Piddling WOMEN ONLY

Please no men. This is a bit embarrassing.

The last 3 trips I did, I have experienced, piddling. I do not understand it.

I am a larger gal, and I have that, "Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go RIGHT NOW" then I run or walk legs tightly pressed and crooked to the nearest loo. I know this is my own issue, so I try to accommodate by doing my business before hiking, and before bed, even though I get out of the Hammock 2-3 times at night to try to make it as far away as I can.

It is bad. My hubby is so nice about it on the trail. Catching my trekking poles as I turn around and dump them in front of him, all the while unbuckling and dancing to get the pack off. He try's to catch my pack, but sometimes it hits the ground. He knows it's no joke. I'll drop my pants and pee anywhere. It's not my ideal situation. I wish I could pee standing up, but it doesn't work with my body design. I wish I could just pee with the pack on, but again, not a good plan and it doesn't work.

So the last 3 trips, I've experience piddling throughout the whole freaken hike. I cannot stop it. I do Kegels, and my muscles are strong there. But I just all of a sudden piddle in my panties. I have no control. It is Horrible! I am not sure if it is a little or more and I freak out. I start cussing and ready to cry on the trail. I feel so out of control. I swear it's piddle, I do not think my downstairs can sweat that much, that fast.

My hubby claims it is because I'm not drinking enough water. I hesitate drinking too much water, because I know it makes me have to pee, and I get no warning. He yells at me to drink more, and claims I'm dehydrated, and that might cause loss of muscle control or something.

I get sensations that I have to pee, but not like a bladder infection. It goes away once at camp or TH.

I feel like a cocker spaniel piddling all over. :eek:

Is there a Doctor in the house? or a VET? Any ideas? I read the thread on panty liners, and I'm not sure if I should go straight to a diaper. grrrr...

Help???? please???? :o:o:o:o:o

I have a friend whose doctor took a piece of muscle and built a "sling" under her bladder to keep that from happening. Worked great for her. There are meds for the constant "gotta go" problem as well.

Messed up blood sugar can cause urinary urgency. Do you eat a lot of sweets while hiking?

Also, I haven't used any artificial sweeteners (or stevia for that matter) in months now, but if I have sweet, calorie free drinks, it *does* cause me to have to pee a lot and immediately.

The other idea is maybe that you should try a different backpack or have it refitted. Maybe it's pressing on a nerve during the day and screwing up your ability to, um, manage the situation.

Truth be told: I am a guy. However, I have been a critical care nurse for 5 years, and I have a wee bit of perspective on the subject. :D
Most likely you have stress incontinence, which occurs intermittently with activities that increase intra-abdominal pressure (i.e. coughing, sneezing, using your core muscle tension to stabilize a heavy backpacking while lunging up a mountainside). If this is the cause, you probably have a weak urinary sphincter (perhaps from childbearing). If Kiegels haven't worked, the following may help: avoid diuretics and caffeine containing beverages on hiking days, lower your body mass index, reduce your pack weight. Though you may simply need to use an absorbent pad while hiking.
Most importantly, I strongly urge you to get this checked out by a competent physician, especially if you have risk factors for diabetes, such as: family history of diabetes, frequent hunger, thirst, and urination, obesity, high fat diet. Why? Diabetes can damage the nerves that control the bladder and urinary sphincters, causing discoordination and incontinence. Many people with diabetes are unaware until they are hospitalized due to complications.
You may not be emptying your bladder completely when you do urinate, and a simple ultrasound in a physician's office can identify urine retention, possibly leading you to an answer to your concerns. This may also lead you to a medication that can held with the "piddling".
Either way, see a medical practitioner, even if it's just a visit to the local county health department.
Good luck and happy hiking.

Wow, thank you for all the support and the pm's. This was enlightening.
I do know I need to lose some more weight, hence the hiking attempts. I used to be 315lbs and have lost 100lbs, finding back a few....grrr but still not giving up.

I do not eat sweets on the trail or before. I usually bring tea with xylitol for the evening, and not drink it. Water is it.

I own a weight loss clinic that does B6 and B12 injections and a menu plan, that incorporates all the food groups and is VERY effective when followed consistently. I try to eat as close to the menu as I can when on trips. I just got a Dehydrator to make my own meals that are lower in sodium. I know not to eliminate sodium for hikes, but I can reduce it and eat organically.

I'm not diabetic even though it runs in my family. Thank the gods for that.
I actually help diabetic patients control their glucose levels with food and minimize their meds, including insulin. I have patients that have regained and managed their health with the help from our clinic. I'm trying to get my own act together.

This was a personal subject and I appreciate you all being there for me to ask. I will find an MD whom I'm comfortable with to get this check out.

I agree that it is most likely Stress or MIX incontinence. I'm not as bad when I'm not exerting myself out on the trail.

Goal: Lose Weight, Eat healthy, see doctor, Keep pack weight under 30lbs (it was 25 last trip), and Don't GIVE up.

Thank you again.

Congratulations on losing the weight; that's a LOT of work. Your problem is not that uncommon, especially in women, so it's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.

OK Confession: I've had problems all my life. I admit with my problem, I still get embarrassed, mainly from worry of what others might think, so I know where you're coming from.

I finally went to a urologist and got diagnosed with a hypermobile urethra. It's a congenital problem and my doctor told me in my case, surgery wasn't advisable, and weight loss wouldn't help.

The one thing that will help is to relax the bladder with medication. I could take something like Detrol LA to relax my bladder muscle, but why do that when a low dose of Imipramine (the link is for info from Wikipedia) is cheaper and has fewer side effects?

Another thing I've found useful is counting. Really. Counting causes me to breathe in and out, and relaxes my abdominal muscles, and maybe my bladder, which is the polar opposite of what you are doing. I don't have to count out loud, just the mental process helps.

Now, I'm not saying this is your problem; the only one that can say that is a doctor. I'd suggest you start with your gynecologist; you already have a relationship with him/her, and they may be able to do initial testing, or they can point you in the right direction.

The Mayo Clinic has a really good website that will give you an idea what to expect when seeking a diagnosis. At test I had done is called urodynamic testing, which really wasn't too bad; it's not painful; the worst it gets is that you feel you have a really full bladder.

BTW Dehydration can cause incontinence just as much as overhydration, because the concentrated salts will irritate your bladder.

Don't be ashamed to go and get properly tested; you'll be glad you did. K2

I'm not heavy, don't carry a heavy pack, don't have diabetes or anything, but for some reason, once I get going on a long backpack trip, after a while I have no control over my bladder. I have to go NOW! I was glad to be hiking alone because I could stop immediately without having to find a place to hide.

One thing I did do that may or may not be useful is I took a Wishbone salad dressing bottle and cut it diagonally to form a urinary device. I was able to pee standing up with it. It didn't solve the having to go immediately issue, but I didn't have to stop and take off my pack and I didn't have to worry about mosquitoes.

loosen your hip belt, take the pressure off that area, always helps me...
and u may want to check w/ a doctor as well

Definitely see a doctor. I was born with a smaller than normal bladder. After having three kids and after a major abdominal surgery when I was 39 I started to really have a lot of trouble with severe pain and the constant 'gotta go' feeling and from time-to-time leaking. I kept my liquid intake low on purpose and I used panti-liners constantly because I was so worried I would lose control.

I'm average weight for my height and exercise regularly as well as do my k-work...but I would literally be in pain constantly with that 'gotta-go' feeling and even a slightly full bladder hurt and would bring tears to my eyes.

My doc put me on meds a couple years ago and the change is amazing. My bladder has stopped sending me painful signals or that I have 'gotta-go' NOW! and I am only up a couple times a night verses constantly.

I know hike with a couple liters of water most days and drink almost all of it through the hike and I no longer have bladder pain, but I do have to loosen my hip belt as it gets near time to empty a full bladder.

Skittles,

I am a retired urology nurse specialist that worked with a lot of women, and men on urinary incontinence. Everyone has offered you great suggestions. Your weight may be a factor but don't let people tell you that is the cause. I've worked with women 90 pds that have severe urine loss and seen women 300 pds not have any problems. I would ask if the problem only occurs when you are hiking or if it is the same in your daily life? The urgency loss of urine is different from "stress" or press on the bladder loss of urine and treated differently. If the urine leakage is from "urgency" (feeling the urge to urinate and can't wait) there are medications available that can help reduce the urgency. Artificial sweeteners and caffeine are the biggest irritants that people often drink that can really aggrevate the symptoms as well as spicey foods. Also, because of the problem many people limit their fluid intake and if you have bladder irritation and urgency the more concentrated your urine is the more it actually irritates the bladder and causes you to urinate more often. Hiking it's easy to be dehydrated so be sure to drink plenty of fluids. Keeping yourself well hydrated is very important. If the loss of urine is when you have pressure to your bladder from coughing, laughing, or your pack then kegels, or bladder support through surgery can help. Some times the support of the bladder can weaken and the bladder actually "drops" making it difficult for women to completely empty their bladder, thus have to go more frequently as they are only draining part of the bladder with each urination. As suggested by others you may want to seak a consult by a urologist. A great way to help the doctor and yourself get a good grasp of what is really going on is to keep a diary of your urinary habits. Keep track of when and how much you urinate for 3 - 5 days. A food diary can help too. If you do this before you visit the doctor you can save yourself an additional office call as most urologist will want this information during their evaluation process.

Good luck, there are many options out there for you so don't get discouraged and know you can get help so you enjoy your hiking trips more.

Pokey Princess.

Wow, I really didn't think I would get this much support. Thank you all

Kizzybean, in reply, as far as my symptoms, daily life I have the Gotta Go RIGHT NOW about 50% of the time. I do not get much warning, or feelings. It just hits me, and I creep to the bathroom, legs squeezed tight and walk retarded hoping to make it. 10% of the 50% I don't make it without an accident. I'm pretty good about getting 3-4 quarts of water down per day which is supposed to be good for weight loss.

Hiking though is interesting. I do have to admit that my water intake is most likely not where it should be for my body type and needs. I sip on my bladder (2qt) and will not finish it even after 6 hrs of moderate hiking. Bad, I know. It was the fear of having to go and the drama it is to have to off load my pack, drop the poles, find a place (hopefully off the trail or out of view) and go.

Lately, it has been either
A. I am hiking along, and BAM it hits, I gotta go and my body tries to start without me.
B. I am fine, but every mile or so, my body releases urine (piddle) and I have no control of my muscles to stop it. Just enough to wet my pants. this happens more than I'd like to admit.
OR C. I'm hiking along, and I stop to rest or for My hubby to drink out of his nalgene's, and BAM I gotta go NOW! I didn't before, and I could have just went 10 minutes ago. But once I stop walking, I have to go. He tries to get me to stop and rest on an incline, or after I have been going along so well, and I refuse for fear of this happening. Of course he gets upset and tells me to stop anyway, and then just go potty.

I will definitely journal. I already journal my food intake for my weight loss program, so that is easy.

I think weight loss, and drinking more water might work. I might just have to automatically go potty every hour like I make my dog have to do.

My mom had this problem as well, the gotta go, and piddling, but she wasn't active, and was an alcoholic. So I never applied those symptoms to me.

Thank you again. I have spoken with my doctor, and she is on the same page.

my first summer out i had to GOTTA GO all the time...and while this advice will not help the "disease" it may help the "symptom". and i should say i don't reccomend unbuckling your waist strap bc you can't reasonably expect to carry a full pack on just your shoulders and not suffer for it.

i wore shorts years ago and got really tired of having to take off my pack, pull down my pants, etc. every what-seemed-like 15 minutes bc i was drinking so much fluid, and i was constantly washing out and drying the 2 pairs of panties i brought along. so i switched to a longer, knee-length, hiking skirt and no undies. so when there is urgency, it's just a matter of a quick squat.

in all honesty, i stay much cleaner and more comfortable.

One thing you might look into is see if you have a gluten sensitivity. Sounds crazy I know... many people are not aware of it but an allergy to gluten can cause incontinence. Just something to look into. Very easy problem to correct if that is the problem... you just avoid gluten (in all of its forms).

Not sure if this was mentioned yet.... another thing that can complicate the issue is that when you squat to pee, sometimes you don't empty your bladder completely because of the angle. Leaving a few ounces behind leaves more room for discomfort and infection.

Go to hiking in a skirt with no underdraws on....then you dont have to do anything but SQUAT....:D