Incontinence guestion

Submitted by dale on June 6, 2012 - 12:15pm
Body: 

I am so thankfull to have found this site.I have learned how to completely empty my bladder just from reading this forum! However,my question today is about my 80 year old mother. She has managed a uterine prolapse for 20 years with no medical help. She's had minor incontinence for the last 5 years . Recently she became lathargic with loss of appetite,and sat around a lot. She lost 10 lbs, and her urine backed up causing a bad kidney infection. After a week in the hospital to clear up the infection, she was sent home with a catheter. After about 2 weeks the catheter came out and she refused to go have it reinserted. Now she is completely incontinent. She is wet all the time.Her local doctor made an appointment for her to see a urologist since they don't know what else to do. She has improved her diet and is getting more excercise after getting home from the hospital. I got her the DVD for elders. My question is should she see this urologist or try WW posture. She has walked for years with a stooped back. Has anyone had a similar problem? Can a person naturally gain control again without seeing a urologist?

Forum:

Surviving60

June 6, 2012 - 12:32pm

Hi Dale – It will be good for your mom to try the exercises on the DVD. Whatever she is able to do will be great for her overall health and well-being. Whether or not she can get her uterus up, at this stage of the game, that is another question. That takes a lot of work, and the forming of all-new habits, even for a much younger person who is not already stooped over. Can she straighten up? Is her incontinence still improving or has that progress reached a plateau? More info please, and maybe we’ll get some more experts to chime in. - Surviving

dale

June 6, 2012 - 1:44pm

Thanks Surviving for your reply. I'm sorry about the lack of info. I am 500 miles away from my mother. I do plan to visit her next week. She is presently in the care of my sister. All my information has come through phone conversations with her. My sister has been looking at the WW site and watched the WW DVD with my mother. We have talked about her trying to walk more upright. We both agree that we do not want any type of surgery for our mother.

Surviving60

June 6, 2012 - 2:10pm

Hi Dale - WW posture involves relaxing the belly and pulling up the chest. This creates the lumbar curve (lower back) which is more or less the opposite of what your mom has at the moment. It's a big change and she would need to really understand the principles and cultivate the new posture all the time. We all had problems getting used to this! It took me the better part of a year to make it a habit. How flexible is she? Everyone gets a bit sore at first, but we don't want her to get hurt. With uterine prolapse, additional measures (such as firebreathing....is this even on the Elders vid?) are usually needed. Just want you guys to be really careful if you do decide to work on this.

Heavenlyflower

June 7, 2012 - 2:30am

Was reading Dale's post and she said she learned to empty her bladder from being on the forum, I have that problem now that my uterus and I'm assuming my bladder is hanging out too.
I was able to order Christine's book and DVD's can hardly wait to get it thanks to Amy.
Aloha,
Heavenlyflower

WholeWomanPA

June 8, 2012 - 3:14pm

Dear Heavenlyflower,
It is very important that from now on you do not press down on the toilet seat. It was never good,but much more so with prolapse. Sit on toilet in semi-squat position. You can rest forearms near your knees. This will help empty the bladder. A prolapsed bladder is like a bucket. It is no longer positioned to empty easily. By being in the semi-squat you are tilting the bucket forward,making it easier to empty. Urinating more often may also help. Emptying well is important to do at least once each day. In more problematic cases women can get down on all fours and empty into a bowl. One woman I met recently does this in the shower. Good luck! The book describes toilet habits.
WWPA

Heavenlyflower

June 8, 2012 - 10:39pm

Dear WholeWomanPA,
Thank you for your comment I am a bit confused where you say I don't need to press down on the toilet seat I don't press on the toilet seat I press on the bulge right below the opening where the urine comes out (don't know the medical term for that opening) that lets me empty my bladder I hope by me doing that it's not going to create any more problems for me?, I certainly will try what you say.
I can hardly wait for my bundle to come.
Aloha,
Heavenlyflower

Heavenlyflower

June 9, 2012 - 12:56am

Dear WholeWomanPA,
Oh my gosh! I know you're probably asleep it is 8:30 P.M. here in Hawaii your time is 2:30 A.M. I couldn't wait to tell you I did like you said and boy oh boy I never knew urinating could feel so wonderful my body feels different it actually feels relaxed, I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive about using the bathroom.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
I can't tell you how fortunate I am for finding the WW webpage I will forever be in debtded to all you wonderful ladies and more so for Christine who did all the work and made it possible so we could have a life as Whole Women.
Goodnight and much Aloha.
Heavenlyflower

dale

June 9, 2012 - 10:13am

Hi WoleWomanPa, If my 80 year old woman tried emptying her bladder everyday as you described, would this help her to stay drier? She is completely incontinent at this time.

louiseds

June 10, 2012 - 9:34am

Hi Dale

It is hard to say what improvement she can get, because it depends on why she is incontinent. If she has simply lost control of her bladder, as so many old people tend to do, WW techniques may not help her much, but if the change in general posture, and the change of posture while emptying, make her pelvic floor muscles work better, she might get some improvement. What does she have to lose by trying? She is still a woman with the same natural design as when she was younger, after all. I think there are good reasons to encourage her but be aware that it might frustrate her and make her feel worse than ever if all her efforts are in vain. Incontinence is not pleasant for the person concerned, but sometimes dignified acceptance is the optimum path.

Has she consulted a continence clinic to find out what is causing it?