I wanted to examine these stories and see what the common threads were. Here's my summary :
Am I cured? (JohnW)
Age Shy Bladder Started : 16
Reason : Not stated (hints could have been faster with support)
Age at posting : 63
Started Treatment : mid-30's
Time for cure : Not stated
Full Cure : Yes
Treatments tried :Graduated Exposure Therapy
Professional counselling
Meditation/Relaxation
A cure story from Don in CA
Age Shy Bladder Started : 13
Reason : Bullied in Bathroom
Age at posting : 44
Started Treatment : 43
Time for cure : 1 year
Full Cure : Yes
Treatments tried :Graduated Exposure Therapy (also using Pee-Buddy)
Support group through IPA website
Read all available material on Paruresis (Shy Bladder)
Professional counselling (Psychiatrist)
Seratonin based Medications
Self-Hypnosis tapes
Religious faith
Cured by knowing International Paruresis Association exists
Age Shy Bladder Started :15
Reason : Bullied in Bathroom
Age at posting : 33
Started Treatment : 33
Time for cure : Immediate
Full Cure : ? (Says still can't use Urinal)
Treatments tried :Just knowing that this was a real condition and they were not alone effected an immediate relief of symptoms
My Successful Road to Recovery
Age Shy Bladder Started :Not stated
Reason : Not stated
Age at posting : Not stated
Started Treatment : Not stated
Time for cure : Not stated
Full Cure : No (Still in progress)
Treatments tried :
Found IPA Website (support)
Graduated Exposure Therapy
One Year Since....Telling Others....Self Acceptance....and Success
Age Shy Bladder Started :Not stated
Reason : Not stated
Age at posting : Not stated
Started Treatment : Not stated
Time for cure : Approx. 1 year.
Full Cure : No (Still in progress)
Treatments tried :
Found IPA Website (support)
Read the book
Group ShyBladder therapy (through IPA)
Medications : Lexapro and Lorazepam
Telling other people (support)
Graduated Exposure Therapy (with Pee-Buddy)
Relaxation (Phobease)
Conclusions
I have to admit it's not a great data-set. It may be that many people who make full recoveries don't take the time to report them and are just glad to be free. There are a few conclusions that I draw from this breakdown :
0. You CAN make a full recovery.
1. Getting cured takes time but you can improve your condition quickly.
2. Just knowing that this is a real condition that other normal people suffer from is a form of therapy in itself.
3. Graduated exposure therapy is a component of all recoveries reported - the person who found out about the condition and was instantly "cured" still could not face using the urinal.
5. Professional help is a component of all full recoveries reported.
5. Drug therapies should not be discounted but they were always used in combination with Graduated exposure therapy.
As you can see, we are lacking good data on sucess stories. So for the record, here's me :
Age Shy Bladder Started :16
Reason :Teased in bathroom / Just Developed.
Age at posting : 36
Started Treatment : 36
Time for cure : Approx. 2 months
Full Cure : No (Still in progress)
Treatments tried :
Telling wife (support)
Found IPA Website (support)
Read the book
Graduated Exposure Therapy
4 comments:
Wow! It is such a curse (I mean, I have found it to be such a curse in my life!). I did no t know there was a cure.
Marc
it is a relief to know i'm not alone.information here is helpfull.i found the ipa website last week and will start with "the book" and go from their fully understanding that this is a process.
Thanks very much for having this blog. I would love to hear about how you went about telling others about your condition, and what's their reaction towards it.
Chek out my story here: http://shybladder.blogspot.co.nz/2006/02/can-you-really-be-cured-of-shy-bladder.html
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