Maybe this will help - part 3

THIS IS PART 3 OF A SERIES OF POSTS I DID THAT COVER MY WIFE'S SYMPTOMS AND THINGS WE DID (OR LEARNED) TO HELP. I NOTICED THAT THIS ONE GETS READ SIX OR SEVEN TIMES MORE THAN THE OTHER TWO. IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE ARE SUFFERING FROM MSA (or a similar disease) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU READ THE OTHER TWO AS WELL. THESE ARE THINGS THAT I WISH WE HAD KNOWN IN OUR JOURNEY. Scott 12/15/12

Here we go again with symptoms and complications of my wife's MSA (Multiple System Atrophy for those of you not playing along).

I thought of this one when I was writing yesterdays post. It actually started before all the others, but in a non-intrusive way. (plus I was not involved at that point) I am talking about incontinence.

Urogentital problems are some of the first to show up in most MSA patients. Bladder leakage, especially in women, erection problems in men; and the host of other "plumbing" issues that can occur - usually do.
For those of you that are not on the north side of 50 or females without multiple pregnancies and birth, you may not realize that these problems are quite common among those that do fit into these categories. Therefore the onset of these symptoms is not attached to MSA until MSA attaches itself, in most cases.

We have six children. For those of you who still look for storks or go to the cabbage patch, that means my wife carried and delivered six little people. That takes a toll on the body, especially in the area of discussion here. As most men are, I was ignorant of this fact. I did not know that most women over the age of 40 pee when they sneeze or laugh. (note to women - you guys have done a wonderful job of coverup. But, you need to stop the Poise people. They are blowing it for you!) My wife had been having some "leakage" problems for a while. The move to incontinence was and is a gradual one. MSA speeds this process up, dramatically in some cases.

We do not have any secrets here. I can highly recommend the undergarment products sold by Wal-Mart sold under the Assurance brand. They are of a good quality. They work as needed. They are much less money than the name brand stuff like Depends. Tena makes a good incontinence pad. They have a nightime version that again, really works. It is also less money than the Poise. In our experience, it actually works better.

There are bed pads that can be used for chairs as well as beds. I can tell you, in our experience, the lower priced ones here are fine. They are a backup anyway. I would advise you to put one under the sheets as a backup. We have saved the matress a few times with this one. If no accidents occur, you just leave it when you change the sheets. One other note -  always travel with a backup pad/brief or any other products you use. You never know. (there is a post I did called - "To pee or not to pee" that goes into this")

My wife has also gotten some help from medicine. She takes a product called Sanctura, the extended release version. She has been on it for over a year now. Although we would have to take her off it to see what exactly it is doing now, we did notice a marked improvement when she started. Her "control" is better now than is was when we started as well. It has the side benefit of being an anticholinergic. This class of drugs was used to treat Parkinson's symptoms before the discovery and use of Levadopa. So, in addition to helping with her bladder problems it seems to help somewhat with the parkinsonism aspect of her disease. There are other better known products for bladder control. You may see some commercials on TV. The reason for this one, we were told, is the fact that it does not affect the brain function. My wife has the curse of participating in most negative side effects of drugs. Other bladder control medicines seemed to bother her more than this. Other than a dry mouth, this one seems fine. You and your doctor would have to find the best for you. I would recomment you put Sanctura on your list however.

Beyond making you aware of the medicines, the incontinence products aisle that is now in almost any full-line retailer, and the products we have found to be the best deal; I would want to remind you of an important point. DO NOT TRY TO CONTROL INCONTINENCE BY LIMITING FLUIDS!! With the orthostatic hypotension that is prevelant among most MSA patients, it is critical to remain fully hydrated. My wife was trying to control her "leakage" early in this process with the result that she was passing out more often. Not a good trade off. Drink liquids - as much as you can. The benefits outweigh the negatives.

As the title says - Maybe this will help.