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Patient Perspective: Terry’s Story

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I feel a little funny writing this since I’ve never really suffered from what I would consider incontinence. Sure, I’ve had a few leaks before, but on a regular basis, I don’t. I suffer from something different – Overactive Bladder.

It started off simply enough – I’d be doing something like washing the dishes, or coming home from work and I’d get a very sudden NEED to use the restroom.  Like…..right now. Most of the time I would make it, but a couple of times, I did wet myself a little.

I laughed it off for years – after all, it’s certainly not life threatening, and just didn’t seem like too big of a deal to worry about.  Who goes to the doctor because they have to use the bathroom a lot? So, I went on with life, slowly adjusting my routine to account for my bladder, without really even realizing it.

It wasn’t until I was 56 that my husband finally asked me when I was going to talk to someone about it.  He’d noticed all of my attempts to account for my inconsistent bladder even if I hadn’t – requesting a closer table to the restroom at dinners, always making sure I emptied my bladder before we went out, booking the isle seat in a plane for easier bathroom access, and most of all, my absence – me always running off during any event to go.

At first I didn’t understand what he meant – I was fine! But when he started pointing out how drastically I had changed, without even realizing it, I knew it was time to get help.

So, the next week I went to see my doctor. Turns out this is a condition a lot of people deal with. He gave me a list of foods to watch out for, prescribed some pelvic floor exercises, and set me up on a medication that seemed to be doing its job.

I can’t believe the positive effects it has had on my life – without even realizing it, I had adjusted my life to fit around my bladder and now that I don’t need to I can finally see how much I truly suffered for many years. If you deal with this condition – get help. It really will make a difference in your life, even if you can’t quite see that now.

Terry M., Fort Lauderdale, Fl

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