How Nadia Sawalha Overcame Leaks with INNOVO
Having had my children late, at 39 and 42, I found myself putting on a lot of weight, in fact, four and a half stone which really heightened my bladder problems.
The thing about bladder weakness is that it creeps up on you and you start finding yourself stopping doing every day things, just a couple to begin with, and then it quickly dominates your day to day.
A common phrase among my female friends and I is that we say “Don’t make me laugh, I’ll wet myself”, which is ridiculous! It’s just one of those ‘accepted’ things which we all just put up with because we’ll all had kids.
Coughing and sneezing are big problems, they’re fast, uncontrollable movements and come out of nowhere. If you don’t get your legs crossed as fast as you can, you’re going to have an accident.
The list of things I couldn’t do because of bladder weakness started to become massive, and I hated living with this constant fear and anxiety of the ‘next leak’, and I started to wear pads when I knew I might be at risk.
#LetsPeeHonest – opening up about it
“Bladder weakness is one of the last taboos and I hope by sharing my story we can encourage others to seek help and find solutions.”
I started opening up to my husband Mark, as we talk about absolutely everything. There was a time when I said to him, ‘This is more than just me giggling and weeing myself, it’s affecting my daily life’ – I got quite upset, and Mark was upset for me too.
A friend suggested I try INNOVO, which treats the cause and helps to contract the pelvic floor. It’s quite a powerful sensation as you can literally feel your pelvic floor lift up! It makes you feel amazing. After using it for four weeks, I noticed a huge improvement, and after 8-10 weeks, I felt like I had the pelvic floor that I had pre-children and menopause.
Since becoming leak free, I’ve regained my confidence – the confidence to be able to wear lighter coloured trousers, go running, and leave the house without ‘the fear’ of a leak, which is a great place to be. I’m a carefree person, so not being controlled by a condition anymore is pretty fabulous!
Society tells us that this is something that happens to all of us and we just have to deal with it. That is wrong. Bladder weakness is one of the last taboos and I hope by sharing my story we can encourage others to seek help and find solutions. Communication and talking openly is the key to everything in life. A problem shared is a problem halved.
World Continence Week is a global initiative to raise awareness of bladder weakness & related conditions & support sufferers worldwide. To learn about World Continence Week, visit the World Federation of Incontinence Patients (WFIP).
Nadia partnered with INNOVO for World Continence Week (17-23 June 2019) to promote the #LetsPeeHonest campaign which aims to destigmatise and break the taboos that exist around bladder weakness. As an outspoken, relatable, empathetic and frankly hilarious woman, she’s the perfect person to help us achieve this mission this year.
Yep, it sounds like a challenge, but the truth is, the bladder weakness taboo actually creates ‘health limiting’ behaviours and attitudes that prevent people from solving the problem. We commissioned some research that revealed that 40% of women don’t tell anyone about their symptoms1, they just ‘get on with it’, and 36% of women we questioned had been putting up with bladder weakness for at least 4 years2! Here at INNOVO we’re all about solutions, and we think you deserve more than a lifetime managing leaks.
“Society tells us that this is something that happens to all of us and we just have to deal with it. That’s wrong. Communication is key to finding a solution”, says Nadia.
Strengthen your pelvic floor with INNOVO
Suitable for women and men, INNOVO is the only truly non-invasive solution for urinary incontinence, and is used in the comfort and privacy of your home. Easy to use and comfortable to wear, INNOVO helps you safely and effortlessly strengthen and re-educate the entire network of pelvic floor muscles through gentle muscle stimulation.
Using INNOVO for just 30 minutes a day/five days a week over 12 weeks has been proven to treat bladder weakness – delivering results in as little as four weeks1.
INNOVO treats Stress, Urge & Mixed Incontinence in both women and men by targeting the root cause of the problem. A clinical study found that:
- 80% of users saw a significant reduction in leaks after just 4 weeks1
- 87% of users were defined as either dry or almost dry after 12 weeks2
- 90% of users would recommend the therapy to others3