I am a newbie, and am very embarrassed about this, but occasionally, when I sneeze real hard or after the 4th or 5th sneeze in a row, or laugh a real hard gut laugh, i may (not always) experience urinary incontinence (TMI, I know:( can anyone tell me, if after weight loss, does this get better? or not effect it at all?

This is very common. Weight loss might help. But it also might have to do with childbearing, getting older…oh, any number of things. My friend calls this her "can't drink wine and dance" problem.

If not, see a urogynecologist and discuss your options. I will say that the testing they do is among the most embarrassing medical experiences I have ever been through…I even sent an email to a couple of friends about it who still claim that they laughed so hard that they (no, not peed) cried.

In the end, a few years ago I had a surgery done to shore things up so to speak. And it has really helped. I can jump rope! Cough without crossing my legs! Um, have a really bad case of bronchitis without wearing Depends. Etc.

I have seen others say it gets better after surgery. I had TVT surgery to fix the problem after my sleeve surgery. I don't think mine would have improved with weight loss. You can check with your ob/gyn or urologist. They can do a test to see how bad the problem is. I can say with the cold and cough I have had, it is working 100%.

Edited December 31, 201312 yr by ribearty

I had the tests done by a urologist. He told me I was a good candidate for the TVT tape surgery. Being a nurse did some research. I stopped drinking Diet Coke--problem solved. I'm not saying this will help you but it worked for me and no invasive surgery in my private parts. Google "causes of incontinence" to see if there is something you can change before the surgery route. Linda

Yoga yoga yoga will take care of this!!!!!!!

Kegel Exercises.

Both of my children were born at home using midwives. A BIG part of giving birth at home is taking preventative steps to avoid complications. One of those steps was doing Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.. It is very easy, you can do it anywhere at any time. (I do them at red lights while driving.) There are three major benefits to having a strong pelvic floor...

1. In birth it prevents tearing when baby's head is crowning.

2. When used after birth it tightens the muscles back up which solves the incontinence problem.

3. It makes sex more pleasurable for the man and the woman.

Here is a link to the Mayo Clinic which describes the Why's and How's.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kegel-exercises/WO00119

No need to feel embarrassed about the question. It's just a normal part of the female body.

40 lbs, no diet coke and I am cured! I was sent to some specialist last year who feel bilked me and my insurance company of thousands of dollars for these weird tests that didnt do a thing. Still angry!!! I now do not have the constant urge to pee, I can go shopping without finding a bathroom thank God and I am sooooo happy!!!!!!!!!! Happy, just so happy!!!!!!

Thank you everyone for being so nice and your suggestions. I am still pre op and have not had children, but am in mid 40's, and have been overweight my ENTIRE life. I do drink Diet Pepsi (have cut down so far from 3-4 a day to 1/2 -1 a day), and since I will need to cut it completely out anyway for the VSG, i will start with that and will try yoga. I hope those work, I am hoping to have my VSG surgery in Feb or march, will get to make the appt to talk to a surgeon on 1-2-14 to find out what else I will need to do. have already completed 7 months of medical diet so hopefully it wont be much longer.

Thank ya'll again. This website/group is so inspirational, I have learned so much from everyone here.

also checking out the kegel thing. These suggestions give me hope

Thank you again.

Things are better for me since losing 40+ pounds.

Good luck!

Prior to surgery I had trouble with bladder leakage when I laughed, sneezed, or coughed. Now that I have lost a good bit of weight I am glad to report that I am not having that happen anymore.

I am a newbie, and am very embarrassed about this, but occasionally, when I sneeze real hard or after the 4th or 5th sneeze in a row, or laugh a real hard gut laugh, i may (not always) experience urinary incontinence (TMI, I know:( can anyone tell me, if after weight loss, does this get better? or not effect it at all?

yes it gets better! i had a horrible time with this. i constantly had to go to the bathroom like every two hours even in the middle of the night. if i tried to hold i would pee my pants a bit .... forget about laughing or sneezing lol. since surgery, i have to go alot less and i am able to hold it without leaking!

I'm almost cured after 80 pounds loss.

I gave up diet coke and diet Pepsi in mid-October. Now that I think about it I haven't had as much problems with the stress incontinence. Is there any medical evidence this is a cause? I just thought my body was getting used to drinking 64 oz of water everyday. Hey, whatever... I will take it. so embarrassing and annoying!

With more than 100 lbs lost, it's cured for me.

Lynda

So, I've lost 58 pounds and this is no longer an issue for me either.

I still try like the dickens to make sure tho so every sneeze I super clench up and cross the legs quick. It's habit for me now.

But I've not had an issue since losing I'd say about the first 35-40.

Good luck!