Living Positively with Bladder Illness

This year, Amy and I will be running the Great North Run for the Urology Foundation. Bladder illness can happen at any age - we want to raise awareness of available treatments, early warning signs, and also show that it can be possible to "live well" with a faulty bladder. Raising awareness goes a long way to help with understanding, empathy, and even just helping people feel less alone. Amy is my bladder "twin" and sister I never knew I needed - and we met on Instagram through sharing our stories!

I went into retention (unable to pee naturally) in 2018 after my appendix perforated, and had a temporary urethral catheter placed while in the hospital to drain 4 litres of urine - about 8x usual bursting point. When I was discharged I was able to pee again, so I thought that it was just a small blip in my recovery. However for the next year or so I really struggled with my bladder, but wasn't really taken seriously by medical professionals. Looking back on this time, I had so many concerning symptoms, but it wasn't until gynaecology did a bladder scan that it was confirmed that I was retaining large amounts of urine in my bladder, even after trying to empty it normally.

Some of these symptoms were:

- Pain when peeing, particularly feeling like I had to strain to empty my bladder

- Reduced sensation of when my bladder was actually full, leading to sudden urgency

- Going to the toilet frequently, but only getting little dribbles out

- Bladder spasms, although at the time I didn't realise it was coming from my bladder - it felt like severe abdominal pain pushing down towards my pubic bone

- More frequent UTIs

I now have two medical devices that help me live my life. I have a sacral nerve stimulator (SNS), which is a wire in my spine connected to a battery in my butt cheek (yes, I'm bionic). This stimulates the sacral nerve and allows me to pee normally sometimes. It is not perfect, so I also have a suprapubic catheter (SPC), which is a small tube through the abdomen to the bladder, which lets me empty my bladder when I'm unable to void naturally. My first SNS failed when the wire broke and started pushing on a different nerve, causing severe pain and shooting pain down my right leg, and a feeling like walking on glass. Unfortunately, despite taking the wire out, I still have these symptoms, which can vary my ability to walk/ move day to day.

I picked up running in mid-2025 with the encouragement from my physio. I started with couch to 5k and running at a snails pace, to now, enjoying going out for runs to clear my head and work my body again after a really rough few years. Some days, I am unable to walk and spend the days on the sofa. But other days, I am able to push myself and try to get outside. The inconsistency is frustrating, but with a goal like the GNR, I have something to build towards, and doing it alongside Amy gives me the encouragement to keep going!

If you are struggling with ANYTHING urological, please do speak to your GP. If you don't feel like you are being taken seriously, this is where a charity like the Urology Foundation can help point you in the right direction and access the right care.