AIBU to cancel tomorrow bladder study appointment

[ThatQuickCat]

I have a hospital bladder study appointment tomorrow, where they are going to put sensors in my vagina and bladder, then pump liquid into my bladder until I wet myself. Nurse said I will stand on a pad and she will get me to cough, jump, run on the spot, whatever it takes until I leak/wet myself so they can take readings due to a bladder prolapse. I told her I didn't want to do that and I'm really scared/embarrassed. It feels humiliating. I don't know what to do, I am terrified (I suffer with anxiety) AIBU to cancel in the morning? I know how short of cash the NHS is and don't want to waste an appointment, I just don't want to wee myself, on the floor, in a room with 2 people there

I have had this done and I promise you it’s not as bad as it sounds. The nurse and staff were very kind. Tell them
When you arrive that you are anxious , they should take good care of you

also- I assume you’ve been referred for these tests for a good reason!! So think of the benefits to your help if you go through with it.

Really you shouldn’t be cancelling this late. Too late for anyone else to attend.

swallow your pride.
go to the appointment.

You either want a diagnosis and treatment, or you are prepared to put up with your symptoms. Your choice.

Go.
So you can get a treatment plan.
Remember they do this day in day out.

I suppose everything up to now would have been a waste of everybody’s time and whatever took you to the Dr in the first place will never improve. If that’s ok for you then yes, cancel. If you want improvement, don’t!

Okay OP I completely understand why you feel this way.

But.

If you have a prolapse that will not get better by itself. That's a forever thing.

You want it to get better so you need the diagnostics. What they are doing is producing biomechanical data about the point at which your muscles experience strain

Think of it like sports medicine. They get athletes to run on treadmills to measure the capacity of their lungs. Weightlifters lift "to failure" ie to identify their muscles' maximum capacity.

That's what you're doing tomorrow.

This.

Unfortunately without the tests you won’t be able to be to have the treatment you may need. If the symptoms are causing you issues I would strongly recommend you go. You may well be discharged from the service if you cancel.

It is also too late to fill the space with someone else so the appointment will be wasted. In an ideal world you would have cancelled sooner if you preferred not to go ahead.

Also you do NOT need to swallow your pride. That assumes this is a humiliating test done TO you.

It isn't.

You are choosing to go and work WITH these professionals to determine your body's current limits.

Remember Paula Radcliffe weeing at the side of the road? She did that because her goal was more important than a bit of wee.

So's your goal - a healthy body. That's an equally worthy goal. You go do it, for you.

It's not a nice thing to go through, but it's an important step in getting you appropriate treatment for prolapse.
The nurses will have seen and heard it all before, they will no doubt treat you with dignity and respect, and understand your anxiety about the process.

What's the alternative? And sorry to sound blunt, its not meant to be unkind, but is it that you're more likely to have a leak in public? No need to answer but I'd prefer the bladder appt if it were me. They're doing this all day long and if its a way to help improve your condition then its a small amount of time to spend embarrassed than it happening for years and ultimately affecting your life in all sorts of ways.
Just go and don't think about it. It will soon be over. You'll be home before you know it and hopefully will get some treatment. Good luck.

Is it for bulking? Pls go, it’s fine, doesnt hurt and the results are amazing.

Please don’t be embarrassed. Please don’t cancel.
I promise that for them it is just going to be of interest to see the results, to figure out the cause of your leak.
Their room is set up for urine.
If your dishwasher was leaking you would get the repair person in and a run a cycle so that they could diagnose the problem. It would be a normal thing to do.
Try to think of yourself as a slightly malfunctioning appliance in need of a tune up if it helps!!!
Of course it will be mildly awful in the moment. But I suspect you might find you even manage a bit of a laugh with them. This is their world. Do it 😁

I’ve had this too. The staff are very good , as they deal with this all the time. Do tell them that you are nervous though and they should be able to comfort you with more information.

I echo what everyone else says- you can’t be treated unless they know what they are dealing with.

Explain to the staff how you feel and I can assure you that they will have heard your concerns many times before.

They are medical professionals and have seen it all before, done these tests so many times they can’t count, and they won’t be looking at you and seeing you anything other than a patient that needs some help.

I approach all embarrassing medical stuff (even having my kids) by thinking right, it's like a driving test, I may make a complete tit of myself, I may look like a complete tit, but when it's over I will never see these people again, like you never see the driving test examiner again.

The people doing the test aren't going to laugh or ridicule you. They do it all the time. They are doing it for a very real reason.

Say you don't go and then 2 or 3 time how do you think your bladder health will be? A bit of embarrassment is worth the fact you could be sorted out.

As a man I've had another man stick his finger up my arse to check my prostate. Women on other threads tell stories about slipping down the bed when giving birth and sticking their fanjo in the doctors face. Medical people see and do things like that all the time and think nothing of it.

Oh OP please go to your appointment, it's an important step towards getting better.

I used to work in operating theatres and strangely, tonight I was thinking about when I had surgery recently and everyone would have seen me naked from the waist down. I started to feel embarrassed, then realised that I saw undressed people every single day for years. Honestly, I don't recall a single person's body or anything they did that might have felt embarrassing to them.

In the nicest way, you are a patient who needs help and they are there to help you. Dealing with women who have bladder problems is their work, they won't be judging you. They know you're going to feel awkward and will do everything to minimise that. Please do go.

I really hope you can go tomorrow. You can always talk to them when you get there and then still not go through with it once you're there, if you really can't bear it. It's not like they'll be able to reallocate the appointment now, so I think I'd probably use that to reassure myself that I might as well at least go to the hospital and then work out what I'm doing from there.

I wouldn’t worry
urology departments have these sort of clinics all the time the chances are you’ll be on of a clinic of x number of patients all doing this
they can’t help you if you won’t go and work with them. Please don’t be embarrassed- they do this all the time.

Think off it like this, the staff in this specific department probably do this test 10 times a day, 5 days a week for the last decade. I would imagine their completely desensitised to it that they honestly don't give it any thought and will completely forget you 2 minutes after you've left.

I've had this done...and a bowel one where they put multiple sensors in and then fill your bowel with a balloon until you poo.
Both filled me with horrible anxiety and embarrassment at the thought of the tests... and actually, everyone was so kind, and made it as dignified as it could be. They don't stand there and watch you...it's all very private, they are just looking at the data as it happens and it is the only way to get answers and fixes.

And it's over so quickly and you don't ever see them again :)
Be brave... go!