Anyone got a system for preventing incontinence while also not having to go to bed in pain due to an empty stomach? (i.e. foods to eat for lunch, foods to eat for dinner, supplements to take, etc) I know this is a repeated topic, but as pointed out, it has alot of different directions...

You really do not have to go to bed with an empty stomach, particularly if it causes you pain. For many of us, withholding food in the evening does not improve nighttime or daytime incontinence issues. For some, eating a fatty snack at bedtime, slows digestion and makes for a more sound sleep. Suggestions are cheese, ice cream (if you tolerate dairy), peanut butter on crackers, buttered toast, a banana, etc. A fatty meal is known to stimulate what is called the ileal brake, meaning that the presence of fat slows peristalsis (because fat takes longer to digest than carbohydrates). Milk and turkey contain tryptophan, which induces drowsiness, so that is a plus too.

Incontinence never was much of an issue for me. But, I also never restricted my diet either.

Jan

Thanks for taking the time to reply. And thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to make a note of that.

Here's an example of where I have problems, yesterday I had:

- Breakfast: waffles (whole grain type but not real high in fiber, relatively healthy)

- Lunch: pizza -- not just junk, but a variety that is high in protein and whole grains (serving was not real large)

- Dinner: First I had curried chicken, with some milk and lactase, after that had a good head start (I seem to find that I have problems combining spicy foods or beans with slower moving foods) then I had some cooked beets.

I think that's mostly it. There are some minor condiments and such that I've left out but you get the picture.

So, I ate finished dinner between 6:30 and 7:30 pm and drank water up until about 8:00 pm.

You can usually tell when things clear your system and I saw evidence of the beets at least a time or two before finally settling into bed around midnight.

I was up about every two hours with "issues"...

This isn't due to any "problem" that I'm having so there it must be due to how I'm handling things.

Obviously I don't always have that much complex carbs but it's an example of combinations...

Do you take any meds or fiber? If not you could try either loperamide or imodium on the med side. Fiber would be something like metamucil wafers or benefiber or fibercon. If you'd like to try them, perhaps you should start with one or the other to see if it works for you and then add others to the mix or try a different product if it doesn't work. I find that metamucil wafers work really well.

I didn't realize that fatty stuff put on the brakes... Well, that must be another reason I sleep so well Jan!

Bagels also work well for me for bulking.

BTW - both beets and curry tend to just whiz right on through for me and make things loose for a while. So you might want to see if anything that you're eating is causing a problem. If it is, just eat it for a midday meal or have some bulking things with it like rice.

Good luck!

kathy

Thanks for the thoughts...any other comments are definitely welcome. Yes, I've learned that some foods need to stay at the "lunch" level. Problem is that it seems that the things that are ok at the dinner level keep decreasing (i.e. spices and beans and some vegetables)

Do you take the fiber during the day or at night to slow things down?

I hate to get "addicted" to a med, would prefer to do something more natural if possible.

I also have to be careful about blockages on the other side of the spectrum...