A mother of two has revealed that she would deliberately stop drinking water until she became dehydrated and ended up in hospital trying to control her urinary incontinence.
Sydney’s mother, Kate, who asked not to use her last name, had to be put on a drip by nurses and cared for by doctors after pushing herself too far.
“For as long as I can remember, the fear of not coming to the bathroom without warning has plagued my life,” she said.
Kate has struggled with urinary incontinence for most of her life, with the condition taking over every aspect of her daily routine.
A mother of two has revealed she would deliberately stop drinking water until she became dehydrated and ended up in hospital trying to control her urinary incontinence
Sydney’s mum Kate had to be put on a drip by nurses and cared for by doctors after pushing herself too far
“I would get dehydrated and get urinary infections and I didn’t think I could do anything about it — I hid,” she said.
‘My low point was at the Logies with my husband. I went back to the room and I just couldn’t keep it up, letting go as I got into the elevator.
“I went there by elevator. You just die inside. You hope others have had enough to drink and they didn’t know the full extent of it and you shut yourself off from the world to save your pride.’
Kate said her problems only got worse when she had daughters Maria, 11, and Ava, 10.
“I felt completely alone in dealing with my urinary problems,” she said.
“The doctors had no answers… I would stand, hold two little babies and it hit and I had to go.
“And when they were older, I couldn’t even jump or run or play on the trampoline with them.”
Kate said she was given false hope when she was diagnosed with a narrow urethra in 2017 and required surgery.
“It widened but nothing changed, which made me feel so hopeless, knowing I would have to live with incontinence forever,” she said.
“It felt like I was dying a slow death. It can send you into a spiral of sadness and frustration and you completely lose who you are.’
Kate was at her wits end when she discovered that a new form of treatment was being offered to patients with urinary incontinence
Kate was at her wits end when she discovered that a new form of treatment was being offered to patients with urinary incontinence.
VTone, from InMode’s women’s wellness platform EmpowerRF, a new form of intravaginal electrical muscle stimulation and neuromuscular re-education.
Kate said she felt results almost immediately when her life suddenly changed.
‘That night I dared to drink a glass of water before bed and walked all the way to the toilet like a normal person. I could have jumped for joy,” she said.
“Normally when I wake up in the night I would have to last the whole walk to the bathroom, but that night I didn’t.”
The new treatment is being offered by Obstetrician and Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners Dr. Elizabeth Golez.
She said it has been used in the United States and the United Kingdom for the past six years, but only made it to Australia in 2021.
Urinary incontinence affects about 24 percent of men and 53 percent of women.
The new treatment is being offered by Obstetrician and Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners Dr. Elizabeth Golez
Dr. Golez said there still seems to be a stigma about talking about it, despite it being so common.
“I’ve had a patient explain that she didn’t even tell her husband or her children,” she said.
“She said she feels like she stinks when she pees and if she tells her family they would think she peed her pants if there is a smell in the house.”
Dr. Golez claimed that all of her patients experienced success when they used VTone with treatment to help them get back to doing what they love most.
“A lady loved to travel on the highway but has not gone anywhere in recent years because of her incontinence,” she said.
“Now she can travel, go on holiday to the Gold Coast, because she feels much more confident.”
More information about the new available treatments can be found on the InMode website.