A mum-of-two was left “mortified” after suffering incontinence when running or playing tennis, but now she’s got her confidence back – all thanks to a “life-changing” solution.
After giving birth to her second child and suffering a tear, Vicky Grubb noticed that she had difficulty controlling her bladder.
This led the 46 year old to experience leaking while playing her favourite sports. She was constantly worrying about the “embarrassment” of having an accident in public. But now, after 10 years, she is finally back to doing what she loves with the help of a simple device that she is eager to tell other women about.
“Instead of enjoying the sport, I was thinking about the embarrassment of potentially leaking,” said the upholstery teacher, from Hampshire.
“Once, I was having a private tennis lesson at a really busy court and suddenly, I could feel a damp patch stretching down my legs.
“It’s something everyone notices, especially when you’re wearing lighter clothing. I felt completely mortified and had to walk off the court.
“The experience put me off doing any exercise for a long time.”
Before having children [not named for privacy reasons], Vicky enjoyed a carefree life. She then gave birth to her eldest, now aged 15, with everything going smoothly. Her second child’s delivery, though, wasn’t easy and she suffered a tear.
The traumatic birth left the mum needing to undergo emergency surgery to sew this up, which took three hours and left her with lasting issues. “I tried running, as I would be on my own,” she says.
“If there were any accidents, I could try and fix it before anybody else noticed it. “I tried dehydrating myself but the leakage took the enjoyment out of exercise.
“Other runners wore tight lycra shorts but I had to hide away in black baggy clothing just in case something happened.”
With no clear solution in sight, the mum tried using thick sanitary and incontinence pads, but this didn’t work 100% of the time.
In 2018, she visited a specialist pelvic floor physiotherapist, costing £60 a session. She then tried a £75 online course doing exercises targeting this area, in a bid to help strengthen the muscles. But none of these offered a permanent solution.
At a loss, Vicky didn’t know where to turn, until she read about ultra-athlete Sophie Power, who suffered from a similar issue. “Until I read Sophie’s story, I used to think I was the only person suffering, as no one talks about wetting yourself, because it’s humiliating,” she says.
“I tried out disposable pessaries, like Sophie, which cost me £40 a week. The version I bought was only for one-time uses, though, and the cost was quickly racking up.
“So I tried another brand, who gave me a contact in the UK, as they didn’t currently offer their product here.”
Vicky was put in touch with an online pelvic health website, iMEDicare-Pelvic Health Naturally, who offer a range of medical devices and products to manage incontinence.
She ordered Efemia – a bladder support device that comes in three sizes, can be used on the go, and is reusable.
It cost £50 and thanks to the product, which she’s now been using for years, she’s been able to get back into exercising.
Vicky hopes sharing her story will relate to many other women going through the same situation and will help to erase the “embarrassing” stigma attached to the condition.
She added: “I put it in before a run and I don’t feel it at all. I couldn’t recommend it enough, as I finally have something that works for me. It’s such a brilliant product and when I mentioned it to my doctor, even she was intrigued.
“It’s definitely been a confidence booster and now I can wear lycra shorts when running like everyone else. There’s so many different things for women to worry about when doing sport, so it’s nice to have one less worry.”
