A sensitive bladder affects one in three women of all ages. Many woman who suffer from this condition just do not want to talk about it.
Marilu Henner joins the To Your Good Health Radio Show to share why women should not feel self-conscious, isolated or alone.
She explains that women should be open about it with their doctors, family and friends, and not let it hold them back.
Transcription:
RadioMD Presents: To Your Good Health Radio | Original Air Date: March 26, 2015
Host: David Friedman, DC
Guest: Marilu Henner
To Your Good Health radio, brought to you by Chews for Health. Here are Melanie Cole, MS, and your host, Dr. David Friedman:
DR FRIEDMAN: Our next guest has starred in over 30 films, 6 Broadway shows and 2 very successful sitcoms. She's a 5-time Golden Globe nominee and a New York Times best-selling author. She's here today to discuss a rarely talked about subject: oversensitive bladder. This condition affects 1 in every 3 females, aged 18-75, and 40% of females over 40.
Welcome to the show, Marilu Henner.
MARILU: Hi. Well, thank you so much for inviting me.
DR FRIEDMAN: Oh, it's great to have you on the show. I'll tell you, we've covered literally hundreds of subjects on the show. Today's subject is a first. Share with us, first, what is oversensitive bladder and why are you helping to create awareness?
MARILU: Well, I have a daily radio show. It's called the Marilu Henner Show. It's all over the country and it streams online. I had a urologist on last summer and he started spouting off all these facts. You know, 1 in 3 women over the age of 18 has a sensitive bladder and 40% of women over 40 have the same thing. You know, it's holding women back from dancing and doing things that they love: traveling; exercise, of course; sometimes even being intimate with their partners. I said, "What? I've never heard a statistic like this." I said, "How come nobody's talking about this?" He said, "Well, women are embarrassed or they feel like they're alone or whatever, but I'm seeing it in my practice. It's not true." I said, "Well, I'll talk about it. I've got a big mouth. Somebody's got to get the word out about this." Because my show focuses so much on health--I mean, it focuses on business and health and pop culture and things like that. But I said, "Let me do that. Let me talk about it." Then, I paired up with Always Discreet, a tried and true company, and found out even more statistics and just thought, "Okay. I have to get the word out." So, that's why I'm here.
DR FRIEDMAN: It's interesting, while researching the topic, I actually polled my female patients over 40. I was shocked to learn how many told me in confidence that they suffer from bladder control challenges, especially after menopause. One lady told me she loses control every time she laughs. I couldn't help but regret all the jokes I've told her in the past.
(laughter)
DR FRIEDMAN: So, I've got to cut back.
MARILU: Well, now, she can be like your number one patient that you change. You know, you've got to get her on Always Discreet. Because here's the other thing. So, women are aware that they have this issue; that they have a sensitive. So, what they say is, "Okay. I have to find some way of managing it." So, they go to feminine care products, but they go to the wrong ones because only 1 in 9 women is choosing the right kind of feminine care products. The other people are going to period products. Do you know what I'm saying?
DR FRIEDMAN: Right. Exactly.
MARILU: So, that's not going to help you. That's why you've got to try something like they have a whole line of products from Always Discreet no matter what the issue is. You might have full control or, you know, whatever it is. It's much better than a typical period panty liner.
DR FRIEDMAN: I bet so many females suffering from this don't know that that's available. So, it's great that you're…
MARILU: You don't even have to think about it as suffering because everybody's in it together. They're just managing it. You know?
DR FRIEDMAN: Exactly.
MARILU: It's not like this weird kind of condition? No. Women go through different changes in their bodies. Maybe they've just had a baby. Maybe they just have sensitive bladder. Oh, and here's the other one. This is the one that really got me on board when I realized that a lot of times women were keeping themselves from hydrating. They were afraid to drink water which is the most important thing that we could be doing for ourselves. When I spoke in front of Congress not too long ago…I think water should be on the food pyramid.
DR FRIEDMAN: Big time.
MARILU: Hydration is absolutely important. I had a friend of mine say, "This is why I don't drink water. You never see me drink water because I don't want to have a bladder leak." It's like, "No. You've got to flush everything out of your system. How can you dehydrate yourself like that?"
DR FRIEDMAN: Seventy-five percent of the body is water. We need it. Every organ, every muscle, every tendon and ligament need water to function. So, that leads to a whole other area of health issues they can suffer from.
MARILU: Of course. Of course.
DR FRIEDMAN: That's interesting. I didn't think about that avenue where they would not want to drink water because of the worry.
MARILU: I know.
DR FRIEDMAN: That's awful.
MARILU: Also, from holding themselves back from their being intimate with their partners or anything else.
DR FRIEDMAN: Yes. That's awful. I did read that loss of bladder control can be caused by things like pregnancy, menopause, obesity and being fired by Donald Trump on the celebrity apprentice.
(laughter)
MARILU: I don't know. That's not why I got fired.
DR FRIEDMAN: He's pretty intimidating.
MARILU: Oh, he's a character. He's hilarious. I always say, "Donald loves the smell of business in the morning." You know? He loves it. He's a character.
DR FRIEDMAN: That's funny. That is funny.
MARILU: I had a blast both times I did the show.
DR FRIEDMAN: I enjoy the show. I think it's great.
MARILU: Oh, yes. It's fun.
DR FRIEDMAN: It really…You see a different side of people and you see people that are fighting for their charity and it's kind of neat to see the passion because they're not getting money. It's all about the charity and helping people.
MARILU: Sure.
DR FRIEDMAN: You see these celebrities really…
MARILU: You're playing at your personal best. You used your entire wheelhouse which is so much fun and you think, "Can I do this?" You get some kind of task and you know the clock is ticking and you feel like, "Okay. How can I keep myself organized? Stay in my own lane with my eye on the prize rather than paying attention to what other people are doing?"
DR FRIEDMAN: That's true. There's something fascinating about you. Not everybody knows, but you were born with super human memory skills that enable you to remember in precise detail every day of your life since childhood.
MARILU: Right.
DR FRIEDMAN: I know we talked about people being more prone to overactive bladders, but they can also have underactive brains, myself included. Marilu, I have a photographic memory. I'm just out of film. Is there any hope for us people over 40 that need to have a memory?
MARILU: First of all, everything that you've ever been through is on your emotional hard drive and it's making you behave in ways, whether or not you recognize. So, there are ways to tap into it, you just have to be more conscious. This is what I recommend. Well, first of all, I have a couple theories about memory, having the unusual memory that I have. I really do believe that everyone has something that they remember especially well. I don't care who they are. People say all the time, "Oh, I have a terrible memory." But I always say, "No, you don't. Just think about what it is." Everyone has a primary track on which they have embedded their memories. You know, it could be places you've lived; places you've traveled; clothes you've worn; meals you've had; relationships you've had; schools; jobs; sports is a huge one for people. So, everybody remembers something especially well and that's their primary track. Then, on top of it, I really do believe that everyone has a dominant sense. Sight, sound, touch, taste or smell. When you learn how to cross connect your dominant sense and your primary track, you end up figuring out how you receive, retain and then retrieve memories.
DR FRIEDMAN: Right.
MARILU: So, you have to tap into that strength.
DR FRIEDMAN: You have a book on this, right?
MARILU: Right. Total Memory Makeover. It was a New York Times best-selling book about memory. So what I say is, let's say you know that you're a visual person. At some point in the day, take a little smartphone snapshot of something that will mean that day to you. Then, at the end of the month, look at your 30, 31 pictures and say, "Okay. What can I remember from that day?" You know, the recalling of any kind of an event will help bring it to the foreground again. You know, when you're brushing your teeth at night, the two minutes that you're brushing your teeth, you should stand there and just scroll through your day like a movie montage and think, "What is it that's worth remembering?" You know? This is how I always describe it. If all you do is, you wake up, you live your life. You turn off the light, you go to sleep. You wake up, you live your life, you turn off the light, you go to sleep and nothing has moved forward, well then, what does it all mean? So, to me, developing a stronger autobiographical memory, it's our strongest line of defense against meaninglessness that we have.
DR FRIEDMAN: Right. So, we're very visual is what you're saying. It's really your memory's visuals taking pictures.
MARILU: Well, it depends. Some people are very auditory. In fact, sometimes a very visual man gets in trouble because he's married to a very auditory woman. So, we'll say, "She remembers everything I said." He says, "He remembers me standing over him, pointing my finger." Wagging my finger. One's visual and one's auditory. So, once you know what your partner is, it can help you navigate the relationship better.
DR FRIEDMAN: That makes sense. I bet you win every argument, though? With your husband.
MARILU: Me?
DR FRIEDMAN: Yes.
MARILU: People always ask me that question and this is my husband's answer. He always says, "What man ever wins an argument against his wife anyway? At least I have an excuse."
DR FRIEDMAN: Oh. That's fantastic. That's great. Well, you know, Marilu, it's been great having you on the show.
MARILU: Thank you.
DR FRIEDMAN: It's a great, great topic and it's something that I'm glad you're bringing awareness to. It's very interesting and I think a lot of females learned a lot today from you.
To learn more about managing oversensitive bladder, visit AlwaysDiscreet.com.
Podcasts of all of our shows are available at ToYourHealthRadio.com. You can follow Marilu Henner on Twitter @TheRealMaryLou. Of course, follow our daily health tweets @DrDavidFriedman.
More to come after this short break.
Stay well and stay tuned.
