Problems with incontinence

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I wasn't really sure where to put this but since this is the health and fitness section I figgured I'd put it here. I've had off and on bladder problems since I was about 14, and it's been progrressivly getting worse. I potty trained late (I was almost 5, just barely made it to Kindergarden) and my childhood is spattered with embarassing accidents. I was wondering if this could have anything at all to do with AS.

From about 8 to 14 I was preaty much ok, until I started wetting the bed on a regular basis. Sometime in highschool, I started having daytime accidents and now at 30 I preaty much have to wear protection at all times. This is something I'm fairly embarassed about, and I was wondering if it might have to do with my AS, or if anyone else has had similar problems.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Have you seen a doctor about this?

I ( aspie) sometimes wet my bed until I was about 9, and also had some massively humiliating larger scale accidents in public/social situations until I was 11. But since then not really experienced a problem.

My 8 year old AS son only stopped daytime nappies aged 5, and night time ones at 6.

Is it because you don't feel it coming at all, or because you can't get to the toilet fast enough, ie: you feel it too late? Is it because don't know how to use the muscles to hold it in?

It sounds like a nightmare. Sorry can't help with advice. Have you googled the problem?

Wikipedia has: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinary_incontinence

It sounds quite optimistic about the chances of treatment ( timed voidance, biofeedback, muscular exercises etc) solving the problem.

Good luck.

I've seen many doctors, and been put on many medications, none had any effect. My last doctor suggested that it may be psycological.



I've actualy gone through all of those stages. In Highschool I just couldn't make it to the bathroom in time, later I just wouldn't feel it until it was too late. Now, my bladder muscles just won't do what I want them to do.

Have you tried the timed voidance approach? That sounds the best if have no control/sensation/signal at all? ( going every 3 hours or so, though it would be a serious pain to have to organise )

I'm really sorry; the wiki page makes recovery sound easy, at least fairly certain. What about the feedback-training to get a handle on some kind of signal for it and learn control of the muscles?

I am not surprised you thought it might perhaps be an AS thing seeing as poor proprioceptive system development is often an AS thing.

I just found an article/paper about "ataxia", and related conditions, including an "apraxic" gait, ( i loathe these ugly medical terms), and ... mentioned in connection with frontal lobe ( as implicated in so much of AS ) disorders/impairment/damage is incontinence.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dons/part_2/chapter_15.html ( about 3/4 of the way down the page, it's a short piece)

Don't know if is useful, but might convince your doctor that is not psychological anyway.

PS: I'm not suggesting that you have problems with gait/walk, just that a link is made here between the frontal lobe and incontinence, and the frontal lobe is prime mover in AS.

I have to wear protection, but for a different reason. I have the other type of incontinence, like Sid.

As a child, I had an intense fear of bathrooms. I would pee my pants rtather than go in one.

As for you, have you heard of Kegel exercises? If not look it up, it would help.
That, and making a point to regularly use the closest bathroom, wether you think you need to or not.

Go see a urologist (preferably female) who can help you. I don't think this problem is an AS problem but a big problem that affects millions of women. I have an overactive bladder and IC (interstial cystitus) which makes living very challenging at times. I have tried Detrol and others meds which helped me for about one year. I'm now on Sanctura which cuts down on the frequency but does nothing for the incontinence. I finally switched to a female urologist and she did more for me in the first visit than my other urologist of 2 years did. If you have IC or not you can try a diet approach. They usually have handouts which tell you to avoid certain foods for a week then try another food (caffeine is my biggest problem, next was citrus fruits) If those don't work and meds don't help you can practice Kegal exercises or go for an hour long test which measures your bladder capacity and they can look inside to see if there are any irritated 'things' in your bladder. I 'm going for that test right after Memorial Day and will probably elect to have a 'sling' put in surgically since I've had 2 kids and she noticed my uterus dropped a bit. But definitely purpose it with your gyno or a urologist who is familiar with female anatomy.
Good luck!

I don't think it has anything to do with AS, but that is pretty horrible...

My mother used to brag to pepole frequently that she had me compleatly toilet trained before I turned a year old. Ten years ago I had emergency gall bladder surgery and my situation did a "180". For one thing, the loss of this organ seemed to change the way my system processed the foods I eat. I now have rapid onset of urge to deficate and have been using pull up diapers when I'm out of the house for extended periods where I may not be close to a bathroom. This never really happened pryor to losing my gall bladder. I've met others that definatly don't have AS that experienced similar problems after their procedures. As for urinary issues, I was fitted with a Foley (indwelling) catheter for a very long time following that surgery. I'm not sure if it traumatised my uretha or sphincter, but now I have the "dribbles", even when I'm dead certain I've finished voiding. Fortunatly the residual volume is small enough that I can wear a condom to catch it, so that's how I've remedied that part of the situation. Even though I often wear pull ups for the other reason, I still don't like dribbling urine in them. I can get condoms free and carry a few in my pocket and just roll on a fresh one each time I urinate. Obviously this won't work if you're a female, but there are still appliance options and a medical supply place might have some good suggestions. However getting something "invasive" like an indwelling catheter might require a prescription. Males can get an external roll on catheter and bag that fits under pants without doctor's orders though, at least in the U.S. I buy these, tape them on and wear them on roadtrips or sometimes when I go out to the bar to "tie one on", as they can hold several hundred C.C's of urine, unlike the condom which will "pop" if it gets too full. I usually buy these appliances in bulk from eBay sellers.

Hey, is anybody here familiar with this device? I've never seen it offered for sale in the U.S. yet, but it looks like something that might work for me when I doing contact sports which is the most frequent cause for deficating in my pants...
http://www.surgicalhouse.com.au/Default.aspx?et=2&ei=47&mode=browse&catID=30163&prodID=1596

I have had problems with overactive bladder and urge incontinence most of my life. It used to be a major source of angst for me, but I've learned to accept my need for diapers and just get on with my life.

I wet the bed until 9 or so, and had to take pills for it before that. I have extreme urgency to urinate all the time, but I also have aldosteronism (a hormone problem that has similar symptoms to diabetes, including huge water appetite and constant urination). I don't think AS has any bearing on my issue, but it could, I guess. I don't have accidents, but I might have only a few minutes warning and need to go find a tree with a big trunk. If I don't, my bladder gets really painful, and I start sweating and trembling.

Charles

I have been incontinent [urinary] life-long. I read somewhere that there are some neurological links. It is just part of my life and I do my best. I would say the only problem my AS causes is when I am in my own world all the time, remembering to change nappies when needed, aside from this, I think I cope very well and I am happy to find this thread and know that I am not the only one with this kind of problem.

i was 39 when a drunk driver murdered me. stupid doctors kept me alive so.....i became incontinent for about two years. best i can tell, my groin was hyper-extended and damaged various nerves. also causes impotence. hard not to commit suicide during a long dark period.

had no idea what a problem incontinence could be. i was using chairs and then crutches then canes so that made the whole situation all the worse. i finally got to where i just did not care.

then, for whatever reason, it ended. really quick. i really feel fortunate.

long story leads to, if you've had an injury that could've involved nerve damage, that could be an answer to 'cause'. you may not even know it, if it happened very early on. i've had lots of nerve conduction tests for legs and hands. would guess they are available for groin area.