| These methods are to help you regain bladder control. Think of it as "mind over bladder." |
- Start by going to the toilet and trying to urinate as often as your shortest voiding interval (the length of time between trips to the bathroom) based on your voiding diary. For example, go every hour if that is what your bladder diary indicates is the shortest interval of time between visits to urinate. Make these regular trips to the toilet while you are awake. You do not have to get up during the night!
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- You must try to urinate whether you feel the need or not. You must try to urinate even if you have just been incontinent.
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- If you get a strong urge to go to the bathroom before your scheduled time, use distraction or relaxation:
- Stop, do not run to the bathroom!
- Stand still or sit down if you can.
- RELAX. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
- Concentrate on making the urge decrease or even go away anyway you can (imagine the pressure becoming less and less). You can also try doing quick contractions of your pelvic floor muscles.
- DISTRACT yourself, for example by doing math problems in your head.
- When you feel IN CONTROL OF YOUR BLADDER, walk slowly to the bathroom, and then go.
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- Keep this schedule until you can go 1 day without urine leakage. Then, increase the time between scheduled trips to the toilet by 15 minutes. When you can go 1 day on this new schedule without urine leakage, extend the time between bathroom trips again by 15 minutes.
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- Keep this up until you can go 4 hours between trips to the toilet (which is NORMAL), or until you are comfortable with a shorter time interval. This may take several weeks.
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- DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED! Bladder training takes time and effort, but it is an effective way to get rid of incontinence without medication or surgery.
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