As I sit here and reflect on 2021, I can’t help but feel grateful for all of the fantastic experiences and opportunities that came my way. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel excited for all that 2022 has in store. It’s always tempting to set resolutions and goals for the new year, but I wanted to share my personal story with you all before we do that. Because, after all, it’s what got me to where I am today. Here is my story.
Dealing with health issues
Some of you may not know, but I had severe health issues. I have been struggling with these issues for many years. I’m talking about my mental health and bladder problems, which is why it took so long to find the right doctor who would actually listen when I tried explaining my situation!
Back in 2012, I went to the ER due to having migraines. Once I got hooked up to the IV, I felt something collapse on top of my bladder. So I started going to the bathroom more than usual. I was living in the bathroom and was drinking one bottle of water a day, and that’s not normal. It affected my job because I constantly used the restroom and got into trouble because a lot of work wasn’t getting done.
Seeing a urologist
The first urologist I saw didn’t listen to me and thought stress or grief caused my problem. Instead, he referred me to a psychiatrist, who made things worse by making the problem seem more psychological than physical–a viewpoint common among doctors today who believe there are mental health issues behind every illness they encounter!
When this failure of an appointment led nowhere as well (neither helping with bladder activity nor curing its cause), he suggested tibial nerve stimulation at the ankle. I thought it would help because he diagnosed me with an Overactive bladder, but it still didn’t work. I gave up and dealt with this issue for some time until I moved to Las Vegas, NV.
Once I moved to Las Vegas, I decided to try urologists out here, which didn’t help either. They work in the same facility, and they both recommended I do botox in my bladder. I was initially nervous because I didn’t know what to expect, and I wanted a second opinion before anything. The second opinion doctor told me the same thing, so I tried it, and it still didn’t work.
So I went back to the second opinion doctor, and he started to either remove my bladder or try Botox again with a higher dose, and I canceled my appointments with them.
Changing my diet and water schedule
Once I gave up, I started trying things on my own. I changed my diet from vegan, raw vegan, pescatarian, and other diets to see if it would help my bladder. I drink water very early in the morning to stop at 3 pm, so I won’t constantly be in the bathroom a lot, but nothing worked.
I just knew something wasn’t right, which led me to severe depression because I couldn’t do anything. After all, I was always in the bathroom, and it was ruining my life.
It was worse when I was pregnant because it was hard to drink a lot of fluids. After all, something was already sitting on my bladder, and my babies were also on my bladder. Also, it caused me to start having protein in my urine each pregnancy and stress because I didn’t want to lose my babies.
Decided to see my OB/GYN
I decided to see my OB/GYN to get a hysterectomy. She didn’t want to do it at first because I was still young (34 years old), and she thought I wanted more kids. I told her no because we already had a girl and a boy, and we didn’t want any more kids due to my condition. So she decided to make my surgery date January 6th, 2022.
After my surgery, I can finally feel relief. Unfortunately, it turns out that the problem with my uterus was sitting on top of a bladder which made it difficult for the urologist to see any changes during testing. Still, after removing this extra weight – everything
Although I still have bladder prolapse, I will start doing kegel exercises and other exercises my physical therapist gave me to help with the urgency.
New Year, New Me
I’m not going to lie; the past ten years have been a nightmare. The whole bladder thing just took over my life, and it’s only gotten worse with time, as no one can figure out what is wrong! It messed up both mentally and physically.
However, I’m glad I made the right choice because I tried everything, but nothing seemed to work, and I had to do something to improve.
I can’t wait to see what else is in store for this year, and hopefully, it will be better than the last. I hope everyone has a great year. Don’t forget to comment and check out my other blog post.