We have to deal with pregnancy and menopausal as a woman. As a part of our life, there are good things and bad things in some situations. For instance, it was a blessing when I had my first son. However, I developed an ab separation in my recti muscles called Diastasis Recti after giving birth. Another example is growing old. I’ve experienced my son’s college graduation. I also excelled in my career and most importantly, the birth of my granddaughter.
Undoubtedly, there are also unpleasant situations like I gained more weight, and I felt weaker. On top of that, I am already on the menopausal stage at age 53. Well, I might say menopausal is not solely a bad thing. But there are some inconveniences I’ve experienced along the way. One of them is urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence is the loss of bladder control. Thus, it made me uncomfortable and decided to consult my doctor immediately.
Furthermore, allow this article to show you my journey on how I managed my urinary incontinence with Orchard Clinic in Singapore.
Why Urinary Incontinence Happens?
At this time of my life, my ovaries stop making estrogen. Estrogen is essential for women and when it’s gone, our body needs to adjust physically. I experienced my life shifting when I started having night sweats, hot flashes and mood changes. And of course, urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence happens because vaginal tissue becomes less elastic, the lining of urethra begins to thin, and the pelvic floor weakens. For menopausal women, the most common urinary incontinence issues are:
Painful Urination- Women are more likely to have Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) after menopausal thus giving a burning sensation while peeing.
Stress Incontinence- When you put pressure on your bladder, you might lose a few drops when lifting heavy objects, coughing, sneezing or even laughing.
Nocturia- This type of urinary incontinence will make you wake up in the middle of the night.
Urge Incontinence- This is also called “overactive” bladder. You will feel the need to pee unexpectedly wherever you are.
Now, knowing why it occurs, let’s move forward on how I managed my urinary incontinence.
How I Managed My Urinary Incontinence?
1. Performing Pelvic Floor Exercises
To strengthen my pelvic floor muscles, I sit comfortably and squeeze my muscles for 10 to 15 minutes. To do this, I do not hold my breath or tighten my stomach muscles. After getting used to the exercise, I gradually add a few more seconds when holding the squeeze. After a few months, I started noticing that my urinary leaks are reducing. To further improve my urinary incontinence, my doctor told me that dancing could also be helpful. Dancing is also a form of pelvic floor muscle exercises. With that, I followed dance exercises for urinary incontinence on YouTube whenever I’m available. Also, kegel exercise is a recommended method for improving urinary incontinence.
2. Behaviour Therapy
One of the behavioural therapy I did was bladder training. Bladder training aims to increase the time between urinating. With bladder training, I strengthen my muscle that controls the bladder similar to working out your biceps. The first thing I noticed with my urinary incontinence is that I have no control with my urge to pee. However, when I started the behavioural therapy for my urinary incontinence, I can hold my urine more and it prevented me from having an overactive bladder.
3. Drink More Water
At first, I thought drinking less water would help the risk of urinary leaks. However, my doctor told me that drinking less water makes my urine more concentrated. Thus, it can be irritating to my bladder and increase my urgency to pee. The number of glasses per day depends from person to person but for me, I need 8-ounce glasses for water a day. What I did was I checked the colour of my urine to check if I am properly hydrated.
4. Healthy Diet
I maintain a healthy diet because being overweight can worsen urinary incontinence. Study shows that people with higher body mass index (BMI) are more susceptible to urinary incontinence. By knowing that I decided to eat healthier food and exercise regularly. Since I can’t do high-level exercises, I looked for easy and suitable exercises for me. I started it with brisk walking for 30 minutes per day and replaced my diet with healthier foods.
5. Limit Caffeine
I like drinking coffee every morning however my doctor told me to minimize my caffeine consumption because it increases urine production. Since then, I replaced coffee with drinks that are decaffeinated thus improving my urinary incontinence.
When I consulted with Orchard Clinic in Singapore, it made me more knowledgeable about urinary incontinence and other related problems like recti muscle issues. Since then, I knew that my health is in good hands. Visit their website at https://www.orchardclinic.com/ and book your appointment now!
