The key: \u201cJudy one two three\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIt was suggested that I devise some other signal, a code word that my teacher would understand but no one else would. I was just six years old, and the best I could come up with was “Judy one two three.” (It was the swinging 60\u2019s, and my teachers were on a first-name basis. Judy was the teacher’s name.) It worked!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, there would still be some accidents as I\nresisted the inconvenience of interrupting my day to urinate. It was just\nsuch a hassle, asking someone for help and getting undressed enough to position\na urinal. Perhaps if I’d been able to do it as easily and quickly as others, it\nwould have seemed less annoying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But all in all, my needs were fairly well under control until\nabout 10 years ago, in my mid-40s. I had colostomy surgery and, thanks to\ncomplications, an indwelling catheter for about three months. Afterward,\nbetween the cath and the surgery, I ended up with some nerve damage. It became\nharder to tell when I had to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around that time, I also tried to stay healthier. I began\ndrinking a lot of water. You know where this is going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a time, my urinary habits seemed uncontrollable. I went to a number of urologists, underwent tests. I tried Flomax to make it easier to empty my bladder fully. Then pills for overactive bladder syndrome. That’s when a urological surgeon recommended a suprapubic catheter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Considering a surgical solution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nFor those who don’t know, it’s an external cath that\nconnects to a hole in the lower abdomen. It has to be changed periodically by a\nnurse. But, the doctor assured me, it would solve all my troubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wasn’t convinced. For one thing, I already had a surgical\nopening in my lower abdomen for my colostomy pouch. For another, I didn’t like\nthe maintenance. The incision had to be kept clean and infection-free. And\nsuprapubic catheters can and do come loose sometimes. I wasn’t convinced this\nwould simplify my life. In fact, quite the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surgeons, I’ve found, favor surgical solutions. I sought\nanother opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somehow, online, I found a nearby urologist who claimed to\nhave worked with quadriplegics. I immediately made an appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Kim reviewed my tests and medication history. “You still have bladder control, it’s just that it’s a little wonky,” he said, or words to that effect. “The difficulty is getting your medications right.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Managing medications <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nHe upped my dosage of Flomax to 8 mg daily to ensure that\nwhen I peed I got out as much as possible so there wouldn’t be a buildup of\nwhat he called “residuals.” At the same time, he changed my\noveractive bladder medication to a strong dose (50 mg) of Myrbetriq, which was\nthen a new drug. This removed (or at least eased) the sudden, reflexive\n“vacating” of my bladder without warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result borders on the miraculous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someday, I may still need to go the catheter route, whether\ninternal or external. But in the meantime, this balance of meds\u2014at once calming\nand facilitating the outflow\u2014remains effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be completely honest, it’s not quite that simple. I need\nsomeone to press hard on my bladder while holding a urinal in place. That’s\npartly because of that nerve damage from 10 years ago, partly from weak\nabdominal muscles due to the progression of my disability. But if I can get\nthat, most days go pretty well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Provided, that is, that I keep track of how much I drink and\nwhen I last went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our special contributor Ben Mattlin<\/strong>, was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a congenital muscle weakness that causes paralysis and related health issues. A highly regarded writer, Ben\u2019s work has appeared in \u201cThe New York Times,\u201d \u201cThe Washington Post\u201d and \u201cUSA Today.\u201d He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A while back, I encountered the term “pee math” online. Kooky as it sounds, I instantly understood what it means.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":241391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5217,5534,5394,10848,10856,10855,10852,10850,10849,5214,10851,5367,10854,10853],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241381"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}