Hey everybody, I am a 23 year old male from the UK and have suffered with paruresis for over 10 years. It has gotten to the point where it is having a detrimental effect on my life and is making life unbearable. I am now only able to work for up to 4 hours a day, and ofcourse this isn't going to be liveable for much longer. I travelled to spain in february, and as a result of my extreme paruresis, I wasn't able to urinate for 13 hours and gave myself a UTI as a result. So I am avoiding travelling which again is effecting my mental health because I am 23 and should be living a somewhat enjoyable life.. I'd like to add that I am just physically unable to urinate when under these scenarios, which i'm sure all of you are very familiar with.

I had booked an appointment with my GP, and I am now on a waiting list for CBT. But I need an immediate effect, as it is literally effecting me on a daily basis. I cannot be away from my house for longer than 4 hours. I had asked my GP about using a catheter, and his response was that I am not able to be prescribed them because they pose risks of infection. But my concern is that I am already giving myself infections as a result of not urinating for long periods of time. So my question is, how did you get your hands on a catheter, if at all? Should I arrange another appointment with my doctor and express my concerns? I don't know how I'm going to live for much longer with no treatment.. thank you all in advance for your responses.

Hi Rielle

Very briefly..

Infections with ISC are rare for men, but unfortunately more common for women. A GP's experience of catheters is often of the in-dwelling ones used in hospitals, where infections are common; hey its a hospital, a breeding ground for bugs. You could try telling our GP that the UKPT charity'e experience of ISC for men is overwhelmingly positive, and say you are wiling to take the "risk" i.e. not blame him/her if you get an infection, which you wont. And/or ask for referral to a urologist who you can ask for ISC.
Go to the coloplast.co.uk website (a manufacturer) where you will get a lot of info about ISC. You will see that they are commonly used by people with spinal injuries. It may then be possible to get them on the web (eBay?), though it means paying for them. But once using them successfully you could go back to the GP with your evidence.

Secondly, get yourself onto one fo our workshops. We have run over a 170 over twenty years for over 700 individuals, and so are experienced in helping guys like you move on.

Finally keep in touch!

Andrew

Hi Andrew, I am a 23 year old male. I am currently on a waiting list to see a urologist, however i've been on there for around 6 months now so thinking about going private to speed the process up. Thank you for your advice, I will do all of that! I hope that I can get my hands on a few ISC, as I believe that they will change my life completely.

Hi

They will certainly change your life. You may even find that because you have one in your pocket, so you know that you can empty your bladder anywhere, your anxiety level will drop so much that you may even be able to pee naturally.

But it would be a pity to depend on them for ever. A medic is more likely to prescribe them if you can say that you are taking steps to address the shy bladder issue.

Its important to ensure the the GP does not think it is your choice not to pee. You have to explain how the tap is turned off out of your control. See our website for the explanation. In effect you are subject to Urinary Retention. Medics treat that as an emergency, So it something that you want to avoid by being able to fall back on a catheter.

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thank you so much for your response. If you wouldnt mind, would you be able to give me a few tips on how to get a GP to agree with prescribing me with ISC? I'd like to emphasise just how much it is effecting my life, but I'm not sure how to say it in a way that the GP would understand seeing as my GP previously had told me its something that wasn't up for debate pretty much, instead he had referred me to a urologist, however it's been 6 months and I am still waiting to be seen by one.

It is effecting me daily, to the point where it is effecting my relationship and friendships seeing as they all would like to do day trips, holidays etc. I saw a post on here earlier where somebody had said that they went private and were prescribed with ISC rather easily, I'd start the process tomorrow if I knew I could be prescribed with them! This is sort of a cry for help right now, as I am seriously worried that my life has ended before it's even started.

Hello Sean,

I’m the writer of the other thread about my experience getting onto ISC. I’ve messaged UKPT with my details but aware there may be a delay getting them to you. Feel free to email me at aga92uk at outlook dot com and I’m happy to discuss it all with you.