Atchoops! When incontinence happens to the best of us
Plus: We 100% agree with Chelsea Handler: "Dolly Parton is a national treasure."
Damn straight Dolly Parton’s a national treasure
Leave it to Chelsea Handler to articulate what we’re really thinking. And talk about women supporting women. In this video, she stands up against the haters of Dolly Parton’s Thanksgiving Halftime show. And we mustn’t forget some of Dolly’s lifetime achievements:
Funded COVID research that saved countless lives
Invested royalties from Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” to Black communities in Nashville
Created a bald eagle rescue sanctuary
Women in their 40s and 50s can experience urinary incontinence due to reasons like menopause, weakened muscles around their pelvic floors, and more. Luckily, there are many products that can help.
By
Getting older has its charms, like instinctively knowing which sibling will flake a family event or effortlessly navigating your way through the grocery store in a mad dash before they close. But it also can suck a little. For example, your bladder may not be what it used to be.
There are lots of potential causes of “urinary incontinence” (ungh!) or “bladder dysfunction” (double ungh!) that you could start to experience as you age. Childbirth can lead to all sorts of fun bodily changes, as can aging, gaining weight, or an illness. Most often, peeing a little when you cough, sneeze, or workout vigorously is because the muscles around your pelvic floor may be too weak to control the flow of urine.
Why you might pee a little more now in midlife
Many reasons could lead to frequent urination, but two common causes brought on by aging are weakened pelvic floor muscles, as noted above, as well as a loss of estrogen due to menopause.
When pelvic floor muscles are the cause, they can be too weak — or too tight. “Pelvic floor dysfunction occurs when there is either too much tension on the pelvic floor muscles (high tone) or not enough (low tone) contributing to urinary incontinence, constipation, pain during intercourse or pain in the lower back, pelvic region, genitals or rectum,” notes Beaumont Health in Michigan. This can happen as a result of pregnancy and giving birth, or even from just gaining weight. And yep, it also can happen because of menopause.
How low estrogen leads to more peeing
Low estrogen is also the reason why your mom or aunt always had to stop at every rest area on family road trips. “If your estrogen levels are low, like during menopause, you may experience more frequent (and more urgent) urination as your bladder feels full. Reduced estrogen levels can also cause you to have to pee often at night.” But having to go all the time isn’t the same as going a little bit when you’re jumping around or trying to lift a heavy weight at the gym.
I’m Eve Chen, Operations Manager at The Midst. As an almost-40 woman with kids and a busy schedule, I try to simplify my life as much as possible. For holiday gifts, I prefer useful things that don’t take up much storage space, but still precious treats that I won’t normally get for myself.
As a heavy tea drinker, I am sipping a cup of Harney & Sons’ Royal English Breakfast as I write this post. My local grocery store keeps a good stock of traditional options such as Darjeeling or Earl Grey, but sometimes I want to venture out of my comfort zone. Peaches & Ginger sounds right up my alley. For friends who are just starting to drink tea, I like to give them Harney & Sons Grey Linen Tea Chest so they can explore different blends.
I don’t have time to handwrite holiday cards to everyone on my list. When life calms down though, I still enjoy scribbling a few quick lines to a loved one. I love the calming blue and white designs on these Japanese Shibori note cards. As a gift to others, everyone will enjoy the colorful Marimekko notecards, especially at holiday times!
The advent of cold weather always brings out my knitting needles, and a couple skeins of yarn will keep me happy for hours. I’ve never knitted with silk-wool blends before, and I have my eyes on Pearlescent Worsted yarns from Expression Fiber Arts. Alternatively, if I am to recommend a gift for other knitters, my favorite yarn is the worsted weight from Sugarplum Circus, a micro-dyery with gorgeous colorways.
We are grateful for you, our readers, who help to build our collective voices of women, powerfully redefining midlife, one story at a time. — Team Midst