Leaking

I have had trouble "leaking" urine when I sneeze or cough for a while now. I mentioned this to my doctor before I had the hyst. and he told me that he would look and check out the bladder ect while he was doing surgery.

After surgery he said that he saw everything where it should be and in good working order. My question is very embarrasing but what can I do besides the keigel exercises to prevent this. This has happened since my second child. She is 8 now but I am still wearing light days panty liners and I feel strange when I buy them now because people I know are looking at me like why are you buying those. Now that the flowers are blooming and the grass is growing I am sneezing all of the time. What can I do?

I might suggest you see a uro gynae . That might be the person to help you ... failing which ( if yours is a uro gynae ) you seek a 2nd opinion. mei

I would definitely suggest you see either a urologist or a urogynecologist. My stress incontinence started after the birth of my last child as well and I've put up with it for the last 16 years. My last gynecologist said she would fix it if I would lose weight (I'm maybe 30 pounds overweight). Due to bleeding which lasted four weeks earlier this year, I went back to my original gynecologist who, unbeknownst to me, now specializes in urogynecology. When I mentioned the stress incontinence and the comments from the previous gynecologist, he just shook his head and said that had nothing to do with it. He scheduled me for the urodynamics test and found that I did fit the criteria for the new bladder procedure that he has been doing (TOT). So, I had both the hysterectomy and bladder procedure done at the same time. If I had only had the bladder procedure my recovery time would have been 1-2 weeks. And now I can sneeze, cough, etc., and no leaks!

Nora - TVH and TOT procedure

If you don't mind me asking what other methods did you try before surgery? What is the cause of most of these problems?

I've tried Kegel after Kegel with no success. I actually saw a urologist a few years ago because of something my family doctor saw in a urine test and when I discussed it with him, he told me that you could do Kegels 24x7 and it's still not going to cure the stress incontinence. He told me if I was "distraught" over it, he would fix it. As I told him, I wasn't "distraught" over it but it was an emotional thing to me because I was tired of never being able to do things with my kids like play kickball unless I had a pad on. I was tired of being at work and maybe having a sneezing fit and ending up wet and feeling like I smelled like urine. I didn't get a warm, cozy feeling from him so I just decided to continue to deal with it.

I actually did lose weight about 4 years ago and when I went back to my gynecologist, she made a big deal out of my weight loss but didn't say anything about the stress incontinence issue. That was really my fault though, because I didn't bring it up either, I guess I just thought she'd "remember" what she had said. So, when this gynecologist said he could fix it and it's not a difficult procedure, I immediately said yes.

I'm really not sure what other options are out there but to me, this was definitely worth it. But, from what I've gathered from my doctor and from this board, you definitely need to go through the urodynamics test to confirm that you are indeed a candidate for any of the procedures. It takes about 30-45 minutes and they actually fill your bladder with saline and then have you cough, etc. to see how things react. I also had to complete a lengthy questionnaire about my symptoms, etc.

Hope that helps.

Nora

P.S. For me, the neck of my bladder had fallen down and that was the cause of my stress incontinence. Everything I have seen, childbirth is definitely one of the causes of stress incontinence, along with several others.

Another question that I have, it has been mentioned about being overweight being a factor. What do you think?

cjanerun, are you on HRT? I too had to use pantyliners due to both stress and urgency incontinence (I wet my pants just trying to get to the bathroom in time). After my hysterectomy, I started estrogen and the problem is completely gone. Lack of estrogen does cause stress incontinence. I'm sure there are other factors, however.

Good luck; I know how annoying and embarrassing that problem can be.

I did not have my ovaries removed so I am not on any hormone replacement or anything. I am overweight and have been so when someone mentioned that it sent flashing lights.

I have the problem only when I sneeze, cough, and laugh. I really thought the problem had went away immediately after surgery but I threw up after surgery and had a huge accident.

Someone also mentioned an outpatient procedure. I am very interested in hearing about that and what was done. A friend of mine had a sling put in when she had her hys. but my doctor did not mention it. I talked with my doctor before surgery about this several visits before and he checked the bladder ect. but he said all looked good and he saw nothing wrong. Also that because that was not my #1 concern he saw nothing out of the ordinary. But now........
I don't have to wear them (lightdays) for periods but for the other. I want to be healed of it all but I don't know what to do. I am so embarrased to buy these again because people come out and ask me.

cjanerun, there is also medication you can take and even a patch to wear that will help stress incontinence. As Buckeye suggested you should ask for a referral to a specialist. Also, those nosy people have no business asking you why you're buying pantiliners. If it were me, I'd smile sweetly and reply, "why is it important to you?" That should hush them up.

My old doctor put me on Detrol LA but it did not work at all. I believe that was for frequency going but I did not and od not have that. Do you know anything about the medicine?