Post surgery stress incontinence: Any good advice for everyone?

I’m five weeks post surgery and in the thick of stress incontinence.

I’ve figured out a few things that have worked for me. But, wondering if everyone could share for the larger group your best tips/advice for managing stress incontinence.

Here are a few tips that have been helpful for me:

• Yes, avoid bladder irritants (caffeine, alcohol, carbonated drinks, artificial sweeteners, spicy foods, acidic foods). I started this diet modification from day one and I think it’s helped.

I messed up one day and had some artificial sweetener which I didn’t realize was in my smoothie protein powder. That morning, the spigot was turned back on full force. So, no artificial sweetener for me for a while.

• If you’re just wearing pads, a jock strap really helps keep the pad in position. Before that, I had clothing leakage when the pad slipped out of proper position. Not a fan of jock straps, but it’s better than leaking around the pad.

• When getting up in the morning, pee before sitting down to poop. The process of sitting might induce a spurt. Better just to pee to clear that pressure.

• When changing pads or getting dressed or getting out of the shower, I grab a little toilet paper as a stand-in for a pad just to catch any dribbles.

• If you have a lot of leakage issues, wearing a pull-up brief and then inserting pads is really helpful. Just don’t pull the sticky strip if inserting into a pull-up.

• Keep a pee bottle in the car. When we travelled for two hours and got stuck in traffic, let’s just say I was so thankful we had one of those stowed away in the car.

What else would you suggest for the larger group? Thanks much!