@maureercria I am up all night with bathroom runs, really impacting my sleep. The act of getting up then brings on an immunosuppressant caused "night sweat" so that then keeps me awake for quite a while sometimes. I also do leak sometimes. What are the medications that were prescribed for you? Are you on Medicare? I ask because I am, and I am trying to determine if for me they would also be quite costly. I wonder too if these are something that you can take on and off, for instance take them if you really need to not have that urgency due to traveling or something. This has become such a problem for me I am thinking about seeing a urogynecologist for help.

I know my incontinence is not the type that can be helped by that "sling" type of surgery, I wish it was because I have known people who have had that and found it amazingly successful.

When I was prescribed Myrbetric a few years back I also felt that for the price I would just deal with having to go frequently but it has gotten much worse. If my insurance will pick up a decent amount of it, and if it's OK per my transplant team, I may try it. Jimhas mentioned in a prior post a "sister" drug to Myrbetric that has been helpful. I will look into that too.

I have put off going to a urogynecologist for months now, but I am at the point where I really need to get some help with this.
Thanks for any info you can give me.
JK

Oxybutynin, then Myrbetric, and then Vesicare are three prescriptions I tried for urinary urgency that did not help me terribly. Oxybutynin has been around forever. The other two are newer drugs. When off med's between Myrbetric and Vesecare, I had one urgency issue when pulling into my garage after having been away from home. I still do get up at night with the feeling I need to urinate whether on pills or not. I was told by my urologist that I needed to use each med for three months before deciding if it worked or not for me. I did try the first two for that long, but the cost of the Vesicare made me decide not to purchase a second month of it. I was told by a pharmacist that I should look up various exercises besides the Kegel exercises to improve urinary urgency problems. I'm not sure if I understood the pharmacist correctly. It sounded like he was saying Kessel exercises. I think he meant Kegel. I guess it is supposed to help to do thigh and other area exercises for it. Diet-wise, I am going to look into a gastroparesis diet for delayed emptying of stomach. I also wonder if the pressure in my intestines from my IBS with constipation could be putting pressure on my bladder. I have no idea. I just try whatever I think could possibly help me. All these symptoms can wake me up during the night

@contentandwell

I'm taking Oxybutynin now. I'm on Medicare, with medication supplement with Humana, who has a mail order pharmacy, where I pay an $8.00 copay for 3 month scrips. No more sudden urgency. I usually get up once a night.

Jim

@maureercria thanks for the info. A long time ago I was on oxybutnin and then vesicare but got off of them because I started having confusion episodes which apparently can occur with vesicare, particularly in combination with some other meds. I got off that and a couple of other prescriptions with no bad effects. I got off them and had no episodes of confusion for three months so we thought that had done it but it turned out to be HE episodes from cirrhosis. The vesicare did help a bit and I guess my insurance must have paid for it because I do not recall it being particularly expensive.
I often have problems when I get the car into the garage and am heading into the house. I can't help but think that part of my problem is psychological since it seems that it becomes extremely urgent when I get near a bathroom, to the point where I often saturate a pad.
I have an appointment with a urologist who was recommended by my gynecologist but I wonder if he is the right person to go to. I am thinking if part of my problem is psychological that I might be better off with a urogynecologist.
JK

@jimhd Jim, it was a long time ago that I took oxybutynin but if I recall correctly it did not help me much, not as much as Vesicare did, but even that did not help much.
JK

@contentandwell

Funny. I thought it was just me. I usually have to hurry into the house.

Jim

I have that "urgency" thing. I'm thinking my urologist said it had to do with the aging of the brain and a chemistry change.

Have your doctor order a red blood cell magnesium test, tests for Vitamin D, zinc, B12 and copper deficiencies.

Make sure if you are taking a Vitamins B complex vitamin that it contains the Methyl B12 and not the cyanide B12. Cyanide is a killer. Why is this killer in my B Complex? And what is it doing to my body? I take both the B complex with the cyanide B12 and the Methyl B12.about 8 to 12 hours apart. Since the B vitamins are water soluble and transported by HDL cholesterol and leaves the body through sweat and urine, is there any problem doubling up on the B12?

Need Selenium? You can get a full day's worth of the RDA in one half cup cottage cheese. High salt content, so watch out. Don't add extra seasonings containing salt. Black pepper is great. Dill weed adds a little excitement to the flavor.

Learn how to do Kegel exercises correctly. Strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.

@marthalewfinn918 It is possible now to find low sodium cottage cheese. I just found some last week. The brand is Hood, which I think is just in the northeast, and it has 55 mg of sodium per half cup.
JK

@jimhd I can head to the bathroom with no urgency and as soon as I get there it is extremely urgent. That's why I think there might be a psychological component. If there is then I don't think a urologist will be able to help even though he deals mostly with female problems. I think perhaps a good urogynecologist would be appropriate but they are hard to come by up here in NH. My son-in-law's sister is one in Boston but I think I might feel funny going to her even thought I really like her a lot. Also, it would be nice to not have another doctor in Boston, I already have so many.
JK