It is comforting to know that I am not the only woman fighting the incontinence battle, although I wouldn't wish this nightmare on anyone! I went to a urologist just this past week and had a urodynamics test run. This included drinking a large amount of water about an hour and a half before the test and resisting voiding for 3 hours. Then when I was finally called into the exam room, they had me pee in this huge funnel, which was hooked up to a computer. The computer measured the force of my urine stream and the amounts on a graphic screen. After I finished peeing into the funnel, the nurse inserted a catheter into my bladder and measured what was removed via catheter for residual output. Then that catheter was removed, and a much smaller one inserted, and a small rectal probe was inserted into my rectum. A couple of electrodes were placed on my buttocks to measure muscle contraction there while voiding. Then the nurse hooked the bladder catheter up to a bag of normal saline hanging from a pole and filled my bladder up with fluid. I was instructed to tell her when I first felt any pressure, when I felt as though I should void, and when I felt that I couldn't hold it any longer. Then she told me to pee. With the catheter in place, blocking my ureters, I had to lean to one side to get anything out, and it took forever. After I peed that way, she measured what I had voided. That was the end of the test. AFter lunch, I visited with the urologist again, who offered several options. Then he started me on Detrol, which is a medication for overactive bladder. He told me the next step, if the Detrol does not help, is to do surgery. One surgery involved inserting diamond chips into my urethra to help tighten it up, the other surgery was the TVT surgery.
I have noticed some relief with the Detrol, but I am still not confident enough to go without my pads.
I am told this is a pretty common problem in women our age, and that a lot of women just suffer through it without seeking treatment. I'm glad I have started trying to cure my problem, and I'd certainly encourage anyone else fighting incontinence to do the same.