Question?

[Army_Baby1]

I have a few questions? First I want to say yes I'm an AB and I will make no lie by saying I'm not. I do not wear all the time, I mostly wear when I'm completely stressed out and want to just escape for the adult world, or when going out on combat patrol.

I recently got out of the army but before I got out I was having problems down there. Well the problem started about a year ago and has been getting worse over time. My problems started off with having to go to the bathroom a lot, then it got to the point that I could not do long drives with out having an accident. The army gave me medican and said that I was good and everything was normal. Well if anyone here is or was in the service then they will tell you that everything is a pill and then you are fixed.

Well three months is when I notice that I was getting worse, I was on the way home from the base. I was 25 mins. from the rest area that I was going to stop at and it hit me, I had to go and I mean now... About 2 mins later I was wet. OK just chalk it up to position and road condition. Well as the months have go on I have gone from an accident rarely to at least one a week and or so. It is just that when the need to go hits it is now, and if I do not get there fast I will be wet. It has gotten to the point that I'm now wearing adult pull-ups to hide it from my wife and to keep from having a big mess to clean up.

OK that is the back ground and all. My question is how in the world do you talk to a doctor about this and what should I expect? How do I approach the topic like this? The last time I sat down and talked to a PA about this, it was not really by my choose, I was escorted by another person because I was caught in a diaper and had to go see our PA. That was a longest 15 mins, felt like a few hours.

Thanks for any help that you might be able to give on this.

Army_Toddler

[Daddy Fred]

Hi Armybloke, as you're out of the army, you need to go to a civvy doc. PDQ., and let him/her examine you fully, and you must tell all, no holding back. He/she will be able to tell you if there is something physically not right with your waterworks. So it's

EITHER everything there is ok, OR it isn't.

If it IS ok, then it's something psychological, no alternative. Come back to me then.

Daddy Fred.

[AutieAB]

I had to discuss something difficult and embarrassing with my Dr once (not bladder related but still awkward). I just wrote down the symptoms and handed the paper to the doctor and let him lead the conversation from there. That way, you don't have to breach the subject directly...

I'll let people with more knowledge tell you what to expect after that but common sense says the doctor will ask about how long it's been going on, how often it happens, what sensations you get, how much you leak, etc...

Make the appointment!!!

[dlsmd]

i agree you need to see the dr

[Bettypooh]

By all means see a doc now. loss of continence has many causes and some of them require prompt treatment or will only get worse, or it may be prostrate-related and lethal After you find the cause, if it is service-related (which is highly possible) you should get the VA doc involved right away, as the longer you wait the lesser the chances will be for you to get their full assistance. So yeah, the conversation will be tough but you've come through tougher and you've earned the right to VA assistance. Don't let them hand you less than what you've earned. If you do get the VA involved there are many here who can help you through that process- we've got quite a few veterans here with similar problems or worse and they know the ropes personally. We're all here to help each other, civvy or not, and good luck with this

Bettypooh

[Repaid1]

I concur, as a Veteran you need to go to the VA and have a Primary care doctor assigned to you. Once you do that go to The VA Benefits office, My hospital/clinic has one within, if not you should have a local office or a point of reference close. If you experienced this before your discharge it will be a Service connected disability. You need to have the primary record this down as well, The VA will contact him/her and whoever else you are directed to see regarding this. Sometimes The VA will send you to Civilian hospitals for your care, you may need to tell your Primary care (VA) doctor this info if they aren't directly involved at first.

The Benefits office will do a review of you condition and assign you a percentage of disability this not only means you get some cash, but mostly that all medical care involving this issue is free. You need to get this looked at right away, and as such need to follow up with the VA stuff as soon as you can, Best of luck and I hope its a minor tweak in your plumbing.

[allen476]

I have a few questions? First I want to say yes I'm an AB and I will make no lie by saying I'm not. I do not wear all the time, I mostly wear when I'm completely stressed out and want to just escape for the adult world, or when going out on combat patrol.

I recently got out of the army but before I got out I was having problems down there. Well the problem started about a year ago and has been getting worse over time. My problems started off with having to go to the bathroom a lot, then it got to the point that I could not do long drives with out having an accident. The army gave me medican and said that I was good and everything was normal. Well if anyone here is or was in the service then they will tell you that everything is a pill and then you are fixed.

Well three months is when I notice that I was getting worse, I was on the way home from the base. I was 25 mins. from the rest area that I was going to stop at and it hit me, I had to go and I mean now... About 2 mins later I was wet. OK just chalk it up to position and road condition. Well as the months have go on I have gone from an accident rarely to at least one a week and or so. It is just that when the need to go hits it is now, and if I do not get there fast I will be wet. It has gotten to the point that I'm now wearing adult pull-ups to hide it from my wife and to keep from having a big mess to clean up.

OK that is the back ground and all. My question is how in the world do you talk to a doctor about this and what should I expect? How do I approach the topic like this? The last time I sat down and talked to a PA about this, it was not really by my choose, I was escorted by another person because I was caught in a diaper and had to go see our PA. That was a longest 15 mins, felt like a few hours.

Thanks for any help that you might be able to give on this.

Army_Toddler

First, you should never be ashamed to talk to your doctor about anything. Trust me, they have heard, seen, and encountered almost everything. Tell him/her the same as you just told us (except for being an AB) as there are certain conditions like Bettypooh said that could be serious.

Allen

[rusty pins]

Perhaps, if you can do it without a referral, make an appointment with an actual urologist. They deal with this type of medical issue all the time - it's their special field. Do you have any medical insurance that would cover it? I'm not in the military, but I have some of my own opinions about things. I may be compleatly wrong, but I keep thinking back to all the medical problems military personell have had at Walter Reed. Perhaps, being government provided health care for military personell, the "Company Line" is to do as little as you need to do to get by in order to keep costs down. Perhaps a private practice urologist that is not associated with the VA would give you better care and diagnostics.

[Army_Baby1]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I have an appointment on the 18 of this month. I know that I really have to talk to the doctor before this gets to bad. It is just something that you never think that you are going to be talking to someone about. Shoot I still have a hard time talking to my wife about the AB and now I need to talk to her about this..

I guess the the part that is so scary about it is having the doctor do who knows what and ask questions that that are so private. Does it every get easy talking to people about stuff like this?

Thanks again everyone for all the answers

Army_toddler

[dlsmd]

Does it every get easy talking to people about stuff like this?

that depends on whether you are becoming incon or not but no the ab thing is not easy to talk about if your not talking to someone who knows about it

like me my Psy knows im both incon and an ab as for me being an ab is my way to deal with the stress from being incon

[babytommy1981]

Military docs give pills like candy. Get to a civi doc and tell everything but the AB stuff of course. Pills are not the cure to all. I have tried so many meds I gave up so to me wetting like a 2 yr old is normal to me. O and thank you for your service to our country and god bless u.

[Rihanna]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I have an appointment on the 18 of this month. I know that I really have to talk to the doctor before this gets to bad......

What was the verdict?