Hi All,

I'm returning to the forum after loosing touch for a while, I don't know if its my browser but have been unable to reply to John's post, so I am trying a new post!

Hi John,

If I can add to Andrew's reply, I too got to the stage where I found it difficult to pee at home, exacerbated when others were around - even my grown up kids. I've suffered with AP since my mid teens & now in my 50's.

I can't recommend the UKPT workshops enough, I attended a beginners course a few years ago, just talking with people from all walks of life, real "normal" people was such a relief, I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off me & although I still occasionally have difficulty at home (usually when we have a lot of guests at a BBQ etc) I made some real progress following the course. I am at the stage where I can usually go in public toilets where there are lots of cubicles. Still can't use portaloo's though. I won't bore you with my whole story (happy to if you think it would be of help), but prior to finding the UKPT, I had CBT, Hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, anti anxiety medication, even surgery, with no real success.

I do get caught out occasionally & have to resort to using a catheter, if I can reassure you, with the right catheter it's not as scary as it sounds. Being able to use a catheter really helped me get my life back - days out are now possible without the fear & discomfort of a painful bursting bladder by the end of the day, or sneaking off to find somewhere hidden to pee - I used to drive miles to find a secluded wood or disused farm building etc to pee & making elaborate excuses to do so. At time I even had to wait till everyone else in the house was asleep or out before being able to go.

The catheter I use is a single use telescopic catheter called Coloplast speedicath Compact male (Coloplast item code 28692), it's really discrete & easily hidden - not much bigger than a fountain pen when packed, it takes a bit of practice & getting used to but so worth it, they are really simple & easy to use anywhere, yep I've even done it in a portaloo!

May I encourage you to have a conversation with your Doctor, you will need a prescription to get the catheters at the very least. When I went, I printed of pages from the UKPT website along with product information for the catheter, you will probably find you will know more about the condition & catheters than they do, they will usually believe that its impossible to hold your urine, with the urge to go eventually overcoming any desire to hold it, where you will just let go involuntarily, even my consultant urologist had this belief. I was initially given the hospital type catheters which require creating a sterile area, gloves & inserting something like wet spaghetti! Here's a link to the Coloplast web site for catheter information - www.coloplast.co.uk/speedicath-compact-m...WEB=SpeediCath%C2%AE

I hope you find this encouraging, it does take some work, but you can & will be able overcome your AP & there are many people here that will help & encourage you along the way.

Wishing you the very best

Kerry C.