My INNOVO Journey - Christine, 70
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Christine, aged 70, has suffered with bladder weakness for over 40 years. The problem first began at age 30, when severe asthma lead to pelvic floor strain resulting in urinary incontinence.
I had my first child at 39 and my second at 42, which further weakened my pelvic floor muscles after the asthma issues. I attended pelvic floor exercise classes run by my local hospital which initially helped, and my GP prescribed medication to help control my bladder weakness further. I needed to wear a pad at all times and had particular problems at night. I was needing the loo at least 4 times at night. Apart from that, I was fit and healthy.
"I’m an active person and have spent the last 7 years running a charity run a charity, which requires me to lift heavy items on occasion. This lifting didn’t help the bladder weakness, and left my pelvic floor feeling weaker than ever."
I personally was experiencing a mixture of stress incontinence and urge incontinence, so would get the leaks whenever I was lifting things, or if I coughed or sneezed, as well as having a constant need for the loo. It was impacting quite a lot on my day to day life.
You never go anywhere that involves a long journey unless you know there are plenty of toilet facilities on route. You never go on a coach trip unless there is an onboard loo. You never go anywhere without taking spare panties, tights, pads and wet wipes with you. You never stay overnight anywhere other than in your own home. You never go on holiday. You never wear anything close fitting because you fear the pads will show… life becomes very restricted, very insular.
I am a member of the Bladder & Bowel Community and first came across INNOVO through there. I arranged a phone consultation with someone from INNOVO and learned that the product could treat both stress incontinence and urge incontinence, so I was excited to get started with it.
INNOVO helped me connect with my pelvic floor muscles, the sensation of INNOVO felt like a ‘eureka moment’ when I first felt my pelvic floor muscles contracting. Using INNOVO became part of my daily routine as I was using it for the prescribed 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
I could never have dreamed that this improvement to my daily life could have been possible. INNOVO changed all that and not only restored my confidence but gave me my life back again.
“Who would have thought that a problem that has plagued me for 40 years could be very nearly resolved within the space of 12 weeks?"
I took a coach trip to the theatre to see the ballet, something I had not dared to do for many years because of fear of bladder accidents. I no longer needed to take my emergency kit of spare underwear and pads with me whenever I went out. I was not constantly searching for public loos or planning my day around where I would find one. I bought myself a pair of trousers that I would normally never have felt able to wear them for fear of my pad showing. I joined the Dolphin Club and started swimming again. I began socialising more and started hosting a number of charity events, which I thought I’d never do again.
If I can restore my pelvic floor at 70, then it just confirms the point that it doesn’t matter how old you are. INNOVO does work. I’ve tried it and tested it. Thank you INNOVO not only for your product, but for your support and advice, and confidence in me achieving what I set out to do with this programme.