Anyone had surgery for Stress Incontinence

[golfgirl79]

Hello
I'm 30 years old and just had my second child 5 months ago. A traumatic forceps birth, it has left me with severe stress incontinence... its so bad I am having accidents every time I stand up, walk, basically anytime except when I am sitting down still.

I am hoping to hear from anybody who has had surgery for incontinence. The doctors want me to wait another 7 months before I consider it. I really feel if it was going to get better, it would have by now... I have been seeing a physio and also using eletrical stimulation with no results... I am tired of my life being 'on hold' while I deal with this...

My uro-gynae says he has no doubt I will definitely need surgery, but to wait 12 months til after the birth to give my body a chance to fully recover... I just feel if I am going to have the surgery what is the point in waiting.

He is suggesting tvt, although I have read some horrible things about it. Keen to hear some success stories...!!

Also since I'm only 30, I am worried in a few years time my symptoms will come back (as the surgery doesn't last forever) and then I will have no further avenues, since surgery is sort of the last stop.

I'd love to hear from anyone who can give me any advice or offer personal experience.

This is the worst thing I have had to deal with and having this for the next 50 odd years scares the hell out of me.

Thanks in advance,
Golfgirl79

Thanks so much Muriel76. It really helps to know there are others out there though wish, there wasn't iykwim as I wouldn't wish this feeling on anyone.

I know exactly what you mean about feeling dirty. I feel disgusting most of the time, won't let dh anywhere near me and just spend my time worrying about how I feel and what things will be like when I'm older when I should be enjoying my lovely DCs. It doesn't help that I have the sensation of needing the loo / bladder being pressed on ALL the time so I can't even forget about it for a while.

How long have you been coping with it all? Do you find it stops you from doing things you would otherwise normally do. I try to carry on as normal but some days (like today) I just collapse in a hysterical heap with it all which puts dh in a bad mood so vicious circle really.

Just want to feel better and wish I'd had another csection with this one (silly me for going for VBAC)

OMG. I just dropped a stitch !!!!
nobody told me that was gonna happen!!

aycaramba i know exactly how you feel.... and i feel so annoyed and angry that i got conned into having a vbac... told it would be better for me and the baby, safer, natural etc etc etc... what a myth... i know there are lots of women out there that have v-births with no problems, but my god i never knew the horrendous things it could do to your body, and had i not been so naive, and if i knew that these things were even a remote possibility, then there is no way in a pink fit i would have entertaine the idea of a vbac....

i'm sorry but why aren't we pre-warned about this...? why is it that for a c-section you are told of the risks etc, possible complications - why is it that for a vbac or a v-birth, you aren't told of the possible after affects... wetting yourself or pooping yourself on a daily basis... this is madness and i am so so jaded and angry about the whole birth process.... i would go as far to say that from my experience, i do not believe in v-births..... one thing for sure is i will be telling my daughter about my experience when she is older and making her aware of what is at risk, so she can make an informed decision... i certainly don't think my decision was informed at all...

sorry, that was an angry essay way off topic...

just wanted you to know i have felt the same things you are talking about, and also worry about what my life will be like in say 15 years, when i am only 45, and my tvt surgery will possibly no longer be effective.... i wish i could stop myself from worrying about the future and what it means for me but i can't....

with my surgery in 4 weeks though i am feeling better about things.... i know this sounds odd and probably over the top, but i plan on LIVING after the surgery... for the past 6 months i haven't been living my life very well, haven't been able to do the things i enjoy, and have been preoccupied with this horrible condition.... if the surgery fixes things, or even greatly improves things, i am going to ENJOY LIFE.... i am sure i will feel like i have a new lease on life and i want to get out there and enjoy it, and enjoy my kids... does that make any sense??

for the first few months i wondered why i had had a second child, what was i thinking....? i kept being reminded that before my boy arrived, my life was better, more normal, and since his arrival it has all gone to hell.... i know it sounds awful, but he was like a daily reminder of how ruined my life and body was..... now 6 months on i am so in love with him and can't imagine my life before him.... i mean of course i loved him when he was born, but now i am completely in love with him regardless of what having him has done to my body....

i'm no longer making any sense i know... sorry.... what i mean is, i no longer relate him to what i am going through... does that make even a teeny bit of sense? he is just my beautiful boy and i he isn't connected to the hell i am going thru....

hope i may have made some sense.... sorry this was a long post, feel free to post in here please, i do not talk to my partner about what i am going through AT ALL, and i don't talk to my friends much about it either, as i feel they don't know what to say, or avoid saying anything, so online is the only place i let it all out....

looking back to the first few months dealing with this i would say without a doubt i was suffering from a severe form of depression as a result of it.... but now things are brighter.... i suppose its a bit sad that i have adjusted to this awful way of life, but i guess i have.

I'm lucky that it does not stop me doing anything really. Going to the loo can be a bit of a marathon tampons are a pain to put/keep in and sex too is all about angles....but at the end of the day I am luckier than a lot of ladies with the condition. I do want it sorted out tho.

My DH tries his best with it, which basically involves pretending he cannot notice it and continuing as normal, which I guess in many ways suits me as it's difficult to live with enough without him agreeing about how awful it is or something!

I would feel the same as you and golfgirl about c-section versus vaginal birth. Natural birth is for many women (IMO) a bit of a let down and for some a complete horrible shock leaving you wondering 'why didn't anyone tell me it would be like that'. I would be extremely angry to be talked into a vbac without being told the worst potential outcomes of a normal delivery.

My first birth was really dreadful - I could not believe how bad it was, a total shock to the system in ever sense!

Muriel quite agree with you re: large babies and v birth, mine were 10lb10 and 9lb13 (last one was an elective early c section as 1st v birth was fecking horrific)
I wish there was a way to tell consultants etc that "I grow big babies, give me a c-section, stop faffing about saying I'll be fine" as my body is quite obviously knacked after that first birth!

Did you ladies who had the bladder sling surgery have a bladder cam test first? Where the doc fills your bladder up with water via a catheter, to test the strength of your bladder, then looks around your bladder with a camera? I did, and had an allergic reaction to the skin antiseptic, which took a month to heal, with the use of a steroid cream.
The doctor has never suggested anything, other than doing kegel exercises the first time I saw him. He did the bladder cam 6 months later and then told me no amount of kegels will help and recommended having the bladder sling. And to keep doing kegels, only 10 at a time as to not tired the muscles. Before the test he wanted me to do a lot of them.
My friend had a bladder sling done, and it helped her a lot.

I am 54 and don't think I could use anything like Activgard, as my tissues are fragile. Probbaly due to my age, and menopause. I did have a hysterectomy when I was 40.
I have not booked it yet as I hoped to try and loose 20 pounds, and see if that would work. Feel a bit nervous about it.

Can I ask anyone who's had a TVT how long it took for tissues to heal?
I ask as it's been 2 weeks for me, all seems to be healing fine so far, but there are definately still stitches in there.

TMI alert!!
It all feels wrong though, like there's a bandage still there, and rough and flabby and wobbly

How is everybody doing?

i am still patiently waiting for my surgery.... this time in 3 weeks i will have my tvt done....

how are you??? does it feel better yet?

I feel ok, there's no more stitches dropping out anyhow!
Sneezed this morning...and no leak!

Have just found this thread and thought I'd add my bit as had the op 11 days ago.

I found the actual operation fine and experienced a few aches but pretty much felt fine afterwards.

However, at the moment I have terrible urge incontinence - when I need to go I need to go and if I don't get there I leak which is way worse than before the op. Plus I'm going much more frequently - probably ever at hour at least and pretty much feel I could go all the time if I let myself. I have no idea at the moment if this going to improve or has the op failed????

Plus it feels very hard and lumpy inside my vagina (sorry - tmi!!!) and although I know there will still be stitches I'm worried this isn't normal.

So all in all I'm quite despondant at the moment and hoping things will improve in the next weeks before my 6 week check-up.

Hi Yorkshiremum, I know what you mean about being lumpy!! I'm almost a month after having it done, the leakage has calmed down considerably but definately still lumpy. I don't get a check up til November, think I should get it seen?
Bloody sick of people poking about down there now :)

November seems quite a long way off HinnyPet, my check-up has been arranged for 6 weeks after.

Can I ask were you leaking after the op or just before? One day I think things are better than before then I have a mad dash to the loo and leak a bit and wonder why I bothered!!!!

Know what you mean about being poked about - after 3 kids and now all this I think I've lost any shyness I had and wonder why I used to stress about a smear test in my younger days!!!!!!

Hi ladies, hope you don't mind me jumping on board! I had my surgery 2 wks ago today - TVT and anterior and posterier prolapse repair! The works!! I've read through all the other posts and wish I knew I wasn't suffering alone a long time ago.
No problems so far post op. cant feel the tape, though I know exactly what Yorkshiremum means about being lumpy!!!! Good luck everyone on your future surgery

hey everyone, just popped in briefly before we're off again to visit Grandparents (busy summer hols this year). Really pleased to see how this thread just keeps running and running. It's great to hear from all you ladies how your surgery is going as it gives us others an idea of what to expect. When I first looked for TVT back in 2007 there wasn't much on here. I hope everyone's "lumpiness" goes soon ... I guess it's just bruising and inflammation that will go down as you recover?? Anyhow, thank you all for sharing and I'll be back in sept!

Hi everyone,

I have been suffering from incontinence for last 4 years though its not severe. Its only when I cough and sneeze. Should I plan for second child in this case?

Hi Aastha,

My problems started after I had my 1st child and I went on to have a 2nd and 3rd which didn't make my problems any worse.

I decided to get my family and then sort out my "issues" as surgery is not really an option if you are intending on having more children I think.

well my surgery is tomorrow (thursday).... i have been so stressed trying to get organised for it, having the house clean, food in the fridge, getting all my work up to date at work, clean clothes in the wardrobes etc....

my worst fear is that it doesn't work and tomorrow i am no better off than i am today.

i am going to miss picking up my baby boy so much... i am going to stay with my mum and dad with the kids for a week or so until i am feeling a bit better... i have been warned not to do ANYTHING for a few days, well besides walking etc, but no bending down, reaching up, no hanging washing etc etc.... no lifting my little boy and certainly not my 3 year old girl.

anyways i will have to manage the best i can and if the surgery works then it will all be worth it.

only time will tell....

wish me luck :)

hey golfgirl
that's great that you are staying with your parents for the week ...lots of help with kids etc! best of luck for tomorrow and let us know how you get on over the next few weeks.

hi guys
so far so good
have been in a bit of pain but its only day 2 and i think it is getting better...
the best news is, so far, i think i am dry... well maybe 95% dry.... i can't be certain as it is a bit hard to tell while my tummy is so sore and i am walking a bit guarded, if you know what i mean...
but it is a VAST improvement already.... i have gone from not even being able to stand up without wetting my pants, to being pretty much dry!!

i am so hopeful things continue well.

didnt have any voiding issues whatsoever, which i was worried about, as the thought of self catheterisation was really scary to me.

did 250ml on my first try, then 350ml on my second try... for the past 8 months i have only managed 100mls or less. so huge improvements there too.

so far i highly recommend! can't wait for the bruising and tenderness to settle down, which i think will only take a couple more days as it feels a bit better already.

i am so relieved and praying i can wear knickers again without pads, i haven't been game to try just yet.

Teach the children to climb onto the sofa next to you & then onto your knee for cuddles

hi golfgirl
really great to hear you are doing so well.

i might have spoken too soon.... i seem to have urge incontinence, which i possibly had before the tvt but am not sure....

for example something will trigger it, like i will be feeling fine one moment, then have my hands in water and suddenly it is too late, i am peeing my pants!! quite horrible but still an improvement on how i was before.... i think i have been trying to hold off going to the toilet trying to make my bladder wait longer, when in fact i should just go when i want to go and worry about re-training the bladder down the track more...

it definitely feels pyschological though, its bizarre... it also happens when i am on the way to the loo, walking towards loo i am fine, as soon as i see it its like i can't get there fast enough, and sometimes i make it othertimes its a wee accident (pardon the pun)... anyways i suppose its all trial and error working things out...

as for the stress incontinence it has helped i'd say 95%.... its awesome at least having that under control.

oh no!the urge incontinence sounds strange. no doubt you'll have a follow-up v soon with your gynae so hopefully they will shed some light on what's going on. I'd hazard a guess that it is still early days and everything is oversensitised down there? (but i'm non medical, so that could be a rubbish guess!), Def get it checked out, which i'm sure you will!

Hi i am new on here. I had tvt surgery last Monday 6th September and was looking online for information about recovery and found this thread - it has made me feel I am not alone. I am 37 I have two kids aged 10 and 4. My stress incontinence started after i had my son who was 9 pounds 4 ounces and I had to have an episiotomy but it actually got far worse after my daughter who is 4 now and weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces but she was in transverse lie position and harder to deliver than my son. I had physio after my son they said then i may need surgery but to wait until I had finished having children. When i was referred to physio again last year the physio said she couldn't do anything for me it was too severe I needed surgery.

I have a slight prop lapse too but the surgeon decided not to operate on that at the moment as it was the stress incontinence that was my real issue. I had to wear pads every day couldn't run, cough lift or sneeze without leaking. I have had a few mortifying occasion when I have had a coughing fit and wet myself through. To my trousers visibly once at work in front of a client and once when out for dinner with my hubby even though wearing a pad. My incontinence was classified as severe and when i had the uerodynamics test I broke down in tears when i had to show the nurse what happened when i coughed.

I think the op has improved things i am finding the recovery hard as am used to just getting on withthings. I can't really do anything around the house and can't walk very far. My stomach is swollen I can't get any of my trousers on does anyone know how long this will last? I get so tired. Yesterday was my little girls first session at school she wanted me to go with her it was only for an hour half of which i spent sitting on the teachers chair but I had to spend the rest of the day in bed and i went as white as a sheet.

Sorry to waffle on just had no one to discuss this with. I've been too embarrassed to tell my work colleagues and people what my op was for I've only told my hubby obviously, my brother and my boss.