Stop lying to your doctor….

Guys, it can be really hard.

You’re at the doctor, filling out that questionnaire (the 14-page one). All sorts of questions. Did you maternal great grandma have nipple cancer….

And then comes this one: Do you suffer from urinary or bowel incontinence?

Clearly, I don’t.

This post was written by me through an activation with HireInfluence on behalf of InControl Medical. Although I received compensation for participating in the campaign, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I mark “No,”…. but then as I’m filling out details about my paternal grandma’s cervical cancer, and my own history of headaches, I start to mull that over.

Yes, I leak urine now and then. It can happen (but not always) when I cough hard or jump on a trampoline (which, frankly, has ruled out my desire to jump on a trampoline). But, surely that’s not what they mean. They mean women who wear diapers, right?

I just need to get my lady parts checked and get on my way.

There are things your doctor can recommend that aren’t surgery or expensive drugs. There might be easy things you could do to stop something as simple as a bladder leak.

I want you to stop hiding problems you have from your doctor.

That’s just dumb.

And I do it all the time.

I’m embarrassed, or I don’t want to spend the time to talk to them about it because I think they’ll only recommend surgery, which I am NOT up for.

Let’s talk a bit about urinary incontinence.  I actually hadn’t heard the word “incontinent” until I was in nursing school. SO, it wouldn’t be strange if you didn’t know what it meant. It just means “peeing a little” when you don’t mean to. Nothing crazy. Any pee that comes out would be considered incontinence — be it when you laugh, cough, jump on the trampoline or whatever. Some women can have stress incontinence; they can’t hold it when they really have to “go.”

Most women start to have issues with incontinence during pregnancy or during labor (and it often gets worse with each subsequent child). Women who only have C-sections can also have urinary incontinence — it isn’t just from a vaginal delivery.  The way the baby pushes on those lower tissues as it grows (especially towards the end of pregnancy) can still be problematic.

Women who have never been pregnant can also have issues as they age as all those muscles relax or lose tone.

Most women wear a pad or a pantyliner to cover up any leakage. Of course, that can be problematic in other ways.

Something that CAN help urinary incontinence is Kegels — tighten your pelvic floor, the muscles you use to stop the flow of urine. However, a lot of people aren’t really clear on how to properly do Kegel exercises.

Having a professional explain how to do them can really help you do them the RIGHT way.  If you’have a very stressed pelvic floor it can make it worse to try to do Kegels while peeing, so be sure to talk to a doctor before you start a regimen on your own.

Sometimes doctors recommend surgery where they take pressure off that area or tighten the area manually.  Neither of those options sounds fun to me. That’s usually why I don’t mention small bouts of incontinence when I’m at the doctor’s.

There are additional, easier options to consider. The Apex-M automates Kegel exercises to help build your pelvic floor — for urinary/bowel incontinence as well as anything else you’re using that region for. 😉 {wink, wink}

This can truly cure your female incontinence, assuming there aren’t other medical reasons at fault. It’s meant to help if the concern involves stress incontinence or overactive bladder (OAB)

The machine does it all for you. It takes 10 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks.  It automates the Kegal exercises and basically does it for you, using electrical impulses — helping to build muscle in the pelvic walk.  That will help any bladder control — or prevent bladder leakage.

While I wouldn’t use it WHILE you’re pregnant — this is a great idea to help you get that tone back after the stretching of a vaginal delivery.

OK ladies, here is what I want you to take from this post:

1. Don’t lie to your doctor. If you truly have an issue with something, ask them about it — don’t be shy!  They might have an easier fix than you envision.
2. If you suffer from incontinence, look into the ApexM.  It might initially seem off-putting to think about, it doesn’t take a lot of time and could be SUPER helpful!

If any of you have used it, I’d love to hear your experiences!