Authored by BlueAngel on
Monday, January 12, 2004
Courtesy of Post Polio Newsletter, The Post Polio Network of WA, Inc., June 2002 VOL. 13 NO. 2.
As we get older a number of embarrassing areas don’t work as well as they used to and we may feel uncomfortable talking about it.
BLADDER CONTROL:
Bladder control was often a problem of acute polio and this was the case it may also be weakening now — not that this isn’t a common problem with non polios too.
Your GP can refer you to continence clinics, physios,. And urologists but you might like to try some simple measures first.
Medical conditions like infections, diabetes, stroke, heart conditions, medications, depression, excess weight, prostrate problems for men, previous childbirth and menopause for and even difficulty walking or moving around can be casual factors
Other factors can include alcohol, coffee, tea and cola which can act as diuretics. Artificial sweeteners can also increase symptoms. Along with foods that are spicy and acidic, carbonated drinks, citrus juices and fruits, tomatoes and tomato based foods, chocolate, overeating and constipation can also aggravate bladder control. Restricting fluids can lead to commentated urine tat irritates the bladder and causes dehydration.
So try supplements that help muscle control i.e. carnitine, magnesium, B6 and Potassium. Signs of low potassium include: being prone to urinary tract infections, hot flushes, sweating, heat draining energy, increased muscle weakness, palpitations. We can also get palpitations if potassium is too high — so ask GP for a blood test — needs to be in top half of normal.
PELVIC FLOOR EXE5RCISES:
As well as getting advice from a physio (As the editor, I assume physio means Physiotherapist), try short spells on a mini trampoline (just move weight from one foot to the other—don’t jump) or if you are not steady enough for that try sitting on an exercise ball and gently bouncing. Make sure you have something handy to steady you. Both of these will give you gentle exercise (i.e. internal and external) for all your muscles without wearing you out.
(As my addendum to this article from the Australian Newsletter, I would like to remind people to make sure that their urinary bladder's are completely emptied. One simple way to do this is to bend over to see if you void any more urine. If you don't, then you have emptied the bladder--otherwise, with you're bending over you'll empty the residual that is left.)
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