went through a process of retraining. I had to drink more and try and hold on longer. It actually took a fair amount of time and it was a bit annoying and uncomfortable tbh.

But it did work and I now don't wake up needing a wee in the night any more! I'm still careful about drinking too near to bed time though but even that has got substantially better.

Btw, there was something on embarrassing bodies about this the other day. They injected botox (I think it was) into a woman's bladder as her bladder had got stuck in a contracting state. If that's the case with you, it might be worth asking for a referral.

Though I suspect the fact that you know you can do it is a good thing (re the journey) and perhaps you should try and see it in a positive light.

Good luck!

was there anything different about the weekend, such as avoiding caffeinated drinks?

Botox is used as the last resort for over active baldder. It paralyses the muscle. Side effects are it can cause retention. OP_ you might find the link I posted very helpful...

at this stage what you need to know is- do you have overactive bladder? Training it to hold more can sometimes work- or you might need drugs such as Vesicare or similar.

There's alot of helpout there via your GP or some towns have continence clinics where youc an self-refer- look in your Yellow pages etc.

During the weekend I probably drank more alcohol and caffeine than normal!!

I'm going through a difficult patch at the moment (very ill father) and have had a significant moving of house (to another town, another life) so things have been a bit stressful.

I feel that I've hardly had a minute to concentrate on me and my needs. I will keep trying. I am attending an incontinence clinic at the moment (they eventually suggested the drug - can't remember which one) so shall keep drinking the water and holding on with crossed legs. Hopefully once this stressful period is over I'll get on top of it.