My INNOVO Journey - Kelly-Anne, 30
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After the birth of her daughter, Kelly-Anne spent 4 years suffering with bladder weakness. Suffering in silence, she was too embarrassed to speak out, in fear of what others would think. After finally addressing the impact the incontinence was having on both her mental and physical health, Kelly-Anne sought to find a solution.
My sister had bought a trampoline about 4 years ago, after my daughter was born and we all decided to give it a go. I got a sense that something wasn’t quite right at that time, as although I only experienced a bit of trickle rather than a heavy leak, it’s not something I had experienced before.
I initially ignored the symptoms because I couldn’t admit to myself that I could have bladder issues. I had heard of middle-aged women experiencing bladder weakness but not someone of my age. I found it all very embarrassing. Then a couple of years later I was on the beach with my husband playing football and it happened again. From then on it became regular and before I knew it, I was experiencing incontinence every day.
Before my daughter was born, I led a very active lifestyle and enjoying jogging, but the bladder weakness made it impossible to jog or perform any kind of physical activity. I couldn’t walk my dogs like I used to and wasn’t able to run around with my daughter in fear of leaking. I stopped socialising because I could just never relax. I distanced myself from friends because I couldn’t face telling them the truth. Living in a state of anxiety and embarrassment kept me from getting out of the house, and I would even miss my daughter’s toddler groups. I completely lost my confidence and went into isolation. The only way I can describe it is experiencing the worries of potty training yet it’s for yourself and not your child.
Coping with the effects of bladder weakness
The only way of coping with the bladder weakness that made sense to me at the time was to isolate myself and not go out. Feeling shame and embarrassment due to a public accident was a risk I was not willing to take. When I did leave the house, it involved meticulous planning to ensure there would be toilets nearby.
I tried Kegel exercises which may have helped I was able to stick to them, but to be honest I found it difficult to be consistent with them and had no idea if I was even doing them correctly.
After reaching a particularly low point where my confidence had plummeted, I decided to give INNOVO a try. I found INNOVO simple to use and it was an option that didn’t involve painful conversations with medical professionals and provided the results I needed with basically zero effort on my part. It was the perfect solution for the fragile state I was in.
“I started seeing results after just a few weeks using INNOVO. My leaks were gradually becoming less and less. A few weeks into the programme I was running again.”
I could kick a football around with my husband and daughter and use the trampoline. I even started doing this dance class on the trampoline with my sister, it felt great to move again! I found the INNOVO treatments really convenient because I was able to just pull them on and relax at home, while they strengthened my pelvic floor muscles. I’m now just using INNOVO from time to time to maintain the muscle strength and prevent any future problems.
I feel like I have my life back now. I am doing all those things that bladder weakness stopped me from doing for so long. I am out and about, mingling with other mums and feel like me again. Best of all, my anxiety levels have dropped, and I have regained so much confidence again.
“It feels amazing to let go of those feelings of embarrassment and shame. For only a little machine, it is amazing what a positive impact it has had on my life".
Living life without bladder weakness
I no longer have the anxieties of pre-planning trips when leaving the house and carrying around extra pairs of knickers. I am finally happy and confident again! I’ve even got my mum using INNOVO as she has experienced some stress incontinence as well, and she’s already feeling the benefits. Opening up about it has made me realise how common urinary incontinence is, people are just too afraid to say it. Women need to know they’re not alone. My advice to others would be to not suffer in silence or let it get to that point where it’s affecting your confidence and relationships. INNOVO has been an amazing investment that changed my life and I would highly recommend it to anybody going through the same thing.