Posted by Andrew on 12/9/2010, 5:49 pm, in reply to "I think this thing officially has ruined my life."

Hi Mark I agree, it has ruined your life; and I think it is worse than many disabilities. I know of a young man you had a rugby accident and is now paraplegic; however he has a full social life cos his mates include him in everything; when he needs a pee, any one of his mates sorts him out. We are social animals, so not being able to socialise is like a punishment. When I was pubbing in my 20s, I had to drink shorts: being a bit weird not drinking pints was nothing compared to being bursting full with beer. The UKPT is here to help people like you: the first step is to get sorted out for self-catheterisation. This means you could go in a cubicle, slip it in and drain off completely. There are a few lads here who use these disposable catheters and they swear by them: most use them in emergency only, a few use them a lot. Knowing you can do this would remove the anxiety, and enable you to have a good time out. Get in touch with me by email and we can "talk" this through. Secondly get yourself on a workshop: we have one coming up this weekend in London, and another in October in Manchester (see the notifications in the postings above this). You would have your own hotel room with private bathroom, so no fears about being able to pee while on the workshop. Believe me, we have helped others as badly affected as you. Not cured - I dont want to raise your hopes - but significantly improved and much, much happier. Even if you are not sure of either of these options, get in touch cheers Andrew Chairman UKPT

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