New and Confused

[Dandelion]

Hello all, I’m Dandelion. I’m 30F and brand new to the notion of bladder incontinence.  I’ve had issues with bowel IC for many years thanks to IBS, but this is new territory for me.  I started wetting the bed about two and a half weeks ago out of the blue, with no other symptoms or illness of any kind.  It’s happened four times now, including last night and the night before back to back.  I’m going in to see my doctor today, but the lack of other symptoms makes me worry that it’s just stress or anxiety, and there won’t be an easy fix like antibiotics.

I figured I’d drop by and get a sense of others’ stories, and maybe see if anyone else began this unfortunate journey seemingly apropos of nothing.  Anyway, hi.  I look forward to getting to know you all a bit better!

[zzyzx]

@Dandelion

Welcome.

Good that you are seeing your doctor soon.  I expect they will take a urine specimen to help rule out a UTI. 

For me, "out of the blue" was many years ago when I started medication to get over a sinus infection.  The combination of drugs used to knock out the infection had me triggering in my sleep every time I had a full bladder.  And with pushing fluids to help clear the issue, that had me hit more than once a night the first week of the medication and at least once a night the following week.  The doctor expected it to go away when the medication ended, instead I found how I sensed things had shifted again, and it left me with occasional nocturnal enuresis which I've dealt with since then.  As a male, and with early onset BPH, my functional bladder capacity has decreased, and what was once occasional is now nightly if I am properly hydrated and get a good nights sleep....

Best wishes in finding a solution that works for you.

[Dandelion]

1 hour ago, zzyzx said:

@Dandelion

Welcome.

Good that you are seeing your doctor soon.  I expect they will take a urine specimen to help rule out a UTI. 

For me, "out of the blue" was many years ago when I started medication to get over a sinus infection.  The combination of drugs used to knock out the infection had me triggering in my sleep every time I had a full bladder.  And with pushing fluids to help clear the issue, that had me hit more than once a night the first week of the medication and at least once a night the following week.  The doctor expected it to go away when the medication ended, instead I found how I sensed things had shifted again, and it left me with occasional nocturnal enuresis which I've dealt with since then.  As a male, and with early onset BPH, my functional bladder capacity has decreased, and what was once occasional is now nightly if I am properly hydrated and get a good nights sleep....

Best wishes in finding a solution that works for you.

Thanks for the welcome!  The doctor ruled out a UTI and diabetes, and has scheduled me for a urology test to measure the strength of my detrusor muscle, in case the problem is physical.

I’m sorry you ended up in that situation.  How did you feel when it first started, and how do you feel about it now?  I’m struggling not to be repulsed by myself for this.

[Zombie_Turtle]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, and Hi! I'm sure it's disconcerting to have it just suddenly appear out of the blue.  While I can't say my problems happened in one day, they did appear quickly.  I've had issues with OAB for some years but not wetting myself.  Then in the span of a couple years my body just sort of broke down.  Took a lot of doctors and run around to get answers since it wasn't something they could immediately get an answer to. For me it turned out to be several combined issues that played into central nervous system disorder, which lead to my bladder wall becoming thickened giving me virtually no capacity.  Incontinence was one of the first major things to go wrong, definitely the hardest one to take mentally. I am sorry you're struggling in that place now.  

[Slomo]

A very loose consensus is that bladder incontinence usually IS the symptom of something else. But what's causing it cold be a slew of different things. Sphincter muscle weakening as we age, neurolical disease, previous injuries- especially to the spine at L5-S1, birth defects, and the list goes on and on.

As the others have mentioned, it's great you're seeking help from a urologist. Just don't accept a diagnosis of OAB. That's doctor speech for "we recognize something is going on, but don't know what's causing it". And also be ready to not get a good diagnosis at all, as well as having one pill after another thrown at you. Urologist really love doing that just to see if something will stick. Heck, I went through several dozen different meds, and it took a dozen urologists over 15 years to figure out my problem. 

I don't want to discourage you, but be ready to get discouraged. Diapers may be your only real option moving forward, or they might not be. IF they are, know they won't end your social life as you know it. They are simply an aid that what will help you to continue your social life. And using the right diaper that stays comfortable when wet, and doesn't leak too often, goes a long ways to you not hating have to wear them.

[MichaelD]

Hello Dandelion, 

I would not see it quite so drastically as Slomo - but as he has already said: It is about finding out what is actually the cause of the problem. 

Bedwetting is unfortunately a very difficult subject - although it affects more people than you might think. The causes are often outside the field of urology if not a simple bladder infection is the reason. 

The most common causes, besides psychological problems and hereditary predisposition, are disturbances in the production of the ADH hormone which, among other things, reduces the production of urine during sleep. In addition, there are some other diseases that can cause this - but they are rather rare. 

If the bedwetting does not disappear and the urological standard diagnostics did not find any causes, my recommendation would be to first check the hormone status and especially the AHD. However, this only works to a limited extent with a normal blood sample taken during the day. Much more informative can be the diagnosis in a sleep laboratory, where blood can be taken during the night to see how the hormone status changes. 

In addition, a number of other causes can be uncovered that may be the reason for the problems.

What did the doctor say about the issue?

best regards
Michael

[MichaelD]

Sorry - I was not able to edit the last post anymore. Just read that it is a UTI - so this is most likely the reason and there‘s nothing to worry about. If the UTI is cured out and the problem still exists, the my first post might be helpful. More over I don‘t think that your detrusor have a problem - in this case you would have problems over the daytime too.

[John Davis]

I’m with Slomo re a diagnosis of OAB. You need more specific information but often your urologist just doesn’t know. I’m in the same boat. I saw my urologist yesterday about the same issues. 
 

—John

[Iken]

I'm Iken, I have Urinary incontinence and diagnosed with urinary incontinence. I'm kept in diapers because it's the far better option than taking incontinent meds with those side affects

[zzyzx]

On 6/6/2023 at 8:59 PM, Dandelion said:

How did you feel when it first started, and how do you feel about it now?  I’m struggling not to be repulsed by myself for this.

@Dandelion Apologies for the delayed response.  I have limits on how much time I can spend on this....

Before it started, I had 10 occurrences between my 7th and 13th birthday, and as a teenager there were two times (packing for a retreat and packing to go off to college) where the thought crossed my mind "What if I wet the bed?", as I never understood why on those 10 times.  Later as an adult my second water bed taught me I was vulnerable to certain types of sudden temperature changes causing an urge in my sleep (that went unrecognized), so the main initial thoughts were something was wrong as I hit three times the first night and twice each night the rest of the first week.  Called the doctor after the first or second night, but he wasn't concerned based on my past history.  However I knew something had changed -- during the previous events it only would happen once in a given night...    When it continued after getting off the medications, I noticed a short while later that how I "sensed" things had shifted for the second time that I noticed in my life.  (Up until Covid-19, I haven't heard doctors concerned about how a person "senses" things - touch, smell, pain, etc.  I've known since elementary school I was different from "normal" in this area.)  And that change switch what was occasional nocturia into occasional nocturnal enuresis.....  I spent the next year and a half researching information available at the local university hospital library trying to find more - but basically only finding information on (a) with women who I felt had small bladder capacities, and studies of youth (higher percent boys) trying to overcome the problem I was now having...  And didn't find a solution that worked.... 

It did wake up the young boy in me....  And I did find the "little boy" in me never learned to dislike diapers.  The "big boy" in me wants out of them, but doesn't know how....  The adult / engineer in me understand my control system and bladder is screwed up... and at this point accepts what is,

Now, I've added the "fun" of early onset BPH to the mix.  My maximum functional bladder capacity is reduced, and if I stay properly hydrated and get a good night's sleep, I'm going to have a wet diaper in the morning....  And I've accepted that....  Yes there are psychological items that go with that....  Best wishes on dealing with your issues.