Over the last couple of years I’ve had pretty nasty bladder problems. Loads of tests later and it seems the problem is down to the nerves and the muscle that control the bladder. Medication is horrible and doesn’t go well with driving so I’ve had a fair bit of time off with effects - dry eyes, nose, mouth & lethargy to mention but a few.
Putting the medication to one side, as it really doesn’t work well anyway, I’m peeing a good 25+ times a day. It’s no fun having to pull over at every service station you pass, whilst trying to cram in nearly 400 miles driving a night from Exeter to MK and back. It’s the only route the company does, so I can’t get on to a more local run.
The bugger of it is that I’ve finally got a good £13 per hour job trunking on wag & drag with a good company and stable income. The old bladder problems are not getting better, and if anything are likely to get worse for the forseeable future as there is no quick cure.
The problem has been getting me down and as much as I hate the idea, I’m almost being forced in to packing in driving until things sort themselves out (if they ever do).
Has anyone else experienced similar problems? If so, any adivce■■? The NHS offer catheters & pads, but these either create bladder infections or sore skin, so neither are a great help.
Can’t really offer advice, but can certainly empathise.
It’s a miserable dilemna to find yourself in, and one which doesn’t allow much for dignity. My problems don’t sound as bad as yours - it’s the getting up in the night which really does for me - but I do have an inkling of how it feels and the quandary it puts you in.
I found that taking a higher dose of medication (I use Tolteradine) but only at night makes it workable to drive on it, in fact I take most of my various meds that way. Taking a neuropathic painkiller - Gabapentin in my case - helps as well. I take it for other pain, but helping with the bladder is a handy side effect.
I totally get what you mean about the multiple stopping, and the sheer impracticality of catheters and pads, but have you thought about a portable urinal so that you can stop when you actually NEED to rather than when a toilet is available? Just an idea. I know I’ve fallen into the trap of restricting my drinking, which makes things worse…
Have you thought about a ■■■■■■ and bag rather than a catheter for while you’re driving? I gather from fellow MSers that they do exist, although as yet no-one has come up with a female version…May be worth investigating with your Continence Nurse though. If you don’t HAVE a Continence Nurse, push to get one. Specialist Nurses are the patient’s best friend, if you take advantage of the services they have to offer.
This is going to sound daft…but for dry mouth chew gum or ■■■■ sugar-free sweets…for dry nose put E45 cream up it (Really! It works!)…never had the dry eyes so don’t know about that, and have a lot of fatigue from my condition anyway, so wouldn’t notice the lethargy. I also plaster on the lip slave and handcream to keep my skin under some sort of control.
not the ideal solution but with a tube and some form of suitable container may be of some use. i believe female fighter pilots use something similar.
as for the original OP, sorry to hear that you are thinking of giving up the job you obviously enjoy, but a bit of a crude method i have found is a pringles tube (its air tight until you rip the lid off (if it wasnt how would the crisps stay fresh)but remember it is made of cardboard and will soak it up so one tube will last about 4 hours once used), easy to urinate into and empty at the earliest opportunity (at night it gets poured out of the window with nothing behind me) if the urge gets too strong and there are a few more miles until the services.
sorry i cant help anymore and good luck with your dilema, i hope you get it sorted.
Sheaths are available but I get the impression that it is the frequency that is getting you down and am I correct in assuming that you do get sufficient warning. If this is the case then you could be issued recepticals to take with you if you ask for them from your GP or specialist nurse, if not sheaths are discreet and would I am sure suit your purpose and ease the stress of you worrying about this. Lucy nagged me to make better use of my specialist nurse (I suffer from autoimmune arthritis) and it was the best thing she could have done for me, I can’t tell you how much help and support they can be.
If your company is one of the larger ones then you may find that talking to the applicable senior would result in the company working with your issue which would also be a weight off your mind but if you fear for your job then keep quiet and I am sure together we can think of something.
If it would help then please pm me and I will do whatever I can to help.
Either way let us know how you get on.
Best of luck
Lindsey
