incontinence Community Group
Would like to kick around information with people.
Have you ever tried to find out why you are incontinent? I believe that incontinence is not always taken as seriously as it should be by the medical profession. I wonder whether there might be some of us that are curable but are being left with 'something we can live with'.
I have been doubly incontinent since an accident causing spinal injury at cervical vertebrae 4 and 5 (in my neck) resulted in paralysis below that position. In my case my anal and urethral sphincter muscles are held closed except with manual intervention such as a urethral catheter or bowel evacuation. These sphincter muscles are controlled by the pudendal nerve, which issues from the spinal cord between sacral vertebrae 2,3 and 4 near the base of the spine. I am incontinent because instructions from my brain to open or close my anal and urethral sphincter muscles are not reaching my pudendal nerve because of my spinal injury in my neck. After spending seven months in a specialist spinal injury hospital, I was left with the impression that no-one had a clue how to repair nerve injuries: so I remain incontinent and paralysed with severe spasticity below my shoulder blades.
The situation might be more hopeful for others. Many, perhaps most, of those posting here seem to have the opposite problem - anal, or more commonly, urethral sphincters which they can not close, causing dribbles, or which they can not control to open and close when appropriate. Maybe damage to the pudendal nerve could be responsible?
Another cause of incontinence might be damage to the anal and urethral sphincter muscles themselves rather then the nerves controlling them. The anus is perhaps more likely to be injured than the urethra. In my bowel evacuations, the nurses are very careful to lubricate their fingers before inserting them and usually insert only one finger.
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I have toys. So the ones I have not used or need any more, are gone in the trash. One of my toys is just a regular hand held massager with an attachment. The other is a real insertable toy. This morning I ordered a new toy with attachments. It is small and has a brush like attachment and the other looks like a rose with a tiny tongue. I'll get it in about 2 weeks. Rechargable and...
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I can't believe this has gone on this long. So I don't have much hope of getting a tech job, but I saw an educational job that I thought might be really good. It would have been working at a university supporting high school students who are taking college classes. I did a mock interview with a friend and prepared extensively. It was at the university that I graduated from. I was very excited...


At first they ran test after test, medication after medication, Foley Catheter, intermittent catheter and even Botox injections into the bladder, but nothing worked. I still had to wear diapers because I still leaked. Their last option for me is to have surgery. The thought I would have a better quality of life is I had Urinary reconstruction and diversion surgery, basically it's a colostomy bag for pee. I didn't want it and I was able to show them that I was happy and living a very good quality of life and being productive, working my full time job while wearing and using diapers.
They agreed but said if the urine starts to cause issues with the bladder, I had no other choice but to have the surgery. To make sure all is good, I have to have an ultra sound of my Kidney's and bladder every year. Each time all has been good.