Is incontinence curable if due to weak pelvic floor muscles

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TSMXTC

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Hi, so I’m a 22 year old male that has just found out I’m incontinent for both urinary and bowels. I was just wondering what is the chances of people with this condition getting cured with Kegel exercises? Also do you know anyone that has gotten cured from kegels/ and or surgery?
 
I’m 21 and am completely bowel incontinent and have medium bladder incontinence so I know how you feel being this age with it, in terms of exercises what’s the cause of your incontinence?
 
I’m going to a urologist the 23rd to see what’s up. But my guess would have to weakened pelvic floor muscles from a sedentary lifestyle due to social anxiety/ general apathy towards life/ and suicidal thoughts for the past 5 years. And now to find out this is happening to me is putting me in a really low spot in life now.
 
Don't know anyone, but they say Kegel exercise really do work... You should always hope, you know...

Still, how did you "just find out"?.. That's a strange choice of words...
 
TSMXTC said:
Hi, so I’m a 22 year old male that has just found out I’m incontinent for both urinary and bowels. I was just wondering what is the chances of people with this condition getting cured with Kegel exercises? Also do you know anyone that has gotten cured from kegels/ and or surgery?

As Elenwen said, if it just came on, that's strange and you should see a doctor in case it's something serious.

Having had my prostate removed a year ago due to cancer, yes the docs say to do kegels to strengthen the muscles to stop the ic. It works for some, but not all. That's why I wear pads all day and diapers at night.

As far as I know, Kegels will not take care of bowel ic. Again, that should be something to consult with a doc about.
 
Agreed seeing a doctor / Specialist is very important and they can recommend a nurse that specializes in dealing with incontinence issues, Kegel exercises may help but unfortunately there is no guarantees as it depends on what’s causing your issues it may be neurological in nature only your doctors can determine whats wrong after some tests.

Most times they will recommend meds but after reading about other users experiencing side effects and meds not working I chose to just wear diapers to manage my issues and my current urologist is ok with my decision since they can not determine exactly whats causing my issues but have rulled out anything life threatening.
 
Kegels are unlikely to help in your situation. You really need a full neurological, urogical work up and probably a colonoscopy to find the root cause of your incontinence. Once that has been determined you and your consultants will have a better idea of what will and won't benefit your condition. To be honest at 22 I'm surprised this hasn't already happened.
 
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TSMXTC said:
Hi, so I am a 22 year old who’s suffers from urinary and bowel incontinence and I was just wondering what the cure rate for mild to moderate urinary incontinence/mild fecal incontienence when it comes to Kegel exercises. Also do you know anyone who has been cured by kegels?

There are so many different causes, different degrees, and differing circumstances, no one here is going to be able to give you a useful answer here. Even doctors that have given you a thorough exam, know your history, and have ran tests can struggle to give a helpful answer to that question.

(and if all you need right now is just a blind "average cure rate", you'll get a larger sample size in the IC forum)
 
That really depends on why you have incontinence. If it was due to a injury, very unlikely. If it's from surgery, very likely. If it is from having kids, very likely. If it's because you have autism, that depends on your level of autism. If it's because of spina befida, that depends. If it's due to multiple scoliosis, no. Incontinence is always a symptom of something.
 
Calico said:
That really depends on why you have incontinence. If it was due to a injury, very unlikely. If it's from surgery, very likely. If it is from having kids, very likely. If it's because you have autism, that depends on your level of autism. If it's because of spina befida, that depends. If it's due to multiple scoliosis, no. Incontinence is always a symptom of something.

you might be able to shorten that to "neurological problems are much harder to fix than physical problems"
 
Calico, it's unlike to be due to giving birth, TSMXTC is male :)

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Having said that Calico is generally correct when he says it depends on the cause. Until I was 14 I was doubly incontinent. It was until I was placed in a children's home and had the problem investigated they found I had a congenital spinal problem that meant the nerves weren't transmitting signals from my bladder and bowel back to my brain. You can read my abridged story in the stories forum (my Early life part 1. and 2).

One final thing this conversation would be best posted in the Incontinence forum rather than in the diaper one.
 
Best idea when confronted with a doctor that says they can cure or think they can cure something. Ask for a SECOND opinion. Always ask. Because a lot of doctors are doing it for Greed.
 
Sorry for posting this in the diaper subforum it’s just that there are more active members in this part of the forum. It’s most likely just from weakened pelvic muscles. Unless it’s from a pinched nerve from bad sleeping posture and bad posture in general plus a sedentary lifestyle in general. Sorry for the 2nd post about me complaining, I understand that there are many people in this forum with worse conditions than me. Makes me look like a bitch.
 
I'm not a doctor, but I have a hard time believing that a sedentary lifestyle would lead to weakened pelvic floor muscles, unless you were so sedentary that you were wetting and messing yourself before you became incontinent. From what I've read things that do weaken those muscles include: pregnancy and childbirth, obesity, high impact exercise, chronic coughing, straining while on the toilet, heavy lifting, and getting older. Now, a sedentary lifestyle may lead to obesity and possibly to straining while on the toilet, so I'm not utterly discounting what you're saying. Either way, your plan to see a doctor is the right one.
 
flipside said:
I'm not a doctor, but I have a hard time believing that a sedentary lifestyle would lead to weakened pelvic floor muscles, unless you were so sedentary that you were wetting and messing yourself before you became incontinent. From what I've read things that do weaken those muscles include: pregnancy and childbirth, obesity, high impact exercise, chronic coughing, straining while on the toilet, heavy lifting, and getting older. Now, a sedentary lifestyle may lead to obesity and possibly to straining while on the toilet, so I'm not utterly discounting what you're saying. Either way, your plan to see a doctor is the right one.

I did have chronic constipation due to a bad diet for the past year and half. I didn’t really strain that often when using the toilet. However my posture when standing has been bad for the past 4 years since I’ve been living a sedentary lifestyle ( my pelvic area shifts forward instead of it being in a straight line from my shoulders to my feet. Also the way I sleep is weird( laying on back one leg crossed behind the other one with my right ankle behind the back part of my knees. Most of the time when I’m not working I’m laying down for most of the day playing video games as well.) I’m not obese. Currently sitting anywhere from 175-145 pounds more muscular compared to average joe cuz I worked out with heavy weights 5-6 days a week for 2-3 hours per session in my sophomore to senior year of high school.
 
Definitely time to see the docs . the exercises and able to cure it with them im afraid as far as i understood this is based on the cause of sed ic as Rob says. However The exercises is more or less lower success rate as the Meds. The Meds as Rob says (i wouldn't and don't ) based on the poor success rate and LONG list of possible NASTY side effects. Same with the possible surgery as things might even get worse (again in my case i don't & wont ) However it might also work so it's a gamble id say , So in in my opinion im afraid you should start looking at the the "protection (ie diaper etc... ) option . There are cases naturally of successful IC operations and out of also called "cures " Surgery is considered the best success rate but as i sed there are also cases were operation have worsen the problems. Both the exercises as well as meds is more or less poor in success rate.
 
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No it does not, you are just going through the first stages of denial and trying to accept your incontinence issues and asking questions. Some times incontinence is not curable depending on the root cause (there can be multiple reasons why you are having IC issues) .
See hour doctor and get checked out by an urologist and get some tests done (you may need to see multiple specialists to determine the root cause) depending on what they find or do not find you will have to determine the best way to manage your issue either with meds (deal with possible side effects) or simply wear premium diapers like Betterdry or Dry 24/7 I choose Diapers due to not wanting to chance any side effects of the meds that do not work most times.

after 4 years of being diapered 24/7 I can honestly say it has not impacted my daily life and can have some benefits when stuck in traffic and you feel the need to pee :) The only real change is the fact we now have to plan ahead when we travel to make sure I do not run out of supplies (Diapers) 😀

Remember you are not alone in having to deal with IC issues and ask as many questions you need to or even just to vent (just remember to post in the incontinence section)
 
Weakendpelvic floor muscles and even a pinched nerve are unlikely to cause bladder and bowel incontinence. Yes weakened pelvic floor muscles can lead to a slight loss of urine when lifting, coughing or sneezing but rarely total loss and the nerves for the bladder and the bowel exit at different parts of the spinal chord and coloumn so a simple trapped nerve wouldn't explain it either.
 
Sorry to say, but curing incontinence has a prettly low chance. Most people have to find way of managing it, and often enough pills and kegel exercises do help at least some. This will all depend on the severity and cause for your incontinence though. And the way you worded it, it sounds like this was a sudden and severe development for you. Make sure to follow up with a urologist, they will be able to help you better than we can.
 
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