Hi Im new to this site but wondered if anyone could help ive had paruresis since i was young and some years ago i decided i would try
catheters to see if they would help , which they did as they took alot of the worry away , but the last few times i have used them the day after ive thought i had a uti but it was just a feeling of needing to go to wee alot no stinging ,but i had antibiotics just incase it was a uti on both occasions the antibiotics didnt work and the feeling just went away on its own , im going through the menopause so i was wondering if its that i need a smaller catheter now as im more sensitive now , i was wondering if anyone else had any ideas with this as its making my paruresis worse as im worried about catheterising because of this thanks

Hi and I'm glad to see that you've reached out to the forum for support with your paruresis. Catheters can be a useful way for some people to manage their paruresis, as you discovered. It's quite possible that the bodily changes associated with the menopause might have contributed to your recent catheter difficulty. For that reason I think the recommended course of action would be to visit your GP to make sure there is no physical reason underlying your issue. Once he/she has established that there is no physical problem, hopefully, you could ask for a referral to a continence nurse who will be able to advise you if you need to use a smaller catheter. You don't mention whether or not your GP knows about your paruresis. Some GPs are not terribly well informed about paruresis and can be a bit reluctant to agree the use of catheters for women. You might find it helpful to take a look at our leaflet www.ukpt.org.uk/what-is-paruresis/resour...-with-paruresis/file. You could even print a copy to take to show your GP. I hope this helps.

Hi Anne thankyou for the reply I have made an appointment to see my gp thankyou for the info I have talked to another gp about my paruresis some years ago and been checked out at the hospital all was fine so they were happy for me to use the catheters , I think it would help me to go on one of your courses but the one which is near me would be reading but it looks like it is only for men do you do any courses even if online for women as I think it would help me or even to chat with someone who knows what it is like to suffer from this and could give me some helpful advice thankyou for you time

Hi there - the UKPT weekend workshops are open to women as well as men, but not as many women tend to sign up for them. A good alternative might be to consider a virtual workshop. We often have women doing those. They take place for a full day on a Saturday. There is likely to be one in February or March but dates haven't been set yet - they will be shortly. As well as giving you information about paruresis a virtual workshop will give you the chance to talk to other women about your paruresis, and that can be very reassuring. A group of women also meet up via zoom every other month so you might like to think about joining in with that too. If you'd like to contact me via my UKPT email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. I'm happy to have an email chat with you, or we can arrange a telephone chat if you'd like. But there's no pressure - have a think how you want to take this forward.