I am very excited to share my clinical and personal experience with SUI having worked at the Hamilton Health Sciences Centre for the past 16 years as a Registered Nurse. I suffered with SUI for 15 years and was hesitant to do anything about it because of my knowledge of the surgical risks associated with surgery.

I had a minimally invasive mid urethral sling procedure 2 years ago and have been free of incontinence for the past 2 years.

My lifestyle has improved significantly since the surgery! I can now walk fast, climb, jog, go to the gym, dance, cough, sneeze, have sex and not have to worry about SUI. On my vacations now I don’t have the worry whether I brought enough pads, extra pairs of underwear and clothing. I feel so free, not having to worry about leaks, gushes or odours.

SUI was a horrible condition to deal with on a daily basis.

Sui occurred after the birth of our second child after experiencing very long labor. I went to my family doctor and the first thing he insisted that I was too young to have SUI. I was insistent to find out my options, he finally referred me to a specialist, a gynecologist.

The gynecologist conducted the SUI test and confirmed that I had SUI. One of the options he shared with me was the Burch procedure. The Burch procedure is major surgery something I would have to consider very carefully, however there were other options to think about.

He suggested Kegel exercises, contracting the vaginal muscles, which could help to improve SUI. I also purchased and tried the weighted balls to use with the kegels but preferred to just do the kegels and did hundreds of kegels daily. At times, I felt things were improving but SUI was still sporadic.

SUI was a horrible and embarrassing nuisance; however I refused to have the Burch Sling Surgery. As an RN working in PACU recovering post surgical patients, I was too well aware of the surgical risks associated with this major surgery.

When I turned 40, SUI became quite regular. I started to wear pads, refused to wear Depends and experienced SUI on a daily basis.

My new family doctor recommended that I see another specialist. This specialist again confirmed that I had SUI. But on this day of testing my SUI wasn’t too bad and she suggested I continue doing kegels, perhaps more often. I followed her advice and it still didn’t get better for me.

At a summer family event, everyone had to participate by getting up to say a joke. I stood up and as I told my joke I completely drenched my pants. This was the turning point for me to do something about it once and for all.

I decided to see a new specialist who discussed with me the mid urethral sling procedure. It was less invasive than the Burch procedure but there were still associated risks including punctured blood vessels, bowel and bladder. I still felt it was risky and decided not to have this particular procedure.

I kept in touch with this doctor on a regular basis and one day he told me about a new treatment which was a minimally invasive mid urethral sling procedure with even less risk. I told him to let me know when he had done about 100 and I would get it booked.

And sure enough, he let me know when he had done 100 and I finally had the surgery at the age of 48, pain was minimal for me in the thigh region, managed with regular painkillers, I took 3 weeks off work with minimal lifting and now I am perfect and can do everything. I feel so free!!!

If this procedure failed in 5 years, I would do it again immediately.

Sui is very prevalent in women but no one really talks about it. I have since found out that several friends and colleagues have SUI and that they were waiting to see how my experience and result was before they decided to do this procedure.

Since this procedure there is a new technique, there are no thigh wounds, the technique is from the vagina, the healing time is quick, and the patient can resume daily activities the next day. It is truly amazing!

A lot of women don’t know that after a failed abdominal Burch procedure they may be able to have this minimally invasive one which could benefit them. They need to go and discuss this with their family doctor who can refer them to a reputable specialist.

I have agreed to speak out through The Canadian Continence Foundation to help other women become aware that they need not suffer from this horribly embarrassing condition. I would strongly recommend this minimally invasive procedure to anyone.

My lifestyle has changed immensely as I am now able to enjoy all activities. I am so grateful to new technology and my advice to all is to research and make an informed choice. You don’t have to suffer with SUI. This foundation is truly a wonderful forum to help everyone get informed about continence!