45Years old Claudia, REGAINED 100% CONTROL OVER THE PELVIC FLOOR IN 4 WEEKS.

Carin user Claudia (45) from The Netherlands reflects on her pelvic floor training journey and shares with us her tips on saying goodbye to urine leaks. This blog post is part of our inspirational women’s testimonial campaign – Get started with Kegels -. Read further to discover where it all began, what she learned and her five motivational tips for including pelvic floor exercises in daily life.

This past summer, Claudia finally decided it was enough. A recent divorcee with a teenage son, she was looking forward to start dating again, but for the past two years had become increasingly accustomed to suffering from unexpected urine leaks. These little accidents (much to her dismay) were gradually becoming worse and made her feel insecure about resuming dating & sex. It was time to do something about it, but where to start? Is it even possible to cure? What will the doctor say? Can the physiotherapist help? So many questions. Time to ask Google!

After turning to the internet, Claudia immediately came across Carin – the pelvic floor trainer, sensor and app online. She was looking for a solution that she could first try by herself, at home, in the comfort of her own time and space. Carin seemed perfect for her! And if it doesn’t work, well you can then always visit a physiotherapist or enquire about an operation. Upon first impression, what she liked about the product was the low barrier to getting started and the mini wearable sensor alerting her to potential leaks. She knew she had leaks, but wasn’t sure what moments triggered these, so was looking forward to finding out. A few days later she received Carin and got started. After following the programme & learning to manage her bladder, this is what she learned:

Integrate the exercises into daily life:

A woman’s life can be so busy! Don’t wait for the perfect moment to do your pelvic floor exercises. You can take the opportunity of the ‘waiting moments’ during the day. Like for example, waiting in line at the supermarket for groceries or waiting at the red traffic light. Or even at the office like Claudia! Other moments included, when picking heavy things up from the ground or watering the garden. Once you learn how to contract and relax your pelvic floor you can do your exercises discreetly anywhere. As Claudia says “If you really want to solve it, you really need to practice. Grab the opportunity of these moments! No excuses. You can do it all the time”. We couldn’t agree more.

Caffeine & alcohol can make leaks worse:

Whilst using the Carin app, Claudia was surprised to find out her drinking habits could also be contributing to her urine leakages. These were nothing out of the ordinary, except for a few extra coffees a day and a cheeky glass of wine at a weekend party. However, once she became aware of these triggers during the programme, she decided to cut them out and see what would happen. Much to her surprise she improved! Now she appreciates this knowledge and tries to be more conscious about it. She also shares this knowledge to help other women become aware of these triggers. Urine loss can be so taboo, but by talking about it honestly we can overcome that. Want to learn more about drink triggers? Catchup on our blog post about it here. 

Unexpected benefits from pelvic floor training:

Although logical once you think about it, one of the unexpected benefits from the following the pelvic floor training programme was an overall core improvement (excuse the pun!). Her tummy became flatter, alongside stronger pelvic floor muscles. This was a nice plus for the summer! An no lower back pain of course.

Don’t be too hard on yourself:

There are some days when you even struggle to have lunch. Let alone do your pelvic floor training exercises! These days are part of life too. When this happens, don’t beat yourself up too hard or feel sad. Give yourself a break and an early night. Recoup your energy and try again the next day. 

Lessons learned from following Carin:

After following the Carin programme, Claudia felt that she learned new exercises that she could integrate into her daily life. Although at the beginning she started out by scheduling a moment at home to exercise, overtime she memorised the movements naturally and included them in her ‘waiting moments’. She appreciated the variety of exercises and that these do not need special sport clothing or special knowledge, just a will to do them.  

Going into the future, Claudia looks forward to resume dating & boxing classes with full confidence, without the worry of urine leaks in her life. And like she wisely says, “don’t wait for the perfect moment! That doesn’t exist. Just get started!”

We thank Claudia for her inspiring tips and hope it can help other women get started with pelvic floor training during the ‘Get started with Kegels’ campaign.