mick_dl

There can be various reasons why this happens. It is often due to hemorrhoids, but there are also many other reasons why this can happen. This can usually only be properly clarified with a 3D endosonography and a vector volume manometry if the proctoscopy did not produce any clear findings. Unfortunately, both are examinations that a normal proctologist rarely performs. It is usually better to look for a hospital that has a pelvic floor center that also specializes in bowel problems. You can significantly improve the problem by eating less fiber and, for example, taking psyllium husks in the evening before going to bed. Pelvic floor training also helps.

So far I have not experienced that a cashier has asked me funny questions or laughed. However, this thread reminds me of a commercial for the prevention of AIDS that once ran in the 90s in Germany. The slogan "Tina - how much are the condoms" is still known by many...

Hello foreverdl, a glucose value of 130 is too high - but the more important value is the HbA1c value, i.e. the long-term glucose. The point is - the bladder and foot problems are most likely related to the spine. Ultimately, it's a question of cause. Either the nerves are damaged by compression or by neuropathic inflammation. The result is more or less the same, but the treatment and prognosis are different.

Hi foreverdl, Yes - numbness in the feet is usually the first thing to go. In addition, there may be poorly healing wounds, because you do not always notice when you hurt your foot - moreover this can also include muscle pain. If nothing is done about the sugar levels, other deficiencies are often added, starting from the bottom - e.g. muscle weakness, so that you can no longer walk properly or keep your balance. Sooner or later the bladder is also affected. The development of the bladder usually goes from overactive to flaccid. This means that in the final phase urination is no longer possible and the bladder must be emptied with a catheter. What is your HbA1c if I may ask?

Hello foreverdl, diabetic neuropathy is often visible on an MRI (at the latest in the late stages), and it can also be detected with an SSEP / EMG on the affected nerves. Anyway - usually the feet are affected first. The bladder, but also the eyes or the heart come later if you do nothing - and if it affects the heart, it is life-threatening... And the tests are not that bad. The problem is rather that you have to lie quite relaxed while the nerves are stimulated for the measurement (small electric shocks) - if you move, you don't get any results, especially if the entire spine is measured.

Well - there is a difference between a diagnosis and a _founded_ diagnosis. You get a diagnosis of OAB when you tell the doctor the right story. A confirmed diagnosis you sometimes don't get at all, because you can't find out the cause clearly. Normally, at least one urodynamic examination is necessary for a confirmed diagnosis. If there is a neurogenic disorder, other examinations (e.g. SSEP, pelvic floor EMG, etc.) are also necessary. The urological societies of the countries have published clear guidelines on how to proceed with the diagnosis. Normally, urologists adhere to these guidelines. The GP‘s sometimes do not.

Hi Rue Rue, So I would really take this seriously if I were you. I had an accident many years ago in which several intervertebral discs were compressed. I had a lot of pain and no feeling in some of my fingers and parts of my legs. The whole thing improved after a few months of physiotherapy and sports. And then it disappeared completely. I didn't follow it up until my inco (which also had other reasons) got worse some time ago. I searched a lot until someone came up with the idea to do another MRI of the spine because I also got strange calf cramps and the feeling in one leg was gone again... Five intervertebral discs are now pressing the spinal cord together in different places of the spine and are the cause of the problems. If I had had the operation right away, I would probably have a good chance of getting it under control again. Unfortunately, I didn't - and now I have to live with the crap... It can still be operated - but no longer minimally inversively and the chance that they do more damage is present. The already damaged nerves can no longer be repaired - in this case it would only be a matter of preventing me from ending up in a wheelchair...

Hmm - sorry but this is a strange question for me. Ether your incontinent or your not. If you are incontinent you have to wear and better discuss this with your doc. I have all my appointments in diapers because I don‘t want to stay there in soaked trouser. Docs see this every day so I’m honestly more scared to go to a gym as to a doc… But anyway - if your wetting starts with the flare up of your back injury this might be critical and you better check this as fast as you can with a neurosurgeon because this is a emergency situation. If the spine is really the reason and you wait to long your this may cause irreparable damage to the compressed nerves.

Well, I'm not in a wheelchair, but I know some people who are. If you still have some control over your bladder, you usually try to maintain it. Of course, there is also a functional incontinence that arises, for example if you could’t reach the toilet fast enough due to your disability, but the people I know there take a foldable urine bottle for such a case. Diapers are not so popular. I do not know where there is something like that in the U.S. - in Germany you can get it here, for example: https://www.cbf-da.de/cbf-webshop/faltbare-urinflasche.html

@zzyzx: THX!

Hi Jack, did the Rezum treadment worked well for you and does the flow values get better afterwards and how much? I‘m pretty interested in results because I‘m also think about to apply for this procedure in stead of TURP. It seems that there not that many people out who have personal experience with it - especially if it it comes to the longterm effect. So I would be happy if you can tell me a little more about your experience with it. THX Michael

Hi Brian, Thank you for your detailed mail. I think there are indeed some - especially older people who have continence problems and are poorly cared because they either do not want to admit the problem or do not seek help because they think that's just the way it is. People who are affected by incontinence and have a job can hardly afford such a posture and wet pants and will choose a suitable aid. I mean - that's why these things are called "aids" because they try to compensate a disability. It's just like you say - it's good that you can choose between many different aids. In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves what works for them best and what does not. For me it was - despite my "history" also a process and I can say that despite my DL experiences when this started I definitely did not want to run around in diapers. I used as long as it was possible pads because they were in some respects better to handle. When that was no longer possible, I tried it with condoms catheters - unfortunately with moderate success, although I found the things actually already practical. Later, due to problems with my spine, I developed fecal incontinence and my urinary incontinence got worse, so I could no longer do without diapers. Nevertheless, I was and am really glad that there are now many discreet functioning aids available with which this can be compensated, because otherwise I could not continue to work and that would have been really bad. However - a realization was that many worries regarding the perception of the situation really take place almost exclusively in one's own head. The more problems you have with your own situation, the more you believe that others feel the same way. But this is almost always wrong. Personally, with very few exceptions, it has not happened to me that people - when they have learned about my health problems - have not appreciated me. It is rather that they want to help somehow and are sometimes a bit disturbed when they begin to understand that there is no easy solution. When people are confronted with disability, it often causes uncertainty and fear because many have not dealt with it. Not least perhaps because it makes simply times fear to consider how fast this can catch one. I think it is the same with the aids - although some are more curious. On the subject of diapers and incontinence aids: I don't think they have a bad reputation. Incontinence has a bad reputation - because many people find it unhygienic and disgusting. Exactly this leads to questions like this, because no "normal" person can imagine that someone wears diapers voluntarily. Exactly this is then a problem for DL's but not for those affected by incontinence. They have to fight rather with the prejudice unhygienic and disgusting what has to do with diapers but only on the edge.

I always find it interesting how differently people think about protection and incontinence.... Protection was the solution for me, not the problem. The problem is the incontinence and that also causes fears, e.g. that my health will deteriorate, and especially at the beginning of the problem that I will leak, that people will make jokes about me or not take me seriously and so on...

Sorry - but what do you think...? Who has a major continence problem can unfortunately not choose when that fits and when not. I personally find it a bit disrespectful to appear at a doctor's office with a full diaper. So I change it again before I go in there if it is used. And if you have a longer dental treatment, then you might want to get rid of the probably wet thing at the end - and there surely do not want to change in the car if there is a toilet at the doctor ...?

So I think that internet has little to do with whether you pursue that interest or not. With the DL's it is a fetish that is not dependent on communication. With the AB's it is a little different - but even here it does not need the Internet to interact. The only thing the Internet has done is speed things up. It's easier to get information and it doesn't take as long to find out that there are others who have similar needs. The really funny thing is that I'm pretty sure there's still not a whole lot more "real" contact with people outside of the web than there was before. That is from my point of view the really amazing because the topic is still so afflicted with shyness and prejudice that hardly anyone dares to get out of anonymity and prefers to stay virtually on the net.

I don’t know how this will work in CZ but for Germany I just had a look to the database. Betterdry is GKV listed, so you should be able to order them in any pharmacy and get them sometimes at the same day. You can order them also directly at Thrust Vector Germany. Rearz is not listed - so I‘m not sure how easy this will be… How ever, there are several internet shops where you can order at last Betterdry also easily. If you based near Hamburg you can have also a look to AirOliver, who deal with a lot of more „exotic“ diapers: AirOliver Hamburg Air Oliver also sell Northshore. Other onlinshops that deliver Betterdry are: https://www.inkodirekt.de/catalogsearch/result/?q=Betterdry https://www.insenio.de/p/betterdry-windelhose/ It is mostly much cheaper to order them online as to buy them in a pharmacy. They will normally delivered in two or three days. Hope that helps Michael

Hi Brain, first of all, thank you for the encouraging words. I could write a lot about the topic of "accepting" now. It's been quite a roller coaster over the years. There was a long time when I used diapers just for fun. That was my own little kick and for myself that was OK. It is - except for the Bing - Purge cycle that everyone goes through nothing that I would have blamed myself for. The thing had just one big problem: You could hardly talk about it with anyone and the whole thing was quite a self-centered "hobby". At some point the incontinence came. Not as some might imagine here. That was almost two years of the worst pain that made me unable to work for a time. Some bad bacteria had eaten the GAP layer of my bladder wall... It really took a while until I had the shit back under control. Well, at some point I learned that the diabetes I probably had for a while was partly responsible for the fact that the bladder did not regenerate so quickly. Then there was also an enlargement of the prostate. Well - what has changed? I can now talk to many people about my medical problems and they all understand. Nobody looks at me stupidly because of my special underwear and I have no problem accepting that I need it at the moment. The problem has completely turned around. I used to worry that someone would judge me for my diapers or just think I was crazy. Today I am worried that it will get worse. I don't mean that I will become completely incontinent - that wouldn't be too much of a problem. In my case, worsening means not being able to pee because the bladder muscle is too weak. That means ISC or SPC concerning the bladder with all the problems like UTI's attached to it. In addition, there is of course the risk that at some point it also affects the legs and I can no longer walk properly. The diseases that cause incontinence are all in no way funny, and those who have them - for them the incontinence is at some point a small annoyance on the edge of a completely different scary scene. The decision on which road to take then has little to do with how to deal with incontinence and whether to go to the toilet once more or less. The question is then: What do I have to do so that the underlying disease does not get worse?

I haven't written anything here for a long time - but I can also contribute something to this topic... If I can, then I try to go to the toilet. Unfortunately, that only goes well in half of the cases. For me, it's mostly in phases during the day. In the morning it usually works quite well, because I start working late. Then happens so 5 or 6 hours sometimes not at all. I then usually go to the toilet once or twice as a prophylactic, but there is usually very little. At some point the bladder realizes that it is too full and starts to try to get rid of the contents in a more or less controlled way. Then I could actually sit on the toilet for the next two hours and wait for the next spasm. In the beginning I always tried to stop the flow when it started and then sat on the toilet where nothing or little came. Often I ran to the toilet and didn't make it. That is then doubly frustrating. In the meantime I gave up because it is just too exhausting. When the bladder starts to bitch around I just wait until it is empty and then change the diaper.

I am incontinent - so I would not call it an accident but it just happens when the bladder gets too full. However, I go to the bathroom before the examination (unless I have to appear with a full bladder) and do not arrive with a wet diaper. The most unpleasant thing that happened to me was during an MRI - I hadn't had the problem for so long and tried to keep it as long as possible - but unfortunately I moved at some point because of the urge. As a result, the diaper was wet and the technician was a bit pissed off because he had to drive back and do the whole thing again...

So honestly I wonder a little bit about this discussion. If I need incontinence pads or diapers, I specify that in the questionnaires that I fill out at the urologist. Everything else makes no sense - how else should he get an idea about the severity of my incontinence. I also bring a micturition diary with me. It is also clear that I will present myself with the aids - I don't want to end up standing in front of the doctor with wet pants. It is also clear that various examinations take longer and that you need a full bladder for some of them. Why should a doctor please point out to wear diapers? If I have a continence problem I know that and then it is a matter of course that I appear at the examination with proper protection. Personally, I would be surprised if my urologist said something like that to me - and he never has. At the MRI you just write it in the questionnaire - but they are only interested in possible metal buttons. If you couldn't hold it long enough during the examination, it will have to be done again in the worst case. Incontinence is nothing unusual for medical personnel. So there is no reason at all to forego protection out of shame. Conversely, you won't necessarily make friends with the staff if you pee all over their equipment.

Welcome to the club... It's the same with me. For me it starts a couple of years ago - when the prostate was not so big and a damage in the GAG layer was diagnosed. In the meantime I was able to fix this problem, but the OAB-Wet problem is unfortunately still there. In the meantime the prostate has also grown and also my bladder wall is hardened. The Doctor thinks that this problem most likely comes from that. As long as I can pee, I have decided to leave it as it is. Botox is not an option because of the risk of urinary retention and Interstim doesn't seem sustainable to me.... I guess at some point in the future a TUR-P will be necessary - I hope that will take a while.... Anyway the result is the same as yours. On the road nothing goes without diapers... If a toilet is nearby, fortunately still incontinence pads are enough.

I'm also a frequent flyer and get flagged a lot. The micrometer scanners actually mark a wet diaper - amusingly enough in yellow as well.... However, I've never had to go into the cabin and undress because of it. Surely they are allowed to search you in case of suspicion. But that has never happened to me. They pat you down, find out that you are wearing a diaper and wish you a good flight. I almost have the feeling that they have become more courteous since I had the problem.

This is a pretty old thread... The funny think is that even at that time the definition of the degree of incontinence was not really correct. How ever the specification had changed meanwhile and I'm sure that even 70% of the doc's do not know what the ICS is writing about it. One method to evaluate the degree of incontinence is a 24h pad test. The ICS writes the following: "Twenty-four-hour pad test. - the test should be started with an empty bladder, - normal daily activities should be followed and recorded in a voiding diary so that the same schedule will be observed during follow-up re-testing (eo), - to avoid urine loss trough leakage or evaporation the pads should be worn inside waterproof underpants and exchanged every 4–6 hr during daytime, - pads should be weighed immediately. If weighing is performed at the clinic, pads must be stored in airtight bag. ... Interpretation ... increase of 1–10 g is classified as representing mild incontinence, 11–50 g moderate and >50 g severe incontinence. The values for 24-hr pad test are classified as follows: Mild (4–20 g/ 24 hr), moderate (21–74 g/24 hr), and severe (>75 g/24 hr) incontinence." You can read the full article here: it starts on Page 811 with a Powerpoint that also include some nice photos that show what a "significant" leak may be. This might be also a nice example if someone starts to argue that a protection is "sufficient"...

Hmm - well - the main thing is that it does not shred the diaper...

Of cause we touch us - why not? We had a hard year when my problems had started but after she had realized that this was not my fault and I‘m not playing this was never a problem again.