This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

.. could or has a pelvic floor stimulator removed you bladder or bowel incontinence issues?

there are many pelvic floor stimulatiors used to strengthen the pelvic floor and i wonder how much this could help an ms patient who suffers from incontinence?

http://www.kegel8.co.uk/articles/kegels-for-men.html


- i have been having botox injections in the bladder (200 units in 30 injections) since 06/2013 once every 6 months) but around the first injections my nystagmus (visual) got bad and my legs weakened, at the time i didnt associate this with the botox but have since learnt botox can weaken other unrelated muscles in the body.

so when my last botox started wearing off i noticed i was much more incontinent than before having this botox.
Before my first injections, i would only occassionly leak, say once ever few days, but now i leak urine EVERY time i need to go,
this makes sense as my bladder has been paralized from the botox for 1.5 years, there is no bladder muscle tone, so now want to re-strength my bladder muscles / pelvic floor

but can using electrical stimulation on the pelvic floor completely resolve my incontinence

or is it all down to my ms / neurological damage and the best ill get from electrical stimulation is a return to pre-botox incontinence
but if my nystagmus goes back to pre-botox state that would be great, as i never noticed it back then

thank you

Hi dc10

I doubt the stim would make a long term difference. It's intervention that only works whilst you're intervening. I tried stim for other things and it was great for a few hours then it always faded away.
What else are you doing? I have a different view than others but it seems to work. Ultimately, its about you so we better understand you first.

Regards

Hi Scott,

I have tried bladder drugs in the past like Tolterodine, Trospium, Oxybutynin,but they worsen my vision i have also had BOTOX shots in the bladder but this also weakened other muscle so made my nystagmus and leg strength worse,

so im hoping using a pelvic floor stimulator will improve my bladder control but not if it would just be temporary.

Di you have any other suggestions to help bladder frequency, control and urgency, whether its medical or a natural treatment?

thanks

Hi dc10,

I guess there are two things to broadly look at.1) what contributes to your general condition and 2)what is making your muscles spastic as I think that lack of control impacts your eyes, your legs and your bladder.
On the first topic I would undertake a though review of what infections you have. Your immune system is compromised so opportunistic infections can be a major issue. Check again for EBV infection (I assume that will be positive) but also for mycoplasmas, chlamydia's ,lyme(if its a reasonable chance) and any urinary tract infections etc. They may work synergistically and they can be treated. When I first started on Valtrex to treat EBV I had a very annoying dribble but it cleared up after 18 months and never returned. I did have horrendous bowel problems for several years that had me worrying how far I was from a toilet. I found buying a bottle of lactoferrin and following the recommended dosage in two bursts a week apart reset my bowel. I did feel a bit uneasy mentally while I did this but it was totally unexpected and dose dependent. I felt fine as soon as I stopped.
I've also assumed that my gut flora has been disturbed and use a probiotic each day (ask the chemist for the most expensive one you can afford-there's a difference). Also I drink pomegranate juice each morning. It's a struggle to find a good write up on it but it's full of good stuff.
On the second point,none of these things will deal with the spasticity but they might address what caused it to become a problem. For muscles.I'm finding I have had great relief from 5mg per night of Baclofen. That's a super low dose. Normally people are on 10mg and up. It might help in your circumstance. If you are taking it, I would suggest you also take 300mg or above of Coenzyme Q10 and L-carnitine. The Baclofen is a potassium channel blocker which modulates the tightening of muscles. The other two items help boost ATP which is needed to help muscles release.

Regards