Stress Urinary Incontinence: What Can You Do About It?

 This post was sponsored by Poise Impressa as part of an Ambassador Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary Poise Impressa products to facilitate my review. I’m very appreciative of the opportunity to share this important information about Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) with my readers.

I’ll never forget the first time it happened. I was sitting in my car at a traffic light, waiting for the green, and I started to sneeze. Now, sneezing isn’t unusual but it’s what happened along with the sneezing that took me by surprise. With each and every sneeze, a little bit of urine leaked out and soon, it was dribbling down my leg. What??? Are you kidding me? That couldn’t possibly have been happening to me. I had just turned 40 and had always thought of “that kind of thing” as a problem for “old people”. And I sure wasn’t old!!!

My sense of humour – add a photo of a waterfall when talking about bladder leaks 😉

Then, I was at a party and laughing my head off at a hilarious joke – boom! It happened again. And again and again and again. I tried to go to the bathroom more often. I thought that maybe I could “make it go away” by simply urinating more often. Spoiler alert – that didn’t work. I went through early menopause at age 40 (yeah, I know what you’re thinking. 40 was quite the year!) and had actually just started seeing some silver lining in it in the fact that I no longer had to wear pads.  Needless to say, I was not too impressed that I needed to break out the pads again because of this whole urinary leaking issue. Ugh. It seemed like that only alternative.

I tried to write it off as a temporary thing but when the incontinence continued month after month, I finally went to see my doctor. When I saw him, he tested me for infections and other medical conditions before sending me to a specialist who finally gave me a firm diagnosis. I was suffering from Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI).

Did you know that urinary incontinence affects one in four Canadian women at some point in their lives? And that out of those women, 49% have SUI? I thought it was this really rare condition, something that only happened to the elderly.  These statistics really surprised me! And then they made me angry. Why aren’t people talking about this? And I don’t mean in the SNL let’s poke fun at it kind of way. Why aren’t we having real honest conversations with other women so that we know that it’s not abnormal and that we aren’t alone?

LEARN MORE ABOUT STRESS URINARY INCONTINENCE

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Stress Urinary Incontinence can be triggered by simple things you do every day – sneezing, laughing, coughing, lifting things, exercising. Let that sink in for a moment. I got to the point where it was nearly impossible to do any of my regular daily activities without a) wearing a pad and b) having to carry a change of clothing with me everywhere.

I tried to empty my bladder before leaving the house and frequently while out in hopes that there wouldn’t be much urine there when the inevitable incontinence would happen. But it wasn’t terribly effective. Finally,  I just stopped doing some things because they were just too much of a hassle – working out at the gym was impossible because it was nearly constant leaks. I was constantly in fear that the pad wouldn’t do the job and I would leave behind a “wet spot” on a piece of gym equipment or a mat.

I have to admit, I was pretty excited to be given the opportunity to try out new Poise Impressa Bladder Supports. This isn’t just another “newer, better pad” – this is a whole new kind of solution for Stress Urinary Incontinence. These bladder supports are over-the-counter intravaginal devices that are designed to help stop those leaks from happening in the first place, instead of simply absorbing them when they did. You insert them like a tampon and they put pressure on your urethra to help keep the urine from leaking out. Whoa. Did that blow anyone else’s mind?

You begin by using the sizing kit to determine which size Poise Impressa Bladder Support is right for you. The Poise Impressa Bladder Supports Sizing Kit is available at mass retailers across Canada for $9.99. Check your local retailer for in-store details.

So, I’ve got my sizing kit and now I’m putting them to the test. That’s right – you all have your own little guinea pig right here! I’m going to try these Poise Impressa Bladder Supports and report back to you on how well they worked. And boy oh boy am I ever putting them to the test. Of course, there will be my normal everyday activities but on top of that, I have to attend a funeral. Sigh. That is sure to put them to the ultimate test. All that crying and then laughing and then crying some more – without Impressa, I would be one big leaky mess! Fingers crossed, instead of being distracted by bladder leakage, I’m going to be able to concentrate on offering support to my loved ones and sharing in the life celebration of someone special.

While you’re waiting for me to report back to you, you can find out more about urinary incontinence and Impressa at Impressa.com. You can find more stories from real women who suffer from SUI and use Poise Impressa here. On Twitter, check out the hashtag  #LiveWithoutLeaks.  Meanwhile, let’s get rid of the stigma and start a conversation in the comments below.

Do you or someone you know have Stress Urinary Incontinence? What has been your experience? What have you learned about it? Please share your tips so others can benefit from them!