This Device Helped Me to Stop Peeing My Pants From Postpartum Incontinence
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Like many people who have given birth, I suffer from occasional urinary incontinence (there’s a reason why so many of us cross our legs when we sneeze!). And while I have been prone to leaking after too much exertion—like during a sneezing or coughing fit, allergy season is absolutely brutal for this—or when I try to hold my pee for too long, it was never bad enough that I felt the need to make a special appointment to see my doctor. But it still interfered with my life. So when I was given the chance to try Elvie’s pelvic floor trainer I jumped (and subsequently peed a little) at the chance.
Pelvic Floor Trainer
$199.00
elvie.com
ElvieNot only did it seem like a cool gadget that would be fun to test out, but it sounded like a fast and easy way to get my pelvic floor back in shape after having three kids. Here’s what I learned.
What is the Elvie trainer?
Before I describe my experience, I want to explain what the Elvie trainer is (and isn’t). The system has two main components: the device (which you insert in your vagina during exercises) and the app. When you’re ready to start an exercise session you simply insert the device and log into your Elvie account. Each session can be accomplished in just a few minutes (although it initially feels much longer than that when you’re first getting used to the device).
The app directs you every step of the way and tells you when it’s time to do a kegel (This is how you squeeze the device and work your pelvic floor. To kegel, contract your muscles like you would to stop urinating mid-stream, per the Mayo Clinic) and when to relax. There’s an indicator on the screen that charts your progress, gives you goals, and cheers you on. As time goes on it shows you your improvement and in some cases makes suggestions on what steps you should take next.
Elvie is not a substitute for medical advice, and it can’t work miracles. I’m not so sure it would work for people with significant bladder issues, but for someone like me, it was the perfect thing to get me into the habit of working my pelvic floor.
What I like about the Elvie trainer
There is a lot to like about Elvie. First, it gamifies the otherwise boring work of doing kegels. Using the device feels a lot like playing a video game—one of the exercises even involves controlling the indicator and moving it through a series of targets and it left me nostalgic for the video game Frogger.
It also kept track of my previous achievements (like how long I was able to bare down and control the device), which gave me a goal for each session. Nothing feels as good as being able to visually see the improvements you’re making over time, especially with something like this, where you can’t actually see the changes you’re making as you make them.
Perhaps most importantly, it lets you know when you’re doing something wrong. On two occasions an error message popped up to tell me something wasn’t right, and that continuing to do the exercise the way I was going could actually do more harm than good. This ended up being a user error but served as a great reminder that I was working on something more important than beating my last high score.
What I don’t like about the Elvie trainer
Part of the reason I needed something like Elvie in the first place is because of my three small children. As short as the exercise sessions were, finding alone time to actually sit down and use the device was hard, especially because unlike doing standard kegels, I needed privacy and quiet so that I could concentrate (and insert the device).
Also, and this was a personal preference, but I didn’t like using it while on my period. As a perimenopausal 41-year-old with irregular periods, this made it harder for me to get into a real routine with the device.
Is the Elvie trainer worth it?
At the end of the day, I found the Elvie trainer to be incredibly useful and at times, fun. While I can’t say for sure whether it’s any more beneficial than kegels alone (I’ll leave that declaration to the pros) I can say that I found myself more likely to actually do the exercises when I was able to track my progress and get real-time feedback on my improvement from the app.
I plan to keep using the device. Not only do I desperately want to get to the point where I can stop peeing when I sneeze, but I also want to keep getting that hit of dopamine I get each time I beat my last high score.
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