Peter's story

Peter shares how he learned that his social activities didn’t have to stop.

I REALISED I HAD TO DO SOMETHING

Peter , 58

What can I say? I've always been a very outgoing guy who loves a full calendar when I'm not working. But when I realised that I was suffering from urine leakage, I thought I had to give up socialising.

I don't always necessarily do something spectacular everyday, but I enjoy trying new restaurants or simply meeting my friends for a beer at the pub.
 
Unfortunately, enjoying myself in the company of others wasn't exactly the easiest thing when I was constantly thinking about if I would need to go soon. What if the toilets were far away, and what if there was a line when I finally got there?
 
I started making excuses not to join up for beers or meeting up too far away from home. I didn't want to add fuel to the fire by drinking liquids and I wasn't sure if I could hold it in until I reached a toilet if the place was too far way. Eventually I tried drinking less water daily so I wouldn't need to urinate as much, but that just gave me headaches.
 
I realised my urine leakage problem might be more of an inconvenience than I wanted to admit. Then one day something happened on my way home from work. I had an odd sensation and felt my pants getting wet. Luckily I had just got out of the car and was only minutes away from home where I could change. After that I wasn't very keen on socialising away from home any more. What if the same thing happened again? I missed the social interaction with my friends and experiencing new places.
 
Who could I talk to about this? My buddies were out of the question. A friend from work? I don't think so. My son leads a busy life and this didn't seem a big enough issue to bother him with. And I wouldn't really know how to bring it up.
 
But I realised I had to do something. So I started to search the internet. I came across a site where they were talking about using "protection" and it seemed like there were lots of different types of protectors that you could use. I never knew! I felt like I had struck gold and ordered some from an online store. The best thing is that it worked!
 
Now I'm back to my old self. I always look up where the toilets are if I'm at a new place, and try to get seats nearby. And I'm wearing protective underwear, carrying an extra set with me in a bag. Better safe than sorry is the key here. The best thing is that when I'm there, I completely forget that I'm wearing them. They feel just like regular underwear and I can focus on important things. Like what drink I should order with my meal.