Elder Taboos – Part 2: Incontinence Products

Keel, kegel, kegel. Start now:) I had a doctor tell me the procedure for helping me with the pee. Then I had the nurse practioner come in and tell me to start kegel exercises. It worked!
I am thrilled, though, that the products are coming out in the open. Have you noticed they are in the back of the store- often hidden. Crazy.

The Tena ads in the UK are all made using 30ish glamorous model types and excruciatingly twee.

The problem doesn't just affect women of course, but men seem even less likely to admit it, since we don't have the 'excuse' of childbirth or the opportunity to hide the problem with sanitary products.

I suffer regularly with UTIs, which can cause these problems so I understand and sympathise. In my case it was exhausting because I seemed to be up and off to the bathroom every half hour day and night.

In some older people UTIs can also lead to mental confusion, so making the problem even worse.

Ian makes an important point. Leaky pipes are not only treatable, untreated they can lead to other serious medical problems.

Although we've had a good deal of fun discussing this in the past, do not consider it to be inevitable. Always tell your physician.

Yes, our "second childhood" as it has been referred to by some seems to come complete with requiring diapers. Sigh!

My problem is waiting too long, but even then I'm fine until my eyes spot the toilet and send a signal to my brain, and my brain pokes my bladder with a pointy finger while I'm still two steps away.

Anyway, this subject reminded me of a post I wrote two years ago about an adult diaper commercial, so it seemed appropriate to post the link.

In the beginning, I ranted and raved against pads. Now, I've given up ranting. Sometimes I have Linda's problem, but even with Kegels, the problem is still here.

I have two female friends who've had a pessary installed but didn't know much about them? Anyone have info on these? Online research doesn't say much either, except that they can wear a hole between the vaginal wall and bowel. Who needs that?

When I made inquiries at my doctor's, I was offered one of the drugs that minimizes urges, but I've read that it can increase cognitive decline - and it's expensive. Who needs that either?

Believe it or not, my biggest problem occurs when I brush my teeth. When I brush my back teeth, I occasionally trigger a gag reflex. Every time that happens, I know I will pee down my leg.

So I brush my teeth with my legs crossed. I have to laugh.

Sneezing and coughing are also dangerous.

Coughing, sneezing, laughing, crying, getting out of a deep chair, weeding the garden: it goes on and on...sheesh!

Kegels have helped but not solved the problems. Crossing my legs works best but is not always feasible if I am, for example, crossing a busy street when a laugh, cough, or sneeze threatens.

An older neighbor alerted me to Depends Silhouettes. After an April 2011 hemorrhagic stroke, they were absolutely wonderful for my first solo airline travel last month, and participation in day-long events at my destination.

I use tena pads (never heard of twist). The only place I know to get them is walmart.

Y'know, I can't easily locate confirming material on the 'net, but I'm quite sure June Allison sold these continence products on TV for years. And as I recall it anyhow, she did it in a sensitive way. Dang, I miss that actress.

Okay, I found the link for the Allison commercial. Here 'tis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm1Grxg6ags

Accupuncture along the bladder point and tibial nerve stimulation may be helpful. You can check these out with a reputable provider.

I still get by with the cheaper "sanitary" napkins. It happens when I cough, sneeze, I have hay fever, hear running water, and for some reason getting to my front door is a trigger even if I've just been to the toidy. I wonder if hypnosis would help?

I started off with Poise Pads or the generic version from Walgreen's or Walmart. Tried a pessary but I don't think it helped much. Eventually I had problems all day long with leaking. I had a bladder lift in 2005 and it helped immensely. Incontinence was the bane of my Mother's last years. Tena products were much better than Depends. I learned from a friend that she had an implant of a unit that gave electrical stimulus to muscles that helped her stay dry at night. A friend went through a course of training that helped her learn how to isolate the muscles used for Kegels which helped quite a bit. Women need to find a urologist who specializes in women's bladder issues. When Mother was recovering from her broken hip the OT worked with her with exercises from a manual called Beyond Kegels which added some other exercises that helped. I also learned that women who had been ballet dancers had the opposite problem of hyper-continence so do your plies.