As a pelvic health holistic wellness professional, I am no stranger to stories of women unable to make it to the bathroom in time, or experiencing random leaking as they go through their day. I am also no stranger to my own pelvic floor issues. Today was my day to experience spontaneous leaking, which, to my recollection, I never have.
The Adventure Begins
Preparing to take my dogs for a walk, as I passed the bathroom my bladder told me we needed to go. I responded that we just did, and, you know, bladder training* and all that. So, we left. I always do a walk around one block, then drop off my little geriatric Chihuahua, because he can no longer keep up with our hour-long walks. When we stopped, my bladder spoke up again, and I again told her to be patient. Continuing on and hoofing it pretty quickly, I had to begin consciously relaxing my pelvic floor muscles, which in turn helped with the feeling that I needed to go now. Determined not to end my walk early, and being drug along by my two young dogs who need the walk more than me, I kept myself very aware of my muscles, trying not to grip and clench (overactive pelvic floor), which contribute greatly to urge incontinence. Things were going well.
Until I had a bladder spasm. I’ve had these before, as they are a common side effect of caffeine. A bladder spasm causes the detrusor muscle (the muscle surrounding the bladder) to spasm and force out urine. Before my dog walk was complete, I had several more, each intensifying with the last one causing a hot burning sensation and leakage.
As I said before, this is a new experience for me, and is a great reminder that our pelvic floor issues never really go away. This is because they respond strongly to stress and anxiety and lifestyle habits. So, as I walked, breathed and tried to keep my downtown region soft, I practiced a little self-awareness and ran through what I have or have not been doing over the last few days.
Self-awareness is a huge piece of what I teach when working with pelvic floor clients, as what we do and how we feel need to be at the forefront of our attention if we hope to make improvement in our symptoms.
Over the last week, I have been feeling anxious and stressed about things that are and are not worth stressing about. I have upped my caffeine intake, even though daily I plan on cutting back. I have had little patience with myself and the world lately, one of the side effects of caffeine for me. You can say being over-saturated with caffeine makes me pissy. Apparently in more ways than one. This particular morning, instead of drinking my typical 30 ounces of water before my coffee, I chugged the maybe 8 ounces that were left in my jar from the night before and went straight to the coffee – 24 ounces worth – leaving me dehydrated and over-caffeinated for my walk. This combined with the stress and anxiety putting my pelvic floor muscles in overdrive is what created my adventure.
So, what will I do?
Practice what I preach, of course:
- Cut the caffeine back (which will not only lessen bladder spasms but will lower my stress and anxiety levels).
- Increase my water intake (yes, it’s a thing).
- Make choices that do not add to my stress (like not watch or read stressful things and reduce contact to people and situations that are stressful).
- Practice conscious relaxation (deep breaths down into my pelvic floor, breaths out through pursed lips, gentle yoga, guided relaxations, etc.)
- Practice self-awareness (am I drinking too much coffee or tea? clenching my jaw? gripping my pelvic floor? peeing too often? etc.)
The take-away?
What we put into our bodies deeply – on a core/floor level – affects us. What we eat, drink, watch, listen to, read, the environments we interact in and the people we interact with are all things we put into our bodies.
Taking time for ourselves to release and relax is crucial to our overall well-being, body, mind and soul.
Developing self-awareness and looking at things we might not want to – like less coffee, giving up a TV program or ending a friendship that sucks us dry – is crucial, too.
You are the person that you will have the longest relationship with. Love Yourself. Do good by you.
* Bladder training is lengthening the time between bathroom visits. If you go all the time, make yourself wait 5 minutes, then go. Then wait 10. Etcetera. This can be done at home at first, then taken out and about. You can even wear a pantyliner at first if you are worried. When we pee, the stream should be at least 10 seconds, if not, you likely need to train your bladder.
