Incontinence In The Morning (When I Think About It)

[slightlybroken]

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone is good. I been having a new symptom and I was wondering if anyone could relate or have any ideas on what to do. I'm a limbolander (for anyone who doesn't know).

In the morning, when I wake, my normal routine is to wake up fully and to use the bathroom (urinate). I don't normally have an urgency in the morning..I just have to go. I normally get stress incontinence from coughing, sneezing, etc..that kind of thing, but lately..this is getting on my nerves and there's no warning.

I wake up in the morning (forget the wake up fully part), I feel like I have to use the bathroom and it starts, just like that while I'm still in bed. I get out of bed, while it's running down my legs and try to make it to the bathroom before making a mess. (Sorry for all the details.)

It seems to happen with a full bladder and it's not everyday. It's not at full stream either..so I'm holding some back just not everything. It just lets go enough to let a small stream out. What should I do? Should I contact a doctor about this new symptom...Is there medication for this?

The weird thing about all this..if I do have MS...it seems that I'm just adding symptoms that stay. These symptoms stay with me and seem to never leave. There's never a time that I feel like I'm truly out or in. It just feels like me with symptoms...me with aggravated symptoms..me with new symptoms. Does that make sense? I'm just thinking out loud.

[Ljionsez]

I am in the same boat and this is the first website that popped up. Great information. For mid-night and first morning incontenence, my suggestion, on top of the others, is to put a large red solo cup next to your bed. Or two. Pee in the cup in the middle of the night and then discard contents in toilet and flush. This idea is also useful for the first morning pee when you can't make it to the bathroom. At least if you catch your urine immediately, you can walk to the bathroom dry. Saves some hassles, even though it totally destroys the whole concept of the red solo cup! Cheers!

[supermum_ms]

Hi there,

i'm not sure if you intended for your question to come up in our MS community  and at the bottom of a very old post (2009)......generally incontinence issues are not uncommon in women of your age group but if you are only incontinent on first waking, it 'might' be stress incontinence or sleeping more deeply and sleeping through nocturnal signals causing you to have an overly full bladder on waking or even be something unrelated to the bladder eg medication side effects etc.

It's always recommended that you speak to your doctor and not just manage until.....

Hope that helps......JJ

[Rosebud46]

I have no problem with urinating during the day -- can go for hours while shopping, doing volunteer work, being busy.  In the evening, I empty my bladder before bed, but upon waking, just getting up out of bed results in stream of urine down my leg, and trail behind me from bed to master bedroom bathroom.  What's going on and what do I do to stop it?  I'm an 81 year old postmenopausal female.

[jensequitur]

Of late I've begun experiencing more problems - when I have to go, I HAVE TO GO.  If there's any reason why I can't go immediately, it's going to be a struggle not to wet myself.  Really humiliating.  And we only have one bathroom...

[slightlybroken]

Thanks for everything! I at least feel like I'm not alone in this issue. I'll see about an appointment Monday. It seems like one thing on me will act up and then another. Before I know it I'm going to have lots, and lots, of doctors.

Maybe I should change my name from slightlybroken to "I pee freely" for this post.

Take Care

[Wobbly]

Hi there.. I have stood up in the morning and peed myself...didn't even know I was doing it.. also when I'm going I don't know it..I have to listen and if the toilet is making any noise I could sit there for quite awhile thinking I'm still peeing...???  

it can be really bad at times..then it's not too bad.. I do use Pads when I go out incase..

take care and let you Dr know..

wobbly
dx

[Valerie64]

I have the exact same thing, my bathroom is downstairs and first thing in the morning, I almost never make it!  I get up needing to wee through the night too, can never drink anything before I go to bed or I'll be up and down like a yoyo

Val

[Heather3418]

When I get the "signal" to pee, that's it.  If I am not near a bathroom it starts running down my leg.  Sometimes if I stand still, I can stop the stream, long enough to get into the bathroom.  Of course, if I sneeze, cough or laugh, I lose a small amount of bladder control.

When I pee, sitting on the toilet, I do NOT feel that I am going.  I have to listen, to know that I have started or finished.  There have been many times, when I start to get up to wipe and I am still peeing.  I always have to remember to give a little "push" when I think I am finished, because there is always some more pee left.  Always.  Just like the urologist said, I do not fully empty my bladder.  Neurogenic bladder.  Boy that term covers alot of things.

I think some of it has to do with age, some of it has to do with carrying large babies and some of it has to do with MS.  Which part, I will probably never know.  

The dry mouth and the constipation from using the bladder control drugs, will drive you crazy.  Excuse my bluntness, but it dries the "old cooter" up too. (Sorry guys, for being blunt)  But boy does it ever work for controlling bladder accidents.  I do not take any drugs anymore for the bladder, so now I carry a bladder pad in my purse.  I should carry an extra pair of underwear as a matter of fact.

I am one lady that really dreads to feel a sneeze coming on.  If I don't squeeze my legs shut....well you know.

Heather

[Quixotic1]

Hi, good to see you!  You are describing something that up to 80% of MSers will suffer from at some time in their course.  It isn't always incontinence and may include retention.  I wrote a Health Page on the neurology involved.  It might help you understand some of what may be happening to you.

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple%20Sclerosis/The-Neurology-of-Bladder-Incontinence/show/758?cid=36

First, you have to let your doc know about this.  There are things to check out and a couple avenues to try.   Lulu is correct about needing a specialist.  For a woman I really do recommend a urogynecologist like she mentioned.  First off you need to be checked for a urine infection.  You can have a urine infection without any other symptom than incontinence.

We already know that you have stress incontinence a common problem of women who have borne children or are overweight and can happen in any woman.

Your new symptom is urge incontinence.  This can be a combination of problems from strong spasms of the bladder to expell urine or weakness of the spincter so that you can't hold all of the urine back - or a combination of both.  You will need a series of tests called "Urodynamic Testing" to know what the problem really is.

Yes, there are treatments.  The first thing that a good doctor will want to try is Incontinence Physical Therapy.  Fifty percent of women with urge incontinence and MS will benefit from PT.  This may be dedicated work with the Kegel exercises or biofeedback or electrostimulation in combination with the first two.  I wrote a journal on my experiences with Bladder Physical Therapy and made them into Health Pages.  They haven't been widely read ut, here they are nonetheless.

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple%20Sclerosis/Urinary-Incontinence-Physical-Therapy---Part-I/show/759?cid=36

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple%20Sclerosis/Urinary-Incontinence-PT---Part-Deux/show/760?cid=36

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple%20Sclerosis/Urinary-Incontinence-Physical-Therapy---part-tres/show/761?cid=36

The treatments for incontinence include exercises, biofeedback, medications, self-catherization, Botox, and surgery.  It all depends on why the problem is occurring.  That's why it is so important to have the Urodynamic Testing.

My Urge Incontinence which had indeed improved with exercises has returned with a vengence.  I'm again doing the exercises, but I'm worried that something more has happened neurologically.  When I had the testing I had a spastic urethra at the same  time the bladder wanted to contract, a combination of things called Detrusor (bladder muscle) Sphincter (muscle around the urethra) Dyssynergia (not working together).

Once I get the car adapted I can drive myself to the PT appointments - that's why I stopped going.  My sister was involved daily in the construction and couldn't drive me.

I soooo sympathize with you.  I hope it either goes away or they can help.

Avoid bladder irritants like caffeine and acidic foods like orange juice.  Some docs also include the hot, spicy foods.  My didn't.

Meds are an easy fix and heavily advertised on TV.  They can cause lots (read that LOTS) of side effects like dry mouth, constipation, double vision, etc.  I recommend trying the non-drug and non-surgical methods first.

Quix

[Lulu54]

Hi SB,
This sure does sound like another neurological symptom to me.  Please don't suffer in silence with this  - contact your doctor and see if any treatment would be of help.  

You want to be referred to a urogynecologist - there are three in town that I know of.  Be sure you see  a specialist if possible.  There are also drugs that are worth trying -

this is a miserable problem - I can empathize totally  because you're describing me - I hope you find some help becfore it gets worse.

be well,
Lulu