Awful stress incontinence and violent cough

[NCTDN]

I am 51 and suite with stress incontinence. I can usually come but after a bout of flu my cough is awful.
Whenever I cough I feel like I'm flooding myself. I'm using thick pads which seem to do the trick. The worst is when I'm driving and start coughing as there's nothing I can do. Usually I'll stand still and partly cross my legs.
It fascinâtes me where this wee is coming from though. I have literally just been to the toilet. Tried s best I can to ensure my bladder is empty then stood up. Coughed and a pile of wee came out

I reccomend asking for a referral to a pelvic floor physio as a start. In addition, things have moved on a bit from just doing pelvic floor exercises (the NHS is a bit behind on this). There are breathing exercises call Hypopressives (I found these helpful), and exercises that are basically core and glute strengtheners with integrated pelvic floor exercises, called Pfilates. You could also have a ‘pessary’ fitted in your vagina. I have one, it holds up your pelvic organs. Best to get the cough sorted, are you unwell, or could it be acid reflux? Are you coughing at night? Hope all this is helpful.

I'm 55 and have severe asthma and as a result I have a relentless cough. I'm wearing incontinence pads day and night.

When my asthma is well controlled it's not too bad but when I'm in an asthma flare it's horrendous.

I'm just like you, empty my bladder and 2 minutes later I cough and there's a gush of urine.

I know I should probably do something about it but I already have health issues that mean I have to keep having time off work.

I was thinking about posting something like this as, whilst I am usually fine having had some pelvic floor physio a few years ago, I have had a cough for three weeks now and have just had enough. It's as though the constant coughing means my pelvic floor has just forgotten what to do and so, when I was doing the jumping tracks in an exercise class yesterday, I was leaking when usually I can do that without any concerns.
In terms of where is the wee coming from, when I had pelvic floor physio, the physio therapist explained that there are a couple of small pouches/buckets which some of the wee pools in so, when I've done a wee and think I've finished, my bladder is empty but some wee is trapped in these little pouches only to get chucked out by unexpected movement like coughing or jumping. To reduce the chances of this, I have to wee and then tilt to one side, wait a few moments and then a trickle more comes out. Normally, I don't have to do that these days but am starting to do that again.

That explains why when I stand up after using the toilet I sometimes get a trickle down my leg.

Do you drink caffeine. I was struggling with this and I have quit caffeine and it has made a world of difference.

I could have written your posts. I've got long Covid cough and wear Tena pads. (I'm almost 60). I've just had a coughing fit and wet myself so badly it's soaked through my clothes and onto the sofa. It's awful.
(I also do the standing with my legs crossed if I need to cough!)

It does make me feel better to know that I'm not alone. I'm sick of feeling like I'm wearing a nappy!
Cough was awful from flu but not sore as bad now. In trying the tilting thing when I go for a wee.
The worst is definitely coughing when I'm driving as I just can't hold it in.

I’m also struggling with this OP. It’s awful especially as I seem not to tolerate pads (sensitivity and irritation) but I can’t manage without them.

The SANA pads at Aldi are a cheaper alternative to TENA.

All of the above posts could have been me. I wasn’t weeing all the time, but did have to pad up everyday because I couldn’t trust my own body.

Please go and get medical help. I’m so cross with advertising making the wearing of pads “normal”. It’s not normal to be always damp and paranoid. For years, I told myself occasional leaks were normal, a consequence of getting older and having kids.

I live abroad, in the EU and my gynaecologist (I’d only gone for a smear) examined me and immediately offered surgery. No messing about with “exercises”, pessaries or other time wasting interventions. I don’t think I would have got this on the NHS until I’d tried everything else.

I had the surgery and let me tell you, it’s life changing. No more paranoia about smell, no more having to remember pads, spare pads and “safety wees”. I feel fantastic, it’s taken years off me. Sex is better too. I’m 64 by the way.

Sorry but don’t put up with it, seek help early and if you can have surgery, take it. You won’t regret it.

Just to clarify, mine was cause by Cystocele and bladder prolapse. I also had a Rectocele, yay, hat-trick for me. The surgery was to correct all those at once - Colporrhaphy.

I don’t want to be alarmist but any or all of the above is not going to be fully rectified by non surgical means. Get checked, don’t suffer in silence and don’t enrich pad manufacturers!

Oh wow @Dobbyhorse What did the surgery entail ?

I most definitely don’t want to cause alarm. Since my late 40’s I was having little leaks and over the years the problem got worse. But hey, all those lovely ladies on the telly said it was normal and you just need to wear pads or special pants and your life carried on as normal.

I went to the NHS Continence Advisor about 6 years ago and got given a programme to measure my fluid intake & output over 28 days. Useless, the point wasn’t how much was coming out, but that it coming out when it shouldn’t come out. In Waitrose FGS!

I would encourage any one with the slightest problem to seek help early and hope that with pre-emptive treatment they can avoid surgery.

The procedure I had was to repair the prolapsed front & rear vaginal walls and reposition the urethra. It was uncomfortable, not terrible though. Healing took 4-6 weeks, but honestly, the results are life changing.

Don’t accept it.

HTH