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Patient Perspective: Allison’s Story

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Urinary incontinence
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URINARY INCONTINENCE
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I’m a survivor. I’ve lived through the joy (and scars) of giving birth to three boys, experienced two job layoffs, suffered through one divorce, and most recently, battled (and beat the shit out of) breast cancer. I didn’t really expect, after all that, to be so impacted by something as trivial as incontinence.

I first started having symptoms during my cancer treatments – my doctor said that it could sometimes be a side effect of chemo – but thought that it would go away once chemo was over. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

A year after completing treatment, I was still experiencing leakage.  At first, I just lived with it, thinking it would go away on it’s own. I packed extra underwear and experimented with various incontinence pads to help me manage.

I finally decided to talk to my doctor when it was clear that my leaky bladder wasn’t getting any better. My doctor had me make some diet adjustments, prescribed a medication to help stop the leaks, and sent me to a physical therapist to help me learn how to strengthen up my pelvic floor.

I’ve had one year of regular PT sessions and I am happy to say that I rarely have leaks anymore (even after I stopped taking the medication).

I’ve lived through a lot of setbacks in my life. But after surviving all of the hardships, I certainly wasn’t going to let something like incontinence control me. Life is just too short to live with something that’s so treatable.

Ladies – find the help if you need it.

Alison B., San Diego, CA

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