This is very stressful and embarrassing. I have been jogging for about 3 months now. At first I just walked, but that's not enough for me, so I started jogging. What's holding me back is my bladder, and I'm not even 40 yet. I won't go as much if I jog in the am without drinking anything, but I can't always do that, and I can't go all day without drinking.
I have tried to do kegel but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. I ordered smartballs from Amazon and got ripped off with some generic brand and I can tell they aren't the same (they are kind of rough on the ends and it's very uncomfortable).
I don't have insurance. I'm a stay-at-home mom. I can't really go to the doctor right now, since I have no idea how much it would cost and what tests would need to be run.
I have had this problem since the birth of my second child who is 4. My first is almost 16.
It's so stressful because I am really enjoying the exercise and am so proud that I'm jogging and stuff, but then it's such a stressful moment at the same time.
Any suggestions?

Just in case someone thinks of this, I can't get insurance help or anything, because my husband makes too much money. We are sort of stuck in the middle.

Well, temporarily, until you figure out how to stop the problem, you could use something like depends when exercising.

Kegel exercises: How to strengthen pelvic floor muscles - MayoClinic.com

Here's some helpful tips on doing kegels correctly that might help you.

Oh dear lord I could never do that... gee thanks... this sucks... I guess that's the best you can do with the situation I have.

They make those things so that they're much more discreet nowadays. I still have this image of a huge diaper in my head, but they're not all like that. My grandmother had bladder problems, so we tried out all different kinds with her. Some of the kinds we tried were more like heavy duty pads.

Are you sure you can't get to a dr? Maybe a clinic or something that might be able to help you? Have you actually tried or are you assuming they won't help you?

No I haven't tried. Just waiting for insurance. I'm thinking surely there is something that can be done. My "husband" has good insurance... we just aren't officially married which is a requirement. We have been together for almost 16 years. Weird I know, but it's working. I will be working when my youngest gets a little older, so I'm just waiting on that, or break down and get married lol...

Now this doesn't make any sense. If your "husband" has good insurance but you can't use it because you aren't married, then I don't see why your "husband's" income has any affect on whether you could qualify for any sort of aid.
I'm sure there's something a dr could do too, even if its just confirming there isn't something serious causing it.

Well juscurious55 what you have just said really doesn't make any sense either. I never said a doctor could not do anything to help me. And you obviously don't know anything about the government. I'm done with this "conversation" with you.

I DO know something about the government. How does the financial status of your "husband" to whom you are not married affect your health care status?

I'm guessing (but of course don't know) that it's the muscles around your bladder that are not working properly. Is there a clinic or even ER you could go to in order to get help from a nurse practitioner to show you how to do the Kegels correctly? Another possibility is that you have a slightly bulging disc in your low back that is pressing on nerves that control the bladder. In any event, a doctor's office is the place to start in order to find out what is going on.

And I never said that you said a dr couldn't do anything. Where did you even get that?

Honestly, if you know something about the government that I don't, please share. If you can't get insurance because you're not married, I don't understand why his income should affect you as far as the government is concerned. From what I know about that, they would look at your income-which seems to be none if you're a stay at home mother.

You two are completely clueless. I am a grown woman. I did not come on askmehelpdesk to be disrespected. You two obviously do not know anything about the government or you would understand my situation. It's not that hard to figure out. And i'm not going to cheat the system. This is absolutely ridiculous. This is why i do not like askmehelpdesk. Very judgemental rude people. I do not need to prove anything to you. And this is not why i came on here. I simply asked a simple question and offered some of my personal information which is leading to a conversation that i am not willing to have with strangers that are totally clueless. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Again, where are you getting your information?
You told us that you are not married. But your "husband" makes too much money for you to get help? And now you're talking about cheating the system and being disrespected? Neither of us have said anything disrespectful or anything to cheat any system. You came here and asked a question. We tried to help you.

You are in the united states, right?

I truly do not understand why you are yelling at us. Neither of us has disrespected you. You said you are not married, yet you call him your "husband" (with quote marks). We do not know what that means. According to U.S. law, his money has nothing to do with you and your qualifications for health care as long as you are not married to each other.

I gave you ideas on what could be wrong, but of course only a real-life doctor can ask you the right questions and do whatever tests are needed.

I was in the ER for about four hours back in September, and there were several uninsured patients in nearby cubicles. That's what our library homeless guy always did when he got sick with cellulitis or pneumonia -- he went to the ER and ended up being admitted, but didn't pay a penny out of his own pocket (Medicaid covered him).

OMG SERIOUSLY? I feel as though I am being harassed at this point. As I said you do not know what you are talking about, and this conversation is changing into something else, and I do not appreciate that at all. Again, you don't know anything about the government and the system and I am not going to give my time to explain it. I am truly offended and I do not appreciate it at all.

If you are trying to "HELP" people you need to read every word and every sentence that the person you are trying to "HELP"... that is how it is supposed to work here at askmehelpdesk.com

You're right. I have no idea what you are talking about. We tried giving you advice. And then you started talking about your "husband" that you're not married to and we tried to understand that situation. If you don't want to explain it, fine. Don't explain it. But don't turn and get angry at us because you brought up something that you don't want to talk about. The advice was use depends and/or make sure you're doing kegels correctly until you are able to get to a dr. I don't think there's a whole lot more you can do without a dr's help

I did, back when it was a different post. Apparently the story has changed. I will unsubscribe.

That's what we were trying to figure out and work around.