Health Expert Pete shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/2288/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/2288/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/2288/index http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/144575/incontinence Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:54:00 -0400 Pete Many people suffering from incontinence have the added issue of pain associated with bladder and prostate issues.   I had surgery to remove some infected prostate tissue in an attempt to cure my chronic bladder infections; unfortunately, it did not.   What it did leave me with is urge incontinence, stress incontinence, and pain on voiding, all of which can be side effects of prostate surgery.   My pain occurs if I empty my bladder... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/144575/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/144574/incontinence Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:53:00 -0400 Pete I used to have wonderful health insurance. Low deductible and pretty much covered whatever the doctor ordered as long as it was within the policy. If it wasn't in the policy (for example, the Botox injections I get for urge incontinence) it was fairly easy to request coverage. Might have to fight for it, but in the end, if it was reasonable, they would cover it.   I know that over time health care costs have risen, and insurance companies,... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/144574/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/143277/incontinence Fri, 26 Aug 2011 07:41:00 -0400 Pete One of the biggest issues I deal with in the summer time is an increase in odor.   In addition to both stress and urge incontinence, I also am prone to bladder infections. My body is so used to this that I rarely have the typical symptom for most people, which is a burning sensation upon voiding. Usually my first indication of a UTI (urinary tract infection) is consistently cloudy urine and odor from the bacteria.   When this combines... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/143277/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/138710/prostatitis Thu, 07 Jul 2011 09:54:00 -0400 Pete Some time ago there was a post entitled "Why Choose a Women's Health Physical Therapist?"   There were many reasons listed for this and I agreed with most or all of them. However men with pelvic floor dysfunction (or in my case, pelvic/voiding pain), have difficulty finding a physical therapist (PT) that's even willing to try, much less have some success.   Many men suffer from Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPPS).  It... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/138710/prostatitis http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/138387/incontinence Mon, 23 May 2011 12:19:00 -0400 Pete Recently I wrote about being your own advocate, and about letting doctors know how you feel about your condition and how they are treating it.   I wrote that there is nothing wrong with letting them know if you think they have made a mistake, or that they are not doing something you feel they should be doing.   I was going to write a post this time on the importance of thanking your provider when you do get good service and they... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/138387/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/136440/incontinence Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:34:00 -0400 Pete I recently had a bladder infection, which increases my tendency for urge incontinence, and my doctor prescribed an antibiotic prophylactically before the culture was complete.   When the culture results were received the office notified me that the antibiotic would probably clear up the infection, but to let the office know if I did not see any improvement. I obtained a copy of the report and, doing my own research, found that the bacteria... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/136440/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/116015/healthcare Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:59:00 -0400 Pete I'm sure there are many incontinence sufferers that, for one reason or another, have had to change healthcare providers.   This has just happened to me. My current urologist is moving to a new practice. She has been a professor of urologic surgery at a large university, and she also sees patients in a clinic associated within the university. I was told the pace of her current position is more than she wants and feels she needs to spend... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/116015/healthcare http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/116014/incontinence Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:56:00 -0400 Pete I just returned from a week-long family reunion on the Gulf coast. No oil while we were there although it did start washing up the day after we left. There were eleven families, for a total of 41 people. We rented three houses with three to four families in each house.   When you are incontinent, vacations like this can present some challenges, particularly, as in my case, when most of your family members are not aware of your condition.... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/116014/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/113865/incontinence Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:01:00 -0400 Pete When dealing with incontinence, how much should we share? Even when we feel we have information that might be helpful to someone, how much do we tell that person? How much is "too much?"   This situation was brought home to me recently when a friend told me her husband has developed prostate cancer and will have to undergo a radical prostatectomy. This means, of course, that Foley will visit him for a couple of weeks and he will probably... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/113865/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/84154/foley-makes Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:45:00 -0400 Pete Perhaps a better title for this post would be "Foley Times Three" because instead of having one Foley for two or three weeks, I had three!   Foley has always come to visit me after I have had my Botox treatment for urge incontinence. When my procedure was complete, I heard the resident ask for a 16F coude catheter. (F is an abbreviation for "French" which to code used to size catheters). I quickly ask for a 14F because they are smaller... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/2288/84154/foley-makes