Pee when I cough

[Nani5]

I have had upper respiratory and cough for about a week. Lately I find I pee when I cough hard and deep to bring up mucus. Not only is it embarrassing but scary. Will this go away when the flu goes away or is this an additional symptom of MS? I am on cough med and inhaler. I did have a flu shot. Anyone experiencing this?

[Royjr]

I have similar issues and I also know other ms patient with bladder issues. Especially if I'm going through some type of infection. MS can cause bladder incontinence.

[Michelednlp]

I just finished up with an episode of pneumonia. I had episodes of incontinence when I coughed while I was sick. No problems since the pneumonia has resolved. Mine was probably stress incontinence as I have given birth to 2 children.

[erash]

Nani5 sounds like stress urinary incontinence

May be assoc. w/ your MS but can also be due to aging, decreased PC muscle control, multiple births, etc

Kegel exercises can help (Google)

May improve after cough resolves but likely signals a weakness there (more muscle than neuro but can b both)

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador]

Hi Nani5 l thought it was age and menopause, so did the kegel exercises. It didn't, help my Neuro told me it was because of my MS and put me on oxybutynin. Hopefully yours will go away after your cough goes away.

Feel better soon!

Jes🌠

[erash in reply to Jesmcd2]

Jesmcd2 oxybutynin works best for detrusor instability but oft UI is a mixed bag of stress UI and detrusor instability (OAB) so whatever works ...👍

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador in reply to erash]

erash lm not waking up all night anymore, so that's a good thing!😁🌠

[ddeadred]

DO YOUR KEGELS! I'm so happy I did them early on with my MS because now I can't feel myself doing them, but if I think about it, they still work! MonSter for 30+ years and honestly, for me all HECK broke loose when I turned 50...

Since I have experienced lose of bladder control in public, I ALWAYS wear a pee-pee pad when I leave the house. Poise pads are my product of choice though I was just able to get a pack of Always Discreet pads for FREE and like them very much. I have not been able to "test" them yet, but they are very comfortable and seem to form to the body's contours well. (I missed out on the "free trial" but called--the nice gal to whom I spoke sent me a $5 coupon which covered all but the tax! Living on my budget, I've find that calling companies is a great tool for getting really GREAT coupons! Sometimes I even get a great conversation out of the deal! Can you tell that I'm a retired retail galley owner who missed customer conversations? LOL)

[Nani5]

Thank you for your replies.It is nice to talk with others with MS.

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador in reply to Nani5]

That's why we are here Nani5 ☺

[44ssaacc]

I'm Mom, my 45 yr old daughter has MS. She uses all the advice given earlier and her physician told her that MS patients may get bladder infections and not feel the pain on urination. When she was tested and found to have unwanted bacteria in her urine, but no pain or other symptoms, he supported taking cranberry pills on going which she has done. She says the cranberry pills help stop the dribbles.

As a side effect cranberry thins the blood so check with your doctor for his opinion.

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador in reply to 44ssaacc]

44ssaacc hi there, I don't think l have had the pleasure. It's nice to meet you! I'm beginning to hear that alot on here about uti's. Not being able to feel them though would not be good. I like the idea of your Dr saying take the cranberry pills. I mix up, honey nut cheerios, rice Chex and dried cranberries. And eat that with my meds at night. It's been awhile since I have had one,knock on wood.

How are you and your daughter doing? We are always looking for the caretakers point of view ☺

Jes🌠

[44ssaacc in reply to Jesmcd2]

Hi, Thank you for your reply. We are both doing fine right now, medications helping to stabilize her and help her to live a long happy life, I pray.

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador in reply to 44ssaacc]

44ssaacc when was her DX? What DMT is she on? Hope your both having a wonderful day!

~Helpful Hint~ If you put an @in from of the person who your addressing, they will be notified. IE @ jesmcd2 *With No Spaces*

Jes🌠

[Eleyne92]

Nani5 ,been there, do that. I'm 56, and had 7 children, so I can't necessarily blame MS for my leakage, but that doesn't make it any better. I hope yours clears up along with the cough.

[Fancy1959]

Nani5, oh yes. I have experience this for years. When I cough, when I sneeze and some times when i run, not that i can run anymore.. I am not sure if I should blame this on my MS or my having three babies in natural childbirth, or maybe both! Fancy1959

[itasara]

Hi Nani, it sounds like you might have stress incontinence. There are a number of causes including MS. For instance prior pregnancies, getting older, etc. I've had this for many years and it has gotten worse over the years. It has turned into urgency. I take medication for this which helps a bit. And I wear liners every day and incontinent panties. I take medication for awhile then I come off it until the situation reoccurs. It comes and goes but never completely gone. I remember my mom had stress incontinence when she laughed hard. I figured I inherited it. I also had 5 children which could cause weakness of the muscle. So it is possible MS has made it a bit worse. Hard to tell. My gyn says the same thing. It is just another part of living I have to put up with.

[RoseySawyer]

Hi. When I got home from the hospital from being paralyzed I was okay for about 6 months then I woke up one day and I had to run to go use the bathroom. Everytime I had to cough or sneeze It would all just come out. lol My doctor put me on vivance for a while. I have gotten better since but I still have problems sometimes. I use pee pads when I go out to places. I once when to the Dollar Store with my husband and I had to pee, When I started heading towards the bathroom It just came out. He was so sweet, he ran to the car to get me a hoodie to tie around my waist so no one saw me. That was embarassing. I cried on the way home. I hope it gets better for you.

[itasara in reply to RoseySawyer]

What you describe is pretty much how my life is been going. I didn’t take the medication for a while because I’m a singer and I think it tends to drive me up to much and I’m having other vocal problems to boot. However now I’m taking 1/2 of one of the pills every day which seems to hold me better although sometimes I don’t barely make it to the bathroom if at all. I buy Underwear that has an internal liner that does help somewhat so when the pad I answer doesn’t hold me at least it doesn’t leak through the underwear itself. At least, not most of the time.

[RoseySawyer in reply to itasara]

Where do buy those internal liners?

[itasara in reply to RoseySawyer]

There are two kinds of underwear.. the ones i buy I get online from haban.com. They come in cotton or polyester. The line is built into the panty. There is another kind i've seen advertised that require pads to be inserted, but I wear daily pads anyway. I just ordered the Always extra long liners, and if they don't hold, the panty I order does not usually leak thru. I feel I need to use both the panty and the liner in case the amount is urgent and more than I expected. As I wrote I may consider something like Always designers, but the medication is helping me a bit so far and as I wrote before these larger paper pants are kind of expensive. But once in a.while if I take a trip I may need to get them.

[Qt314grl]

I have a lovely combo of incontinence that I’ve had for years and now I also have hesitation and retention. Fun times.

I also keep urine test strips on hand as I often have bladder pain (interstitial cystitis) but no infection. Saves me on the dr visits. You can get them on amazon for cheap.

[itasara in reply to Qt314grl]

I take cranberry supplement every night. I don't take the full amount recommended on the bottle, depending on which brand I get, but I have not had any UTI's or bladder pain so far.

[Nvprp21]

It happens to me a lot. It’s part of our lovely MS! I wear a pad to catch what leaks out. I’ve seen a urologist and he told me that my urethra drops when I cough and I need to have a sling. I haven’t had it done yet.

[Tracy79]

I’m 56 and started having incontinence issues in the last two-three Year. I use “pee pads” and the adult pampers (I’m now going to call the pee panties). I never had children so it must be a sign from the ms devil. Be well 🙂

[itasara in reply to Tracy79]

I may have to resort to the adult paper underwear if this continues to get worse for me. There are some new decorative ones out in the market. The problem for me is that these are all very expensive. The pants I use are not so bad but they don’t always hold me. I just hate to add another huge expense to what I already have been paying for like my medication For example. Next time I see my gynecologist I think I’m going to ask him if there’s anything else I can do.