Incontinence Struggles

Marp

My sister has been experiencing nighttime incontinence for 3-4 months now.  We have all the supplies - bed pads, mattress protectors, nighttime underwear, etc. Cleanup problems are minimal due to all the protective measures we have.  

The problem is my sister is really struggling to deal with it.  I help her get cleaned up and out of the nighttime underwear each day.  At some point during the process, she will cry, nearly every day.  Sometimes she cries just for a few minutes, but many days lately, the crying has lasted longer into the morning and has affected her functioning.  She gets mad at her clothes and then has trouble putting them on (she can still dress herself for the most part, except when she's upset), can't remember how to blow her nose, can't brush her teeth, etc when she gets upset like this.

I try to be reassuring and tell her the doctor said we just have to keep managing things until her condition changes.  I leave it open ended as to what I mean by changes - I let her think there could eventually be improvement so she sees the nighttime underwear, etc as a temporary situation. That may help a little, but not much; she's still distraught.

We've had an appointment with her psychiatrist & she doesn't recommend any med changes right now.  My sister just recovered from RSV so maybe some of the excessive emotions are due, in part, to residual effects of that; maybe that's why the psychiatrist wants to wait a couple months before changing meds.

Anyone else deal with this type of situation?  If so, what did you do to comfort your LO? 

Arrowhead

While I do deal with incontinence, my wife usually takes things in stride and doesn't seem to need the reassurances that your sister needs. However, it seems to me that what you are doing about it is probably the best that you can do. Unfortunately, this disease seldom gives us many options. Try to not despair.

Marp

Thanks for the response.

Yeah, this nasty disease doesn't always give us a lot of options.

Iris L.

You might tell her that many women experience incontinence to some degree, especially if they have born children.  That's why there have been so many incontinence products on the shelves lately, from pads to undergarments. Usually dementia related incontinence occurs in the later stages, when PWDs are not so aware.  If she is in an earlier stage, a gynecologic or a urological cause might be searched for.   You both are wise to be prepared.

Iris