urge incontinence anyone?

[muttimalzwei]

I am suffering from urge incontinence, ie everything moderately in order down there (ie muscle tone not a major issue) but I get v little warning that I need to wee, which sometimes means I have to leave meetings or run off to wee. Embarrassing. Was on patches for it before I fell pregant. Son is now 1 year and it seems worse than ever and seems worst when I drink caffeine. Has anyone else got it? any advice?

I haven't had it myself but I am having pelvic floor physio for something else at the mo and would just encourage you to see your GP and get a referral.

There is so much they can do for this kind of thing and you do not need to keep suffering with this.

From what I know urge incontinence is when the bladder 'misbehaves' by contracting when it is not full giving you a 'desperate' feeling with no prior warning. I think it can be retrained with exercise and sometimes injections. I am sure there will be something they can do for you.

Good luck.

Ps Post again if you want more info on the pelvic floor physio although my problem is slightly different.

I just took my mum (75) for a thorough incontinence check up at the local hospital and she was diagnosed with urge incontinence. She has been given a medicine that stops the bladder from making a "sudden release". Maybe you can speak to your gp about it?

I am seeing a physio for urge incontinence after the birth of my 2nd child.

If you've never been to a physio before I would follow Muriel76's suggestion and ask your GP to refer you to a women's specialist for "bladder retraining". Basically training the bladder to hold on. Apparently the bladder works best when it's given a reasonable volume to hold on to. Unfortunately the more frequently you visit the toilet the more you have to go.

One of the general comments by my physio is that caffeine irritates the bladder so it's best to limit the amount of tea/coffee you drink.

There are plenty of drugs you can take to help- one of them is called Vesicare.

You can also try bladder retraining. Also, you need to watch what you drink- anything with caffeine is not going to help.

You might have a local free continence service in your area- look online/phone book?

Thank you very much for your help. Off to the docs tomorrow so fingers crossed

Hope you got on well with the GP! As the others mentioned, your GP should refer you to a Women's Health physio who, after a thorough assessment, will be able to give you lots of advice (fluid and caffeine advice, tips on deferring the urge and bladder training)and probably some pelvic floor execises too. Some of the medications do have unpleasant side effects (dry mouth etc) so it's best to give all of the exercises and advice as much effort as possible.

I'm 66 and have just had a bout of it but it also burned a lot when I peed. I had a UTI and was given antibiotics which cleared it up but I still get the feeling in my bladder that I need to go but no burning

@Rubberplant thank you so much for this:

Apparently the bladder works best when it's given a reasonable volume to hold on to. Unfortunately the more frequently you visit the toilet the more you have to go.

It has been a revelation!