“So, I pee when I sneeze now. At 36. Awesome.”
That was the thought that kept rolling through my head when it became apparent that urinary incontinence was just something I’d have to get used to. Menopause happens early in my family, and when the rolling hot flashes, night sweats, and other delightful perimenopause signs started to show up when I was 34, I figured I’d be done with the whole mess by 40.
For the uninitiated, perimenopause is that charming time leading up to the end of menstruation characterized by all manner of changes to one’s cycle. Estrogen levels decrease, resulting in irregular periods, bouts of crying or irrational anger, and a reduction in muscle tone in the pelvic muscles. And with decreased muscle tone comes stress urinary incontinence: A sudden squat or bout of coughing suddenly results in leakage.
Well, I’m 40 now, and although the hot flashes haven’t stopped, the occasional bladder leakage when I cough or sneeze has. It didn’t just stop on its own, though. No, it took a few years of trial and error to sort out the right combination of solutions that worked for me. But I’ve been free of incontinence for almost a year now, and the program I adhere to, mostly rooted in my diet, has helped a bunch of other hormone-related issues as well.
When I discussed my perimenopause signs and miseries with my naturopath, we turned to my diet to try to find a holistic approach that could alleviate as many aspects as possible. She encouraged me to change my diet from the lacto-ovo vegetarianism and occasional veganism I’d adhered to for nearly two decades to the autoimmune paleo protocol (AIP) diet.
This diet eliminates allergens and inflammatory foods such as dairy, legumes, and nightshade vegetables and instead focuses on organic vegetables, meat, fish, fruit, and fermented products such as sauerkraut and kimchi. This eliminates inflammation in the gut (and bladder!), which is said to help the body repair itself.
It was a complete lifestyle change, especially since I had to cut back on coffee and reintroduce animal protein. But after adhering to this diet for a few months, I noticed an extraordinary difference in how I felt. Not only did it decrease the physical ailments and perimenopause signs, but it also lessened the emotional rollercoaster of anxiety and rage.
I also created an herbal tincture with cleavers and corn silk, as these plants are known to tone and strengthen the urinary tract. Cleavers also help soothe overactive bladders, and a daily cup of cleaver tea has really helped me. The irritating bladder “tickle” decreased after about six weeks on the program, and after 11 months of adhering to all of this quite stringently, my stress incontinence was eliminated completely. Additionally, my arthritis lessened by about 90 percent, and even my period has become more regular.
When it comes to issues such as stress incontinence, many people are quick to turn to prescribed medications and an overload of Kegel exercises, but addressing one’s diet can have a monumental effect on overall well-being. A lot of people think of food as just filler instead of something that nourishes us on a cellular level. I was startled to see how much better I felt simply by dropping a few foods from my diet and introducing a few new ones, and it made me wonder how my health could have improved had I taken these steps a decade ago.
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